CCA member Chandos Construction Celebrates 40th Anniversary

CCA would like to congratulate long time member Chandos Construction on this very big occasion!

Keep reading to find out how Chandos Construction has evolved over the past 40 years.

Since our inception, we’ve completed more than 2,000 projects. We committed to inclusive hiring – a practise that nurtures diverse talent and attracts women, Indigenous peoples, new Canadians, LGBTQ2S+ and youth to the construction industry. Everyday we look for more ways to use our business model to build a better world.

We’re taking it back to 1990 in celebration of our 40th anniversary.

Our co-founder Dan O’Brien was 30 years old and a structural engineer when he decided to start Chandos. He approached construction manager Don Coyne during a joint venture on the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and asked him about starting their own company. They went on a fishing trip to discuss details and quickly realized they had similar values.

They decided to build a construction company that was different. It would be client and family focused. It would benefit the communities they served. They each put up $30,000 to kick start the company. Dan would run their small office and Don would go into the field.

Their first project was a strip mall on the corner of Argyll and 99 Street in the City of Edmonton. The value of the project was ~$800,000 and it gave them a lead into their next jobs.

Between 1980 and 1990, we completed almost 350 projects.

With several projects under our belt, we started curating the philosophy of “Creating Value Beyond Price.” It stemmed from innovation – which has become a core value for us – and was about exceeding client expectations and offering more than just a competitive price. We wanted to make the client the focal point of our organization, and differentiate ourselves in the industry.

Our company logo also evolved. The ‘C’ in motion represented the openness, collaboration, unity and inclusion of our culture.

During this time, we completed 480 projects. Don retired and Dan hired Tom Redl who would eventually become his successor.

2000-2010 – was the start of our geographic expansion.

Having cemented our position in Edmonton, we set our sights on the construction market in Southern Alberta and opened an office in Calgary.

Our company purpose also expanded. We developed stronger safety protocols and committed to social responsibility. We were also more dedicated to protecting the environment and became early adopters of LEED. In fact, St John Ambulance in City of Edmonton was our first LEED project. It achieved the Silver certification. And, inspired our teams to do more. In the following years, we adopted waste diversion principles on many projects, winning awards for environmental excellence. And within a few more years, waste diversion was part of our standard operating procedures. Today, we recycle on 90% of our projects regardless of their LEED status.

From 2000 to 2010, we completed 768 projects. Our team also received the Prime Minister’s Volunteer Award from former PM Stephen Harper.

2010-2020- Our geographic expansion continued. We grew across Canada into Vancouver, Red Deer and Kelowna, and also opened offices in Toronto and Ottawa.

On the innovation side, we became Canadian leaders in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and perfected our practise in lean construction. These became key parts of our strategic plan. Continuous improvement became our driving force.

In the first part of 2020, we enhanced our brand. And emphasized our values of collaboration, innovation, ingenuity and inclusion to the external world. We hosted cross-country thought leadership events; launched a new website; new brochure; and this September, to close out our 40 years, we’ll be releasing a book about our journey.