A Stony Mountain business continues to build on the success of its first decade while celebrating its 10-year milestone.
U Build Construction is a commercial general contracting company based out of Stony Mountain. Long-time childhood friends Brody Leathwood and Richard Maxwell launched the business in 2014. The best friends both grew up in Stony Mountain and went to school in Stonewall — and they’ve even been neighbours at the lake for the past decade and spend most summer weekends on the water together.
Initially, the entrepreneurial duo intended to become local homebuilders. They started from humble beginnings, working together in a small bedroom in one of their homes.
“The goal was to quit our full-time jobs and make a go of working together, which at the time was the only thing that mattered,” Leathwood recalled.
“We started very small, renovating small spaces within the residential sector, and navigated through to who we are today.”
Today, their large shop and office is a hub of activity in Stony Mountain, with more than 30 full-time employees.
“The business has evolved significantly as we’ve expanded our clientele from residential to commercial as well as went from one employee to over 35 full-time staff — including project managers, estimators, site superintendents, site staff and operators as well as multiple administrative staff,” Leathwood said.
“We have strategically hired very hardworking, driven, smart and motivated people to form our team. We started painting basements 10 years ago to becoming one of the fastest-growing commercial contractors in the province, competing weekly with the largest general contractors in the industry.”
Today, U Build Construction’s serves clients in the commercial, industrial, retail and institutional sectors.
“We specialize in design builds, new construction management, large-scale additions, fit-ups, envelopes and site or civil works,” Maxwell said.
“We pride ourselves on our hard work and reputation as well becoming one of the fastest growing commercial contractors in Manitoba.
Keeping close to their roots, the main office and shop is located in Stony Mountain with future plans for a new state-of-the-art office, warehouse and shop.
For the business partners, one highlight was their work on Ecole Regent Park School, which included a brand new gym, classrooms and a stand-along facility.
“This was a very large job with an diverse, educated and talented project team that had a two-year schedule,” Maxwell said. “We worked diligently with the Province of Manitoba, division leaders, professional architects and engineers.”
Other points of pride include projects for Tech Voc High School, Manitoba Water Services Board and the Swan River RCMP detachment.
On July 31, the company celebrated its 10-year anniversary at Bel Acres with a round of golf followed by lunch.
“It’s a great moment to finally be able to take a breath and look behind at all the company accomplishments and milestones,” Leathwood said.
“We truly feel we are just getting going, and we are all very motivated to continue growing and ensuring our clients are always very well looked after in the process. Nothing better than getting our team together as often as possible to enjoy all the great moments along the way.”
Looking ahead, Leathwood and Maxwell plan to continue building their team so they can remain competitive for large tendered jobs.
“We started very small, so we are very proud to be the leaders of one of the fastest-growing contracting companies in the province,” Maxwell said.
“We are beyond thankful for our talented team and our professional clients that continue to trust and support us.”
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