Roger Brodeur started out working as an estimator for another renovation company, but in 2007 he took on two partners and started his own business from scratch. After two years, he bought out those two partners and carried on. Today, that same company, Renovations Plus, employs 12 people year-round from its office in St. Adolphe.
“Integrity is a shared value among our team,” says Brodeur of the way his team has gelled over time.“Ifwe say we’re going to do something, we do it. This applies to workmanship, contracts, and how we handle ourselves daily.”
Renovations Plus has also benefited from recent changes in the industry. Celebrity builders like Mike Holmes and a series of HGTV shows have transformed the renovations landscape, with people now having a much greater interest in renovating their homes.
The business has grown by participating in home shows and working tightly with suppliers. Ten years ago, there were fewer renovation companies in the market. Today, there’s a vast array of companies to choose from. To differentiate themselves, Renovations Plus has started to work with higher-end designers, which has resulted in larger and more customized renovations. By going in this direction, the company can specialize in higher-end finishes and custom work, which produces better options for customers.
“We enjoyed higher-end work because it was a challenge and a way to differentiate ourselves and we could work on larger projects,” says Brodeur.“Plus,it was fun!”
The majority of the company’s customers hail from Winnipeg, but some projects are also located in the Ritchot region.
“The customers we work with trust us as a general contractor for a major home or commercial reno,” explains Brodeur, emphasizing the comprehensiveness of their services.
Renovations Plus initially focused only on residential—namely, kitchens and bathrooms—even though they regularly took on various other interior and exterior renovation projects. About seven years ago, they started doing commercial renovations for project management companies responsible for the construction of government facilities. Now up to 60 percent of the company’s business involves commercial projects.
Commercial clients include doctor and dentist offices, as well as restaurant interiors and gas stations. The company recently renovated the Riverside Lions, an assistant and supportive housing facility in Winnipeg, replacing 330 windows, 126 bathrooms, 800 interior doors, flooring, and painting—the works. The success of the project led to ongoing work onsite.
Because of this trend, Brodeur has an optimistic outlook for the future.“Wewould like to expand our commercial side even further, especially with all the upcoming commercial development in the surrounding rural region.”
