CELEBRATING HIS 60 TH ANNIVERSARY IN OUR INDUSTRY

Chris Allinotte, WRLA

Sixty years ago, Syl Haisan jumped on the lumber train, and as of today, he’s still going strong.

“I’ve always enjoyed going to work,” says Syl, speaking from his office at C. A. Fischer Lumber in Edmonton. “Ever since the start.”

That start came at age 18, when Syl got his first job unloading boxcars for the M.D. Muttart Lumber Company. He remembers the first day clearly down to the day. “June 4, 1962. Two of us jumped into the boxcar, climbed up to the top of the stack and flat on our bellies started unloading.”

The family-owned company by then had made a name for itself in Alberta, western Canada, Ontario and the northern USA and building over 400 homes per year in the Edmonton area. By the time Syl joined, the company had dozens of companies that encompassed everything from supply to manufacturing, to retail sales.

At the time, Syl was happy to be working but was also eager to learn and try new things. He hadn’t been unloading at the railroad boxcar long before he was chosen by the drywall delivery driver to work on a crew that delivered drywall to building sites. In remembering those days, Syl chuckled, “those drywall sheets weren’t as light as they are today, and we carried four sheets at a time, up to 10 footers. We were delivering four houses a day, too!” Of course, most of the houses were 1100 sq. ft. bungalows and bi-levels.

His strong work ethic led to a job working in the Planer Mill and then later to a place in the lumber yard, plywood warehouses, truck driving as well as a period of time at the plant that manufactured windows and doors. These places were much more agreeable to working during the long Edmonton winters!

Still, there was more to learn, and different things to try, so when the opportunity came for Syl to take advantage of a retail training course offered by the Edmonton Retail Lumber Association, he took it.

“We went to school at NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) every Friday from January to May.” During this course, he learned more about building materials, as well as sales techniques, estimating and blueprint reading.

By this time, Syl had become the manager at the plywood warehouse and oversaw the custom cutting of pieces for the prefab homes. The manager of the Muttart Manufactured Home Plant asked how the course at NAIT was going and Syl mentioned he was interested in the blueprint reading and estimating part, the manager offered him a job at the plant and Syl accepted. So, at the bright young age of 22 years old Syl began his journey in prefabricated home building— which proved to be intellectually rewarding. “I learned how to read the blueprints, worked in all phases of the plant, worked up to the position of layout man who sets up the templates so the walls could be assembled.”

Things took a rough turn in May of 1973, when a fire ripped through the prefabricated housing factory—destroying the entire operation, which took up an entire city block. “It burned everything,” remembers Syl, “the mill, the prefab plant, everything.” All told, the fire did $1.5 million in damages ($7.8 million in 2022 dollars).

Not to be deterred, the company started again from scratch, rebuilding its operation, and Syl was right there with them. His boss decided to retire and Syl was offered the Plant Manager position and after much thought and discussion, Syl accepted the overall plant operation Manager position. As they slowly replaced the capacity and started building and expanding their prefabricated home sales to the Yukon, NWT, Alberta and British Columbia, the company was able to take advantage of having to start over by installing newer, more modern equipment that increased their capacity. “We were able to produce up to thirteen houses a day, running 24 hours a day on shifts.”

Around this time, the Muttart company began selling their prefabricated components to other building supply yards. Syl and the owners of Muttarts started a company, called Alberta Building Components, which was to market to dealers the Muttart prefabricated product. “They were called ABC, so that the owner could feature his first grandchild, a baby boy in the ads,” said Syl, remembering, “playing with his building blocks.”

With these new business relationships happening, Syl made a new acquaintance that was to have a big effect on his career. “I struck up a friendship with Chuck Fischer, and Ken McCourt, who owned Pickardville Building Supplies after a few years they offered me a position to set up a manufacturing plant in a large warehouse they owned in Westlock, Alberta and in the spring of 1988, I started with C.A.Fischer Lumber Co. Ltd.” (For followers of WRLA history—Chuck is a past president of our organization!)

Fischer Lumber was on its own upward trajectory of growth, at that time operating four retail building supply yards, product supplied by the buying group, TimberMart and now starting with a prefab and roof truss plant named Westfab Homes. Eventually, they leased the three-acre lot next door, which gave them their first retail building and hardware supply location in Westlock, which was named Westfab Home Building Centre. A few years later the Fischer group purchased another store in Westlock, Westlock Home Building Centre, a Home Hardware location. The Westlock Home Hardware store was changed to a TimberMart store and changed back to a Home Building Center, 17 years ago. Since then, all Fischer stores are under the Home Hardware banner. Eventually, Fischer Lumber grew to have fifteen Home Building and Home Hardware Building Centres in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Through all of this, Syl applied his knowledge, experience, and that same strong work ethic that got his feet moving towards the rail boxcar so many years ago.

Today, at age 78, he still enjoys working for the company. He oversees purchasing for the stores and has become as much a teacher as a constant student, training staff and certifying forklift drivers. One of his stores, Grande Prairie Home Hardware Building

Centre, was selected as one of Hardlines magazine store of the year for 2022.

“Maybe I’ll hang on until I’m 80,” Syl muses. “I built a new house several years ago, and I’m still working on it, so there’s that.”

WRLA congratulates Syl on achieving 60 years in the lumber and building materials industry. The wealth of experience and consistent enthusiasm he brings to the business is an inspiration to us, and to all our members.

Bottom: The fire that happened at Muttart prefabricating housing factory in 1973.