PROFILES OF EXCELLENCE Milani Plumbing, Drainage & Heating
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Our mission is to inspire our team to constantly exceed our customers’ expectations. – Vern Milani
term relationships, we want our customers to come back to us, so that’s not just giving great service… it’s also about understanding what they need, like prolonging the life of their equipment or giving them efficient energy options to save money. Our mission is to inspire our team to constantly exceed our customers’ expectations with every aspect of their plumbing, drainage, heating and air conditioning needs. Plain and simple.” As they move into their seventh decade in business, Vern is excited that the family business will continue under the Milani wing: his son Alexander is a member of the team as the Commercial Accounts Manager, and Vern hopes his younger son, Christopher, will follow suit in a few years. As a long-time resident of
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lot has changed since Demetrio Milani started the family business back in 1956. Back then, Demetrio’s tools were a collection of shovels and picks in a sack flung over his shoulder each morning, and a trolley car took him around the city to do his work. An Italian immigrant who came to Canada alone at 13 with just $50 in his pocket, he learned early on that success takes a lot of effort. As he started the Milani business, he quickly known for the integrity of his work and a willingness to put in hard work to get the job done right. In 1986, Demetrio’s son, Vern, bought the business from his father and has grown the company from just 2 trucks to 100 trucks, more than 140 staff and top-notch equipment, and services Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Vern attributes this growth to continuing to operate the business on the core principles his father taught him. Despite all that growth, one thing has remained a constant in the six decades since the business began: an expectation of excellence in all things. “It’s a very different world these days. My father would go out and follow the new city sewer lines and then offer his services to people who had septic tanks, but wanted to connect to the system,” notes Vern Milani. “They didn’t have back hoes Alex and Vern Milani then… he did everything by hand. These days we do a lot more than sewer lines – we’re a one stop shop for plumbing, drainage, heating and air conditioning in houses, residential and commercial buildings. We have the capabilities now to do repairs, maintenance, retrofits and installations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” For Milani, that means taking pride in fast, fair, reliable service - with a human touch. “We call our core values P.I.P.E. – passion, integrity, professionalism and empathy,” he said. That last component is a key piece of what has made Milani the success story it is, says Vern. “We’re in the service business, we’re dealing with people every day – when a home or building has a flood, or they have a broken pipe, or it’s the middle of winter and the furnace or boiler breaks and its cold, we need to be really aware of the fact that this can be really stressful,” he said. “Our job is to understand not just what to do to fix a problem but to take care of the customers along the way, too.” It’s a compassionate approach, but also one that has proven a success from a business perspective. “We’re looking for long-
Burnaby, it’s been rewarding to not just build a strong business in his home community, but to also give back, says Vern. “We support various organizations – BC Children’s Hospital, Coast Mental Health and Canadian Cancer Society to name a few. I have also been on numerous non-profit boards like the Burnaby Hospital Foundation board and Better Business Bureau board for many years,” he said. Milani is also involved with several community organizations and environmental protection initiatives. “We all need to make an effort to leave a healthy planet where our children and grandchildren can thrive,” said Vern. “We take a lot of pride in being a part of making sure that happens.” sponsored content
5526 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC I 604.430.2603 I www.milani.ca