GS Wark Ltd.
Premier Design / Build Specialist
:Headquartered in Hamilton, ON, GS Wark Ltd. has crafted a reputation as a go-to provider in the ICI sector Written by: Kevin Doyle Produced by: Stephen Marino
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stablished in 1955 by George S. Wark Sr. as a residential home building firm, GS Wark Ltd. switched to the ICI sector in 1960 and has never looked back, meticulously crafting its reputation as a premier provider of Design/Build, General Contracting and Project Management services in the ICI sector. Headquartered in Hamilton, ON, GS Wark is under the direction of President George S. Wark Jr. and Vice President Craig Hambly. The company employs 20 full-time office and field staff, generates $40 million annual revenue and is a member many associations, including the Canadian Construction Association, the Ontario General Contractors Association, the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association and the Canada Green Building Council. George Wark Jr. has a Masters in Administration from Western University and took over the company in 1994 when his father retired. “With his business background he helped the company get into the
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 2 business development market for private work and expanded our portfolio outside public institution work and more into the private industrial sector,” explains Project Manager Ryan Kneisz. Hambly has been with the company since 1988 and became a partner in 2000. He oversees special projects. “Currently those would be the two major Metrolinx Transit rail layover facilities in Stoney Creek and Kitchener,” says Kneisz. What attributes separate GS Wark from its competition? “We have core group members with over 25 years of experience with different methodologies of construction. We have experience in all the different sectors. We have strong relationships with the sub-trades, suppliers and consultants that specialize in Design/Build and the other tendering avenues we pursue. And we have a great rapport with the authorities having jurisdiction, which helps get us through the permitting required for development,” says John Morrone, who manages
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 4 Building Development and Design/Build services for the company.
Challenging Projects LEWIS ROAD LAYOVER FACILITY: The $19m project for Metrolinx in Stoney Creek is nearing completion. The project includes construction of three buildings to house equipment and operations; installation of 2,600 metres of track to tie into existing lines; and buildout of mechanical, electrical and civil infrastructure. Coordination between GS Wark,
Metrolinx and rail line owner Canadian National Railway was paramount. Way-finding signage and track-switching mechanisms had to be installed to connect the layover facility to the main track line. “We coordinated with CN on the safety side. We couldn’t disrupt freight traffic or transportation traffic because we were doing work. It had to go around the schedule of the trains. We would have a time frame we had to work, then would have to pull out our equipment and let the train go by. Major penalties were associated
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 5 with not getting equipment moved back in time,” Kneisz says. BUNGE CANADA EDIBLE OILS: Completed in 2008 for Bunge Canada, the $12.2m project included construction of 58,800sf of new office and load out buildings, installation of a large tank farm as well as truck and rail scale stations, and paving and landscaping. As General Contractor, GS Wark was responsible for the foundation and building envelope and for coordinating
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with the owner and the owner’s millwright trades performing process piping to ensure the process equipment and piping fit within the building and didn’t clash with other elements. “The size of the project area in relationship to all else that was going on, and maintaining safety of the workers while erecting structural steel for the building concurrent with lifting tanks onto the tank farm directly adjacent to the building was challenging,” Kneisz notes.
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 9 MCMASTER UNIVERSITY LAB: The $3.5m Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab for the study of infectious diseases and deadly pathogens is located within McMasters Children’s Hospital and features a seamless epoxy floor, ceiling and wall system that guarantees the room is 100 percent airtight. The mechanical systems have hepa filters and air locks lead in and out of the facility. The project also involved working in interstitial space for the removal of asbestos and the installation of new electrical and mechanical infrastructure without disrupting existing fireproofing. “Every possible penetration point had to be sealed. Every conduit that came into a room once a wire had been pulled had to be filled with high-grade epoxy silicon so there was no air penetration. We had to stay on top of quality control to make sure there were no minute deficiencies in coating. They put the room under so much negative pressure that we even had to count out how many screws were put into each piece of drywall so that negative
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pressure wouldn’t pull the drywall off the studs,” Kneisz says. Merritt Commissioning estimated they would find between 200 and 500 pinhole penetrations after the first negative pressure test. Kneisz says, “we bet them we would have less than 50 and actually had less than 25. They re-did the test because they didn’t believe the results.” PIER 15: The company is working directly with the Hamilton Port Authority on construction of the 40,000sf Harbour West Marina
| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 10 boat storage and maintenance facility scheduled for completion in September 2016. Minimum clearance height at the back of the larger of the two buildings is 40 feet, requiring installation of a 50-foot by 43-foot bi-folding door. “The site conditions make this interesting to deal with. It’s being built over existing foundations, underground drainage and underground tunnels. We’re putting in new services and new foundations and an element that will be added for aesthetics will encompass the logo in a stainless
steel cutout symbol,” says Morrone. “We are one of three contractors in the area, so the level of communication is always high so there are no interference issues with other sites.” TANKMART: This project featured high-end stainless steel work along with construction of a main loading dock for the facility to bring in its new trucks. Large underground tanks were also installed for collection of storm water that was then slowly dispersed back into the city of Burlington’s infrastructure at a rate acceptable to their infrastructure.
