Real Estate and Construction
Brian Halina Chemco Electrical Contractors Edmonton
B
rian Halina, President and CEO of Chemco Electrical Contractors, believes in taking care of people. His former business partners describe him as “the best business partner you could hope for, a man of integrity, honesty and respect and an employer who always felt a responsibility to his employees.” What’s unique about your business? Chemco is the largest non-publicly traded employeeowned electrical and instrumentation company in Canada.
What’s your legacy? What’s next for the business? We will continue to expand across Canada and build strong joint-venture partnerships with Aboriginal communities. How are you reshaping the world? By building a company that maintains a strong sense of humanity. What’s the one thing you can’t live without? My family. What was your first job? Filling in trenches and laying grass sod for a company called Doug Smith Electric. Bob Reid, the manager at the time, hired me after calling my uncle to see if he knew anyone looking for work. Eventually, he and I became partners, and in 1976 we acquired the company, renaming it to Chemco Electrical Contractors in 1978. The rest is history.
“Building a company that is founded on family values. The company is based on community and the philosophy that ‘we all pull together,’ no matter what.“
What was your most difficult career experience and what did you learn from it? On January 2, 1996, I had to tell my employees the company was in trouble and that I had no work for them. The employees rallied together, and we navigated through that storm. I learned that a big part of entrepreneurial success is to surround yourself with people who have a “can-do no matter what” attitude.
My best advice for other entrepreneurs is to always take full responsibility for your actions. Treat people with respect, and dare to dream big.
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EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015