After doubling their volume and capacity in just 24 months, it became clear to local businessman Dan Harder that his company, InEx Plastering, needed more space, especially in their office. The company moved into their new location at 41127 Sixth Avenue North in October 2018 to make sure they had enough room, both for now and into the future.
“We were four people working out of a 600 square foot office,” says Harder. “We’re bringing on even more office staff in the coming weeks.”
Harder credits an increased focus on the commercial market as their biggest growth factor. “We just concentrated our focus more on commercial work than on residential. We do work all over—in northwestern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and in Manitoba top to bottom—but the bulk would be in southern Manitoba.”
InEx Plastering specializes in all kinds of exterior cladding, and a large percentage of that work comes in the area of EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems). Other than needing more office space for their growing staff, Harder says that their recent move became necessary when they looked toward future growth possibilities, especially in the panelization market.
“The future of construction is off-site pre-fabrication,” says Harder. “Basically, anything that can be created off-site and shipped to the site and installed is the way the industry is moving. We’re the first affiliate of Sto Panel Technology in Canada.”
With this knowledge in mind, InEx formed a sister company, called InEx Panels. Through it, Harder explains that developers can order Sto Panel pre-fabricated panels to help reduce costs and save time on their projects.
“The panels can be pre-finished to any desired finish they want,” he says. “This allows a project to move forward much quicker.”
After being produced in the InEx shop, the panels are shipped to a construction site where they are quickly assembled. Harder expects to make good use of their additional shop space as the pre-fabricated construction market begins to become more popular to developers.
“Once developers see the increased savings and faster construction times, demand for this product will grow,” he says.
In order to become more competitive, InEx Plastering also recently purchased machinery needed for them to cut and finish their own cornices and starter strips, with the intention of providing these products to other companies throughout Manitoba and eventually to all of western Canada.
With the growth they have already experienced, and with what they expect will come, Harder knows they will also need to keep growing their staff.
“We’re always hiring,” he says.
InEx has been located in Niverville for more than 21 years, so moving into their new location in the Niverville Business Park was an easy choice.
“The positives would be that it is close to home and it supports the local community,” Harder says. “The negatives would be the gravel road and no sewer and water.” Harder is also aware that InEx’s growth is due not only to new products and the services they’ve been offering. He says they also strive to deliver the best quality, with integrity.