Design/Build GS Wark’s preferred delivery
system provides its clients with many advantages. “They appreciate the fact they are dealing with one entity and always looking at a single source of responsibility. We are a company with design capabilities and what we don’t have we can outsource. We then bring that team together and are responsible for the design elements, the tendering of the cost elements and the building. It becomes more efficient,” says
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Morrone. Not all Design/Build proposals are created equal however. “We make sure our clients realize the differences. Sometimes you’re not comparing apples to apples. Sometimes we’ll find that we’re submitting something and fully spec-ing it out and qualifying our proposal and (the client) will get other proposals that are not the same,” Morrone explains.
People and Training In general, the company prefers
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organic growth. Kneisz, for example, started as a laborer 10 years ago and is now Operations Manager. “When we bring someone on, we like to bring them up through the ranks. “Ownership has always provided the resources and the willingness to support if an employee wants to attend a training seminar. I’ve been here just over a year and have approached ownership to attend a number of events and beenapproved every time,” adds Morrone.
Ten staff members are taking part in the Ontario General Contractors Association’s Gold Seal program and should attain certification within the next year or so. GS Wark also maintains a long-standing internship program with Mohawk Community College and is proud to have two former interns as staff members. “We like to train them, bring them on full-time and continue to work with them to learn construction the way we want them to learn it and the way we want them to
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conduct themselves. When it comes time to move them up to a Project Management role, for example, we know they are going to manage our projects with the philosophies, policies and procedures that we have trained them on throughout their entire career,� says Kneisz.
files via internal email. It utilizes Pipeline Suite software for tendering and estimating.
Safety is top of mind at all times. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed by management. The company is COR registered and has gone more than five years without a lost time accident. It Day To Day was honored by the OGCA for Distinguished Achievement in The company designed its own Project Document Center, an online Health and Safety from 2006-14 and is also the 2016 recipient of portal where project documents the Hamilton Homes and are posted, and exchanges large
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 14 Construction Association’s Health and Safety Achievement Award. “We have a full-time Safety Officer on staff. He visits all job sites every week and submits reports and recommendations. On our last few jobs, we had zero infractions found by government agencies,” says Morrone. The company is vigilant in its oversight of sub-contractors. “We have open discussions and share experiences, discuss pros and cons. We definitely engage with each sub to better understand their strengths, abilities what they can do, what
they want to try to do. I visit them in their office and other job sites to try and gain a better understanding of their capabilities,” Morrone says.
Looking Ahead Kneisz says the company will continue its practice of sustainable growth and planning strategic expansion of its portfolio. “The goal is to sustain. Moving up to $100 million revenue doesn’t mean you’re making more money. It’s about how strategic you are about the project you’re working on,” he says. Nurturing and maintaining relationships remain crucial to
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| G.S. Wark Ltd.| 16 the company’s future success. “When you have a client shake your hand at the end of a job and thank you for what you’ve done for them and, most importantly, are giving you another job because of the service you’ve provided before, to me that’s the ultimate compliment,” Morrone says. “You have to stay focused on customer service and maintain client satisfaction. You have to build relationships and work
COMPANY INFORMATION Company Name: GS Wark Ltd. Country: Canada Industry: Construction Est: 1955 Revenue: $40 million Premiere Service: General Contracting, Project Management, Design/Build President: George Wark Jr. Website: http://www.wark.net/ www.wark.net
370 York Blvd., Suite 101 Hamilton, Ontario L8R 3L1 P: 905.529.4717 F: 1.888.529.0477 www.wark.net