Davis Controls Ltd. - The Neighbourhood is Changing

The Neighbourhood is Changing

For twenty seven years, our view looking out from Davis Controls across the street toward Winston Churchill Blvd. has been that of a few acres of vacant field covered with weeds and scrub.  This all began to change early this year when the land was cleared for what will soon become 869 parking spaces surrounding a new seven story engineering building, which is now well under way and should be glassed in by the end of July.  This property was one of the few remaining undeveloped properties in the park and while the new building partially blocks our early morning view of the rising sun, we welcome the change of scenery and look forward to meeting our new neighbours.  Having 869 additional cars spilling out onto Bristol Circle every night might complicate the drive home, but on a positive note, we will be able to walk to these sales calls.

(Before)

While we’ve been watching the construction project across the street, we became aware that the front corner garden, planted when our building was built in 1989, has matured, and in the case of the sprawling junipers, has become overgrown.  The oak trees are now well established and provide a nice canopy over the entire front corner, but the original garden underneath was in need of a makeover.  With a little bit of TLC, we have transformed the front corner so that it no longer hides our main entrance and once again exposes our front door, sign and lobby.

(After)

I recall that when we were looking for a place to move to from 4251 Dundas St. W, one of the things we liked best about this property was that it was strategically located at one of the main entrances to the business park.  It would be a shame to allow this prestigious location to become untidy or unkempt.  Cosmetic upgrades like these are necessary from time to time to maintain a clean, fresh and colourful appearance and this was a transformation whose time had come.  I’m sure that they will install some attractive landscaping across the street and we want to be sure to look just as good as they do.              



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Davis Controls Ltd. - 2014 in Review

2014 in Review

This year marked our 25th Anniversary at 2200 Bristol Circle in Oakville.  Our Twenty Fifth year in our ‘new’ building (I really must stop calling it that) has been one of those generational milestone years where everything original is wearing out:

• The phenolic foam roof needed to be replaced

• The HVAC system is nearing the end of its life

• The foundation plants that were part of our original landscape plan are either just starting to develop into beautiful mature trees ... or … have just reached the end of their life expectancy and have started to die

• The IT infrastructure that was state–of–the–art twenty five years ago has already been replaced FIVE times

• The fluorescent lights and fixtures throughout our office and warehouse are old and inefficient and replacement energy-hungry tubes will soon be hard to find

• The parking lot needs resurfacing – again

• The office décor is in need of a makeover


I don’t mean to sound like the Grinch who stole Christmas.  This list might actually become my Christmas gift list.  In fact, these maintenance benchmarks are not problems.  They are the naturally occurring scars and blemishes of a corporate veteran that has survived most of the material things used to conduct business long enough to even have this anniversary.

The really important things however are not wearing out. As we head into 2015, we are even more enthusiastic, more positive and more prepared for growth than ever before.

• Davis Controls Ltd has been in business in Canada for 81 years

• This year we are surpassing our previous sales record year by more than 20%

• We continue to add new Products and Technologies and people to support them

• New lines, new people and new R&D developments from established suppliers continue to breathe new life into our applications scope and solution capabilities


In many ways, 2014 was a year of positioning and investment in an even more promising future that begins with 2015.

From all of us here at Davis Controls Ltd. to our valued client and provider partners, we wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.


                                             




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Davis Controls Ltd. - Where has the Time Gone?

Exactly 25 years ago, this announcement was sent to Davis Controls employees and a select group of family and friends advising them of the official launch of the construction of our ‘new’ head office in Oakville and inviting them to attend the ceremonial ground breaking and a reception to celebrate the event.  Where has the time gone?  It feels like it was just yesterday.  Remarkably, eight of the people who made the move with us from 4251 Dundas Street W. are still with us today.

 

As I think back nostalgically about the 25 years that we have been at 2200 Bristol Circle, I remember the people that have come and gone and the product lines that we have represented since moving to Oakville.  I recall friendships and relationships that have been important to our success and I think about all the work that has been done here by all the people that have worked here.

 

Mostly I remember the fun that we’ve had along the way; the parties and barbeques and meetings and dinners and conferences and the social interactions around the office.  I look at the people that I work with today and then I look back through our photo albums at pictures of those same people, 5, 10, 20, even 40 years ago and I smile.

 

I thought of writing this posting just yesterday, when a visiting supplier asked me if the office was new.  When I explained that in fact we were celebrating our 25^th anniversary in this building, it dawned on me.  Twenty Five Years – WOW, where has the time gone!  I thanked him for the compliment and said:  No, we’ve been here for a while and since business is good, we’re not planning on going anywhere else soon.

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Davis Controls Ltd. - Grabbing the Bull by the Horns!

It is now the end of April and spring is nowhere to be seen.  Nevertheless, in spite of a brutal winter and continuing bad weather, good things are getting done.

You may recall that we replaced the roof over the office section of our building last year, and this year we completed the warehouse portion of the roof just last week.  It is pouring rain today and so far…no leaks!

You may also recall that we picked up the ABB Measurements Product program for Ontario late last year and I am pleased to report that the preliminary round of introduction and training has been completed for our inside and outside sales teams and sales are ramping up with each passing day. The ABB brand and reputation is a real door opener and customer site visits are producing measureable results on a daily basis. Booked orders will soon overtake our YTD budget for ABB and our overall results are already ahead of budget for Q1.

I just returned from an Exact Software user’s conference at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Dallas, where I attended some informative business and product sessions with our IT Manager.  We had the pleasure of meeting the key person from Delft, Holland who manages the product development of Globe, Synergy Enterprise and EWMS.  Not surprisingly, the meeting content and networking opportunities were the highlight of the trip, but the venue, food and entertainment were also outstanding.  Alison Forsythe, the new Managing Director of Exact Macola has set a very high bar for Exact in North America and their future looks bright. 

We spent quite a bit of time sharing ideas and renewing friendships with Exact consultants, resellers and other Globe and Synergy users and I even went one round with a mechanical bull at the Circle R Ranch.  Needless to say, I was no match for the bull and was flat on my back in 24.7 seconds.

With one quarter of our F2015 already behind us, we are off to an encouraging start with even better prospects for profitable growth ahead of us.  Stay tuned for our next blog posting when I will be able to share some new and exciting additions to our product and technology capability.


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