By NICK STEWART
Asking Barry Martin to list some of the projects his architecture and engineering firm, B.H. Martin Consultants Ltd., has worked on over the last 34 years is nothing short of an experience.
Nearly 10 minutes worth of endless names roll off his tongue, with nearby employees chipping in their own numerous recollections as they pass. The event rapidly becomes a group effort as more and more people add items to the ever-expanding list, until it seems almost futile to try and record them all.
From arenas and sports complexes to schools and subdivisions, the company has worked on a staggering variety of projects across northeastern Ontario throughout the three decades of the firm’s existence.
Banner projects include the local Shania Twain Centre as well as Temiskaming Shores’ recently occupied city hall, and new commercial, industrial and residential projects are constantly being taken on.
This history of success has helped the company grow by leaps and bounds. The spacious 7,000-square-foot building, which acts as the company’s home, is a far cry from the small office perched above a downtown women’s clothing store. It first housed Martin and his three employees in 1973.
The success, which has followed the firm through the years, has been reflected in the growth of its staff, which has since swollen to 35. Until recently, this made it one of the largest independent-consulting firms in the North.
“We have so many full-time employees that have stayed with us through the years that we’ve certainly reached a certain state of maturity,” Martin says.
However, that independence changed in late 2007, when the company took a merger offer from Genivar, a Montreal-based, Canada-wide consortium with 2,300 employees under its ever-expanding umbrella.
While this move has officially put ownership of the company in Genivar’s hands, engineering manager Marz Kord feels it will help move B.H. Martin to the next level, while continuing to allow for all decisions to be made out of the local office. The company’s name will also be gradually changed to the Genivar brand over time.
Kord, who joined the firm over a decade ago, has been appointed the company’s vice-president of Northern Ontario operations, while Martin will stay on as the local chief architect and engineer.
Despite having fielded countless merger offers over the years, Kord says the Genivar offer was accepted on the basis of a shared vision, which includes the firm making its own decisions independently.
Additionally, Kord says the firm will be able to benefit from the expanded network of other companies involved in the Genivar network. This means B.H. Martin will be able to pursue much larger-scale projects as a result of being able to draw upon outside expertise and resources.
As a result of being able to draw upon outside expertise and resources, B.H. Martin will be able to pursue much larger-scale projects, including EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction management) projects.
“A project worth $300 million cannot be handled by a 40-person office, whereas now we have 2,300 people and can offer a full range of engineering services to a major project that requires, say, 100 people,” Kord says. “An example could something the size of a De Beers project, where in the past we couldn’t consider that.”
Other firms in the network may make use of them in much the same way, meaning that B.H. Martin may well be working on projects from around the country when they’re not busy with local work.
As a result, the company may well grow to 50 full-time employees in the next year or two to accommodate the expected growth.
While the occasionally difficult weather and geography in the Timmins region only adds to the challenge in attracting and retaining skilled employees, Martin says the company nevertheless prefers to hire those who are from or living in the North.
“This helps to see to it that there’s a better chance that they’re going to stay with us,” Martin says. “It’s a two-way street, as they get to stay in the North and do work in the North. It helps them and it helps us.”
