A rapid ascent
From its humble beginnings, Design Works Engineering has expanded across Canada and beyond, now serving clients from coast to coast, as well as internationally. The company’s first office in Grande Prairie quickly proved inadequate for the demand, leading to expansions into Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, and more. Most recently, the firm opened an office in Halifax, establishing a presence on both coasts of Canada. Internationally, the firm broke into the U.S. market with an office in Nevada in 2021, followed by projects in the Middle East.

Design Works Engineering’s rapid growth can be attributed to its unique approach, which combines traditional engineering excellence with forward-thinking innovation. As Haydar Al Dahhan, the company’s President and CEO, explains, “Our team is made up of passionate professionals dedicated to delivering the highest standards of engineering excellence. Every project is an opportunity to challenge ourselves and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Client-centric relationships built on trust
Over the past decade, Design Works Engineering has built a reputation not only for technical expertise but also for forging strong, lasting relationships with clients. Many clients have returned for subsequent projects, thanks to the company’s transparency, dedication, and ability to deliver. One client in particular shared: “Working with Design Works Engineering has been a breath of fresh air. Their commitment to meeting deadlines, managing costs, and delivering exceptional results is unmatched.”

These long-standing partnerships are a testament to the company’s core values of trust, open communication, and relentless pursuit of excellence in every project, whether large or small.

Industry recognition and awards
Recognition from industry peers has also played a pivotal role in Design Works Engineering’s rise to prominence. The firm was ranked among Maclean’s Top 100 Canadian Growth Companies in 2020 and received the prestigious HOTFIRM award in 2022, further cementing its position as one of the fastest-growing engineering firms in North America. These accolades reflect not just rapid growth but a deep commitment to delivering quality services across multiple sectors and geographies.

Adapting to challenges with resilience
In the face of significant challenges, Design Works Engineering has consistently proven its resilience. During the Alberta economic downturn in 2015 and more recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company adapted quickly and efficiently, ensuring that projects stayed on track while maintaining the safety and well-being of its employees.

“Our ability to pivot during difficult times speaks to the strength of our team and our processes,” says Haydar. “We’ve learned that adaptability is one of our greatest assets, allowing us to serve clients in any environment.”

Innovation at the core
A key factor behind the firm’s success is its unwavering commitment to innovation. From adopting the latest technology, such as Revit and BIM, to exploring sustainable design solutions, Design Works Engineering stays at the forefront of the industry. The company’s investment in energy modeling and building science ensures that clients benefit from the most efficient, environmentally responsible designs possible.

“Our focus on sustainability isn’t just about meeting current regulations,” says Haydar, “it’s about setting the standard for the future. We want to ensure that the buildings we design today are prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.”

The firm’s energy modeling software allows for sophisticated simulations that optimize building performance, reduce water consumption, and minimize environmental impact. This proactive approach has not only earned Design Works Engineering accolades from industry peers but has also led to cost savings for its clients.

A notable achievement in sustainability is the work done on the Edmonton Business Campus, where Design Works Engineering successfully implemented a suite of green building technologies that reduced the building’s carbon footprint by over 25 percent. This project stands as a beacon of what’s possible when cutting-edge technology and sustainable design principles come together.

Building for the future
Design Works Engineering’s portfolio boasts a wide array of projects, ranging from high-rise apartments to sprawling commercial campuses. Highlights include the 88 James Street Apartments in St. Catharines, the KW & Stratford Perth Humane Society in Kitchener, and Durham Modular Supportive Housing in Beaverton. Each of these projects showcases the firm’s ability to balance technical excellence with creative design, all while meeting client goals for sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

In Alberta, the Edmonton Business Campus stands out as a tour de force of sustainable design, while the PolyKar Building and the Mickelson National Golf Club in Calgary further demonstrate the firm’s versatility and commitment to excellence. Across Canada, from The Regatta Apartments in Nanaimo, British Columbia, to The Crossroads Development in Prince Edward Island, Design Works Engineering has left its mark on communities coast-to-coast.

Expanding internationally, the firm recently made waves with its work on the Mysk Resort & Condo Hotel in Orlando, Florida. As the team continues to expand its global reach, it’s clear that Design Works Engineering is well-equipped to meet the needs of clients across diverse markets and industries.

A people-first approach
At the heart of Design Works Engineering’s success is its people. Haydar and his leadership team have cultivated a culture that values diversity, creativity, and collaboration. The firm’s staff hail from more than 30 different countries, bringing a wealth of perspectives and experiences to each project.

