Pacific Canada

Alaska

REGIONAL GENERAL MANAGER: JOE SCHLACHTER

British Columbia

The founders of Colt Builders are native to Canada, and after headquartering their firm in Utah, they’re returning to their roots. Colt Building Solutions, a sister company to Colt Builders, is growing fast in the Pacific Northwest and is led by Joe Schlachter, a construction manager very familiar with the region.

As a newer addition to the Colt family, Joe is focused on replicating the success Colt has experienced, as he puts it, “south of the border.”

“The Canadian market is extremely healthy,” says Joe. “There is no lack of projects to pursue, and because we provide a ‘dirt to dry-in’ service that includes concrete, framing, siding, and roofing, we have a lot to do.”

British Columbia: Promontory

a full-serViCe aPPrOaCh

As Joe explains, Colt Building Solutions’ dirt to dry-in service is a rare offering in the Canadian framing market. Unlike traditional framing contractors in the area, Colt provides a variety of services from the beginning of a project—when a building lot is nothing but soil—to handing over the keys once the build is at the lock up stage.

“This dirt to dry-in framing program is a new approach to building construction in our region,” says Joe. “From British Columbia to Saskatchewan, it’s typical for general contractors to specialize in one area. But we’re capitalizing on our relationships with wholesale accounts, which means we can get lumber and other materials at wholesale prices, which provides savings we can pass along to our clients.”

This innovative building approach provides value to the clients who partner with the Colt. Joe explains:

By providing all that we do, it lets us shoulder some of the responsibility traditionally put on general contractors. Normally, they’d be required to take on the extra steps, including supply purchasing, administration, and labor coordination that we now oversee as a “single-point contact format” for our clients. And because our scope is larger, combined with wholesale buying power, our fees and costs are typically less or very competitive, with much fewer headaches for owners and general contractors.

BuildinG a rePutatiOn

Keeping roadblocks to a minimum keeps Joe busy, especially as he’s bolstering an emerging market.

“Our biggest challenge is introducing the dirt to dry-in way we do business, which is new and unfamiliar, especially on the wood framing side of things,” Joe says. But he’s risen to the challenge and loves getting the opportunity to share how valuable Colt’s services can be. To do that, he’s relying on a local workforce that’s able to sustain the impressive reputation Colt has established in the States.

“We’ve got some good feet on the ground locally,” says Joe. “We’re working hard to build up resources and crews, as well as creating a good reputation through quality work.”

And it’s already paying off; Colt Building Solutions’ first project led to another one in a neighboring region, and Joe sees the business expanding outside of British Columbia and into adjacent territories. And as a recent joiner to the firm himself, Joe is perfectly primed to see what sets Colt apart.

“One of the things that attracted me to Glen and the Colt group was the fact that they are different and they’re doing good work,” he says. “When I was the client, I was dealing with framers, and I see how Colt has taken it a step up from that experience. We’re a ‘white-collar’ framing company, and because we manage so professionally while still thinking outside of the box, we can ensure quality and provide a one-person accountability contact that ensures we have our rigid quality control measures in place.”

PartnershiPs aCrOss the BOrder

As Joe focuses on growth, he’s grateful for the powerful support network that Colt Builders provides.

“I’m getting 110 percent support from our sister company down south,” he says. “They’ve developed a great reputation in the industry that I get to hang my hat on, and that makes my job a little easier.”

And Joe, as always, is looking at the bigger picture.

“I’m an empathetic person, so nothing makes me happier than getting to see people settling into a new home and their quality of life going up,” Joe confides. “Because at the end of the day, we’re not just building widgets—we’re building lifestyles.”