Trades training part of strong foundation for alumnus
For Steven Collicutt, President and CEO of Collicutt Energy Services, common sense, a good grounding in his trade, and a positive attitude are the keys that have enabled the Holland College graduate to run his own company successfully for almost twenty years.
With approximately 530 employees, Collicutt Energy Services (TSE:COH) is the third largest employer in Red Deer, Alberta, and the largest employer in the manufacturing sector in the area. The company provides maintenance services, equipment design, engineering and fabrication to western Canada?s energy industry from 11 branches across Alberta and British Columbia.
A native of O’Leary, PEI, and one of 14 children, Steven’s beginnings were a far cry from Red Deer, Alberta. He started his trades training as a Grade 9 student at the Prince County Vocational School in the late 1970s. Back then, his goal was to own a truck shop.
“I knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur from the time I was very young,” he explained in a recent interview. “The vocational program gave us the opportunity to try all different kinds of trades. Although I enjoyed many of them, mechanics was my love.”
Steven says that the instructors he had throughout his training were of the highest calibre,
“I enjoyed every minute of my training, and I learned a lot from my instructors. They were great mentors and teachers, and taught me not just about my trade, but about ethics, too.”
By the time he graduated from the Motor Vehicle Repair Program in 1979, the vocational school had been absorbed into Holland College. Soon after graduation, Steven went to Calgary for a few weeks to size up the opportunities.
“I kind of thought that I’d end up moving off the island to find work, especially when the unemployment rate was so low out west.”
There was a strong demand for trades people in the Calgary area, and by augmenting his credentials he was able to acquire his heavy-duty mechanic ticket - he also has a millwright ticket. Steven only returned to PEI briefly to fetch his car, and then returned to Alberta. Shortly after his arrival, he started working with a company in the natural gas industry, traveling throughout western Canada as a heavy-duty mechanic working on natural gas engines and compressors.
“My former employer was great to work for. So when I saw the need for services in central Alberta, I approached the company about setting up a branch office. They declined, so I decided to start a business of my own.”
He laughs when he remembers the day he handed in his resignation.
“Oil prices dropped two dollars a barrel that day, and my boss asked me if I wanted to reconsider leaving. I probably shouldn’t have started a company in such tough times, but I figured I could make a decent living for my family. I felt quite confident, although it was a difficult decision to leave the company I was working for.”
Steven made sure that he didn’t burn any bridges when he left his former employer, but with his wife Lorna, he was determined to establish his own business. Steven’s brother Scott, also a graduate of Holland College, joined the couple a few months later. It turned out that the demands of lean times were a perfect fit for the type of service delivery that Steven envisioned for his customers.
“That east coast ethic of making do with what you’ve got placed us in good standing. I was always looking at how I could keep my customers’ equipment run-times high and the cost-per-horsepower down.”
From the beginning, Collicutt Energy Services had a different approach to business. Steven prides himself on the company’s ability to institute changes quickly to meet the needs of their customers.
“We pay attention to our customers. We listen to what they have to say, and make a point of being adaptable to meet their needs.”
The company has always encouraged employees to ascribe to that principle, and since its beginnings has fostered an environment that ensures that customer needs remain the first priority.
In an effort to ensure that his workforce was fresh, enthusiastic and fully engaged in meeting the challenges of clients, Steven and Lorna decided that it would be better to employ people who had not worked in the industry before, so they could train them the “Collicutt Way”.
The Collicutts continually encourage enthusiasm and adaptability within their workforce, ensuring a level of creativity that’s invaluable when it comes to helping customers meet new challenges.
“We never have a problem with people’s skills, that’s secondary to their attitude. If they don’t have the right attitude, we don’t have the time for them.”
In June of 2000, Collicutt Energy Services Ltd. became a publicly traded company, using the net proceeds from its initial public offering to expand the company’s fabrication capacity.
Even though the company has gone public, it remains very much a family business. Steven continues to serve the company as President and CEO, his wife Lorna is Director of Administration, and his brother Scott is Vice President of Sales and Marketing. It’s a combination that has worked successfully for almost two decades, and doesn’t show any signs of fading in the near future.
Steven and his family are active in their community as well as their business. The city’s state-of-the-art leisure and wellness facility is called the Collicutt Centre, and is one of many charitable causes to which the family and the company contribute. Looking back on the training he received at Holland College, Steven says that there is little that he would change, with the exception of perhaps more of a focus on the skills required to run a business to help employees to understand why some decisions are made.
“Again, it’s a matter of engaging employees in the company, and encouraging employees to participate. Even if you are working for someone else, understanding how the business works will make you a better employee.”
Asked if he has any advice for students in the trades today, he said it’s important that trades people remember the importance of workplace safety.
“I’ve seen lots of people go by the wayside due to injuries on the job. You have to use your head when you’re working in physically demanding situations if you want to stay in the workforce.”
A good work ethic, enthusiasm, creativity, close attention to detail and the ability to listen carefully to what others are saying - these are all traits that Steven sees as invaluable in his employees. But perhaps the most important trait of all is a passion for their chosen field. If an employee has that, all the other aspects will fall into place. And better still, as Steven says, “If you can enjoy what you do, you never ‘work’ a day in your life.”
For this Holland College graduate, twenty years of enjoying what he does has not only enabled him to build a wonderful life for himself and his family, it has also enabled him to become a major contributor to the well-being of his community.
For more information about this release, please contact: Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Wednesday, May 18, 2005
