The power of three

DJM Contracting Ltd. is a partnership that was formed by three former business competitors

1 of 2The owners of DJM Contracting are (L to R) Mark Daugherty, Justin Tanguay and Dan Eheler, shown here with their current project, a renovation of Mitchell Supply Ltd. in Castlegar. — Photo courtesy Justin Tanguay

2 of 2The Brilliant Dam pedestrian walkway near Castlegar was a 2012 project for DJM Contracting. — Photo courtesy Justin Tanguay

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DJM Contracting Ltd. in Rossland, B.C., recently celebrated its first anniversary. In 2011, the principals, Dan Eheler, Justin Tanguay and Mark Daugherty, decided to stop competing with each other and joined their individual small contracting businesses into one company. It was a good move; this year’s goal is to exceed $5 million in sales.

The legs of the partnership

Each partner brings something special to the group, and together they are able to take on varied commercial, residential, institutional and industrial projects.

As commercial project manager, Daugherty has a business-minded, no-nonsense work ethic that gets the jobs done. He has lots of experience and knowledge of the world of commercial construction—from high-rise, multi-tenant buildings to modest, single-business ones.

Eheler is an engaging guy with a genuine interest in people. His strength is in customer service—particularly within the residential aspect of the business. He communicates well, he’s accommodating and he cultivates relationships that build customer satisfaction.

“Dan is the one who makes everybody laugh,” said Tanguay. “He lightens the atmosphere time and time again when things are stressful.”

Tanguay is company president and chief estimator; he comes from a computer-programming background, working with the RCMP. He said that his strengths are in organization, finance and management.

Investing in expert help

Going from independent business ownership to a three-way partnership did present challenges, and the DJM owners enlisted the expert help of a consultant, through Columbia Basin Trust. The consultant analyzed the business and assisted greatly in clarifying the opportunities for improvement and working out solutions.

“It’s worth it to invest in expertise,” Tanguay said. “Our approach to any partnership challenge is straightforward: if we have a problem we voice it immediately, solve it and move on. Continuous improvement is a constant goal.”

Striving for balance

Each of the three partners is the father of two small children, and the dream for them all is to be able to work fewer hours and spend more time with their families.

“We target 60 hours a week, but often work substantially more than that,” said Tanguay. “Trying to have a successful business and a family life is tough. The business is growing, and going places we’ve only ever imagined, so it takes a lot of time and focus.”

Tanguay said that one of the best aspects of having business partners is that it allows each of them to occasionally take time off to spend with family, with the assurance that during that time the other two partners are still at work, keeping things going and growing.

Picking up the pace

DJM Contracting has about a dozen projects on the go as of mid-February 2013; Tanguay said business is usually slow at this time of year.

“Last summer we had over 20 projects and employed almost 30 people,” he said. “We did the Brilliant Dam pedestrian walkway, and we’re really proud of the effort and quality that our employees put forth. We’re hoping to employ about 40 people this summer—from Red Seal tradespeople to part-time students—in addition to our multiple quality-minded subtrades.”

DJM's biggest job right now is a six-month renovation of Mitchell Supply Ltd., a building supply store in Castlegar—and with that underway, DJM will be looking for other commercial projects in the Kootenay area.

“We’re a new company,” Tanguay said, “but we have over 50 years of experience and expertise to draw on, so we’ve got a solid base. We pride ourselves on being organized, staying on budget and on schedule. We’ve invested lots of money into resources, and we’re ready for our business to take off.”