“Design Works is not a company where people hide; it’s a company where the best in people is exposed,” says Haydar. This ethos has led to a work environment where innovative ideas flourish and employees are encouraged to think outside the box to solve complex problems.

To further support this culture, the company has embraced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, ensuring that every team member, regardless of their background, feels valued and empowered to grow. DEI efforts have resulted in an environment where unique perspectives are not just welcomed but celebrated, enabling Design Works Engineering to maintain a globally relevant outlook.

The company’s leadership places a high premium on professional development, continuously investing in its people through training, certifications, and opportunities for growth. “Our success is built on the shoulders of our team,” Haydar emphasizes. “We’re proud to have a group of professionals who are not only experts in their fields but are also passionate about what they do.”

A decade of giving back
Beyond its business success, Design Works Engineering is deeply committed to supporting the communities it serves. Over the years, the firm has contributed to numerous charitable organizations, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Alberta Health Services, and local initiatives such as the Grande Prairie Hockey Legends Program and the Swanavon Playground Society. One particularly close-to-heart project has been the firm’s collaboration with various Humane Societies, where its engineering expertise has helped enhance local infrastructure.

As the company looks forward to the next decade, Haydar is clear about one thing: “Our success is not just about profits or projects. It’s about the impact we’re making—on our clients, our communities, and the industry as a whole.”

Looking ahead
With 10 years of success behind them, Design Works Engineering is poised for even greater accomplishments in the future. The company’s continued focus on sustainability, innovation, and client satisfaction will undoubtedly guide its next phase of growth. As the firm expands into new markets and industries, it remains committed to its core values: delivering exceptional engineering solutions, fostering a collaborative and creative environment, and making a positive impact on the world.

As Haydar concludes, “Each year brings new challenges and opportunities. But through it all, we remain steadfast in our commitment to innovation, quality, and client satisfaction. We’re excited for what the next decade will bring.”

The post Going Global with Diverse People, Talent, and Solutions<p class="company">Design Works Engineering </p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Building on the company’s global success, alkus North America was established in 2017 to bring the countless advantages of its innovative polypropylene formwork solutions to the North American market, where it continues to be the standalone leader in the space.

A global standard
The alkus^® brand has become the international standard for formwork. Used by formwork manufacturers including MEVA since alkus was introduced; RMD Kwikform since 2005; Aluma since 2016; and Apache Industrial Services since 2019, the company continues to penetrate the market, now focused on growing its presence and impact in North America.

Understanding that construction is typically slow to innovate, with tried-and-true approaches held onto long into the future, the alkus^® panel offers innovative advantages that cannot be ignored. From CEO Matthew Pescador’s perspective, “It’s a system that replaces an older system, which is wood. Wood form facing is used in these forms all over the world, and [wood] would last a couple of years; then it’s labor-intensive to take that wood out, because the wood used to line the face of the form is no longer useable,” he explains.

“There’s a whole process of punching the rivets out and cleaning the panel frame and then putting a new piece of wood in. What alkus^® specifically does is it replaces the need to do that. So, when you put an alkus^® panel into your formwork panel, it can last 20 years or even longer,” he says. Like its wood counterpart, the composite panels come in a variety of sizes and thicknesses for every application and offer a life expectancy that outlasts wood 15 to 20 times longer. In fact, panels have been shown to last for more than 1,500 uses.

This durability is complemented by flexibility and reinforced by water-resistant qualities, which means no swelling, no rotting, no concrete discoloration, and consistent quality results when it comes to exposed concrete. This allows projects to advance to the next stage of construction faster, without the need to remedy the appearance of the concrete. The panels’ performance is backed by a seven-year warranty, which is unheard of in the market and speaks volumes to the company’s confidence in the performance of the product it manufactures.

Available in two varieties, the alkus^® AL—which is constructed with aluminum-reinforced polypropylene—can be used for wall, slab, and special structural elements, and the alkus^® GM—the company’s first, made from fiber-reinforced polypropylene—both offer immense advantages and savings over the wood alternatives.

Complete innovation
alkus^® panels are innovative in their own right, but it is how they are used as part of the alkus^® system that is the true differentiator of them on the market. Like most German-made systems, they are built to last.

“You’re not just necessarily buying a plastic plate that replaces wood; you are buying a system that replaces wood, and I say a system because it is fully articulated in its ability to be repaired and to be maintained,” explains Pescador. “alkus has come up with myriad different tools and repair processes for each individual situation so that the customer downstream has a tremendous toolbox when they buy into the system.”

