Contractor Profile:
Piedmont Sheet Metal By / Jessica Kirby
Piedmont Sheet Metal’s goal to be a leader in the sheet metal industry is fuelled by the latest technology, a good relationship with their local, and generations of hard work. SMACNA-BC member Piedmont Sheet Metal is a family owned and operated contracting business out of Burnaby, specializing in HVAC design, fabrication, and installation. The company was founded in 1997 by Toby Knowles, who was also a sheet metal worker as was his father before him. Toby’s son, current general manager Tyler Knowles, says his grandfather founded Piedmont Sheet Metal Works in the 1970s, but passed away in the 80s. At the time, Toby was too young to take over, and despite other people’s efforts to manage it, Piedmont Sheet Metal Works eventually closed its doors. But Toby stayed the course. He started working in a shop on clean up while he was in high school, completed an apprenticeship, and became a journey in his early 20s. At 28, he jumped on the chance to buy the sheet metal sector of an air-conditioning company, and started Piedmont Sheet Metal as it is known today.
© Can Stock Photo / cobalt88
“He is semi-retired, but still works here, attends our Wednesday meetings, and likes updates,” Tyler says. “He weighs in on higher level matters and overseeing the company’s operations, but stays out of the day-to-day.” Tyler also did shop clean-up while in high school, then entered his apprenticeship after graduation. He was only a couple of years into his apprenticeship when the company needed a second estimator, so he was brought in to train in this field. “A year later, that first estimator left and I was the only other person who knew how to estimate,” Knowles says. “But I was only 19 or 20 so it was a rough road. My dad stepped into the sales side and help out, and we would put his name on jobs
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Sheet Metal Journal
I quoted because no one would take a young guy like me seriously.” By the time he was 26, Knowles had fully taken over the sales division, and he eventually took over as general manger a few years later. Today, the company employs 80 people it its shop, field, and office. Piedmont has an impressive list of past and current projects in the Greater Vancouver area. The company is just finishing up 400 W Georgia, landmark building in downtown Vancouver with immense aesthetic appeal and complex architecture. “It is always nice to be a part of something that will be a
