“It’s helpful when it comes to bidding on jobs for institutions of higher learning. We’ve done a lot of work for Dalhou- sie University and it’s great to go home and realize you’re doing something for people who are forward thinking.” GB Millwork recently completed a two-year contract that saw them take part in the renovation of the Dalhousie Student Union Building on the corner of University Avenue and Seymour Street. “We just turned over the Grawood Bar to the owner in early September. It was probably the largest project, financially, that GB Millwork has ever been involved in.” “We were also involved in a year-long project at the Col- laborative Health Education building on Dalhousie Uni- versity campus and wouldn’t have been eligible to work on that building if we weren’t FSC certified. We did the full five floor set-up, millwork wise. It’s open now and it’s a state of the art facility. Future nurses and doctors will see our work every day.” As a member of the Architectural Woodwork Manufac- turers Association of Canada (AWMAC), GB Millworks adheres not only to moral standards, but to quality control as well. “AWMAC and the Construction Association are very important. AWMAC is actually a group of millwork com- panies across Canada – it sets our standards. AWS [Archi- tectural Woodwork Standards] is the American equiva- lent. There’s a manual that we all follow and are tested on periodically. There are three different grades: Custom, Premium, and Standard. These are the three different grades that architects consider when they look at specs. They’re more than just plans because they detail and describe the materials as well as the work. They say a lot about a company. Being an AWMAC registered company means you are allowed to bid on certain jobs. This ensures that the end user is getting what they should be getting: A qualified millwork manufacturer, rather than a random backyard company.”
Award, or GIS (Guarantee and Inspection Service) Award, for their work at Howe Hall, a well-known Dalhousie Univer- sity residence on Coburg Road. These peer-voted awards are not only prestigious amongst those in the architectural woodwork world, they are also hard-earned promotional tools – and companies and institutions know it. In what can only be described as a poetic twist, GB Millwork was since part of the team that renovated the Chrysler Canada Pavilion at historic Pier 21, Canada’s Ellis Island, where the AWMAC Atlantic Awards are handed out every two years. “The HFX Sports Bar & Grill was one of my favourites. It was the kind of job that comes around once in a lifetime. To me, it’s one of the best decors in a sports bar that you’ll ever see – it’s by far the best on the Atlantic Canadian coast.” GB Millwork is currently working on a job that Boutili- er describes as “The next big thing I wanted.” It’s the redbrick landmark built in 1928 on South Park Street over- looking the Public Gardens. “The Lord Nelson project is on-going. We’ve actually invested in a lot of new equipment just to take this one on. We’re actually manufacturing, in-house, all the doors that separate the ballrooms throughout the hotel; so we’re manufacturing 5-panelled, 12-feet high doors that are actually, when broken down, about 30 pieces in total. I knew with the right equipment, we could handle it. We reached out to our machine supplier, CNC Auto- mation, and they were more than happy to help us take on such a beast.” “The bulk of our success can be attributed to the hard work that has built great relationships with general con- tractors and notable business owners in the Halifax Regional Municipality.” “We’re very fortunate to be involved in so many high-end projects,” he explained.
In 2014, GB Millwork won the AWMAC Atlantic Gold
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SEPTEMBER 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
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