The system includes an engineered drill bit that countersinks a hole for a polypropylene plug, the same material the panel is manufactured from. Once hammered in, it can be smoothed out using a specialized scraper to create a flush repair in a fraction of the time it would take to repair a wooden form. “That takes on average about two or three minutes to do for somebody who is skilled,” says Pescador. “It might take five minutes the first time you teach somebody how to do it. And that’s a key aspect of alkus: using the same materials essentially to repair it,” and in the process, saving tremendous resources by avoiding downtime and costs associated with replacement.

Another major benefit of the panel is that it saves contractors from having to repeatedly buy wood, thereby reducing costs over the long term. And, speaking of the long term, alkus’ product is sustainable; in both production facilities, there is a zero-waste system in use.

Describing the process, Pescador explains, “We use a machine, and we physically separate the aluminum and the polypropylene foam, which is on the inside, and the solid polypropylene, which is on the outside. We separate it in different recycling lines of operation and then the polypropylene gets sent back into our production lines and they remake panels out of it.”

It’s a “really beautiful thing,” he says, “because it’s green technology… it’s something that’s super sustainable because you can just reuse it and reform it over and over and over.”

Future-minded
Like the panels themselves, the trajectory of alkus North America is long-term. With a roughly estimated potential market valuation for composite form facing panels north of a billion dollars over the next 20 years, alkus is well-poised to take full advantage of the market as the standalone provider of these innovative formwork solutions.

“In three to five years, we want to be two and a half to three times the size we are now in terms of total revenue, so that’s a pretty tall order to grow the revenue, but the potential is really there,” shares Pescador, who believes the sky is the limit for alkus North America.

If demand is anything like is expected, the company will have to scale to keep up, which could see its North American footprint expand in the form of a domestic manufacturing presence—but only time will tell. Until then, the company will continue to amass market share by virtue of the inherent value it offers and the quality it produces. And, at a time when costs are higher than ever, skilled labor scarce, and uncertainty rife, alkus^® formwork is one way to optimize efficiency and performance on projects where concrete is the centerpiece.

The post The Future of Formwork Is Now<p class="company">alkus North America</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.

Since we last spoke in October 2023, “The single biggest change at [DY] would probably be us diving heavier into the line pump market. At the last World of Concrete show, we launched a new line pump called the HP-3250,” shares Marketing Director Braden Huggins.

Concrete line pumps feature stationary pumping units mounted on trucks or trailers; they are compact, deliver concrete through a hose, and are commonly used for residential projects such as driveways or pools. The company, which is based near Dallas-Fort Worth, also supplies truck-mounted boom pumps which feature long boom arms that flow huge volumes of concrete for large-scale work involving airports, sidewalks, tunnels, parking lots, dams, high-rises, and the like.

The HP-3250 Line Pump (the initials stand for ‘high pressure’) offers a maximum output of 144 cubic yards per hour and has a unique dual-pressure system. “Typically, these types of machines can only be in high or low pressure, and you have to swap out hydraulic lines [to change pressure]. It’s a long, convoluted process. With this machine, you just switch a lever,” explains Huggins.

The HP-3520 can be used with a chassis from manufacturers such as Western Star, Freightliner, and Mack. DY hopes this line pump will build on the success of its CTY-100 line pump, a popular product with a 14.1-cubic-foot capacity hopper that is mounted on a pickup truck. Recommended for urban settings or compact work environments, the CTY-100 is currently DY’s main concrete line pump.

As Huggins notes, the HP-3250 was presented at the January 2024 World of Concrete trade show in Las Vegas, a hugely important industry event. World of Concrete “is the largest concrete-related show in the world, and it’s the only opportunity for us to participate in something where our customer base would go. We don’t have regional shows; we don’t have international shows. This is basically it. It’s the biggest and best, and you almost have to be there,” says North American Sales Manager Mike Morris.

“In a way, it’s an honor [to be an exhibitor at World of Concrete]. They put all the concrete pump manufacturers in the center of the biggest hall. You are the star of the show in a way, as a concrete pump manufacturer. It’s a chance to show what you’ve got and really try to impress people,” adds Huggins.

This is not hyperbole; the World of Concrete website describes the gathering as “the industry’s ONLY annual international tradeshow dedicated to the commercial concrete and masonry construction industries.” This trade show has been going on for over half a century.

In addition to spotlighting new wares, DY enjoys the networking opportunities at World of Concrete, meeting current clients and prospective clients face-to-face. “That’s kind of the fun part of the trade show, too—the networking aspect. You meet these guys and over the years, you see them grow. You get to meet them again and again each year and catch up,” says Huggins.

The DY team is already preparing for the next World of Concrete show, scheduled for early 2025, also in Las Vegas. If all goes to plan, DY will officially unveil its new e-commerce site at this event, following a soft launch this fall.

“We’re very excited about that,” says Huggins. “Honestly, we delayed our launch of e-commerce because we want to do it right, set everything up our way, with our system and with our inventory. It’s going to be a game-changer.”

Long in the making, the new e-commerce site will augment the company’s existing capabilities. It has well-stocked brick and mortar parts and service centers and can deliver parts “for every concrete pump and model available,” within 24 hours. The new e-commerce site, featuring all manner of components, parts, pumps, and ancillary gear, takes this customer-first focus a step further.

“Our customer base can order their parts from a computer screen and have them shipped, as opposed to picking up their phone, calling, and then stopping by on their way home. It’s easier access for our customers [and allows them] to utilize their time better,” explains Morris. DY is eager to “expand our parts and service footprint throughout the country in the near future,” he adds.

As for other new products, DY will soon be introducing the TP-50 and TP-70 trailer pumps. Both are 16’ 2” inches long and 7’ 10” tall. They are trailer-mounted and require a hose for placement of the concrete. The TP-50 offers a rod-side output of 54 cubic yards per hour and piston-side output of 38 cubic yards per hour, while the TP-70 offers rod-side output of 73 cubic yards per hour and piston-side output of 48 cubic yards per hour.

“While the trailer pump market is fairly saturated,” the high-quality TP-50 and TP-70 should offer “a nice entry point for us,” says Huggins.

DY Concrete Pumps marks its tenth anniversary next year, an event it plans to highlight with an open house and celebratory marketing material. “It’s a big deal because, in the market, there’s a lot of uncertainty of any new company in the industry. When companies purchase heavy equipment, there’s a lot of trust required between not just the owner, but the operator and the manufacturer,” he says. “It’s a real partnership between manufacturer and end user.”

Morris says the company’s success is a testament to its leadership. “DY’s motto is ‘concrete pumps built by pumpers, for pumpers.’ We stand behind that in what we do. It all starts at the top here and the expectations of our leadership trickle down… You can buy a concrete pump anywhere, but you cannot buy our people. That’s what you’re getting when you get the DY product: industry-leading backing from industry-leading people.”

The company uses social media to help spread the word about its commitment to service and quality wares, and it is starting to get into more detailed, technical content. Such content might entail, say, a video detailing pump truck features or insights about solving common construction problems.

As for new hires, “You want someone who can be passionate about this stuff. Even though you don’t know what a concrete pump is when you come here, we want you to get excited, not necessarily about the product—maybe you don’t care about construction—but get excited about something, like the relationship with the customer, with your co-workers, or the skills you’re honing,” says Huggins.

Indeed, DY’s corporate culture is built around the idea that “everybody in this company is a salesperson. I don’t care if it’s the welder on the floor; I don’t care if it’s the accountant in the back,” says Morris. He does not mean that all staff members are required to go on sales calls, but that each employee must be mindful of representing the company at all times. The attitude and behavior of any staffer can influence sales down the line, for better or worse.

As DY approaches its tenth year in business, it faces certain political and economic headwinds. This is a U.S. presidential year, so there is uncertainty about future government policies that will affect businesses. On top of this, Chinese-made concrete pumps are making inroads on the North American market, driving down prices.

“There is nobody that manufactures a concrete pump—a boom concrete pump—in the United States, period. We’re all relying on external international markets, whether that be Korea or Turkey—where there’s a manufacturer—or China,” Morris says. However, concrete pumps from China are sometimes constructed with cost savings, not quality, in mind. If budget-conscious contractors show a preference for cheaper pumps, that impacts the revenue of suppliers of higher-end products. For its part, DY doesn’t source any steel from China, Morris notes.

Despite such challenges, he remains an optimist. “With over 300 delivered units, this company is just now getting traction in this market. I see this company in the next five years easily doubling in size,” he says.

The post New Products, New Plans, and a New E-Commerce Site<p class="company">DY Concrete Pumps</p> appeared first on Manufacturing In Focus.