Halbar Stainless Products Ltd., a family-owned business started by Cliff Baird, has grown into a prominent name in custom manufacturing while servicing the residential, medical, industrial and commercial markets. Now managed by Cliff’s sons, Dean and Trent Baird, Halbar operates out of a state-of-the-art 22,000-square-foot facility on the south side of Edmonton. In 2015, the company expanded to Kelowna, establishing Halbar Stainless Okanagan to serve clients across British Columbia while supporting Alberta operations.
Trent was a teacher before he joined the family business.
“Our father started the business with a partner and assumed full ownership in 1980. My brother, Dean, joined in 1986, and I joined in 1996,” says Trent. Looking for a career change and seeing the exciting opportunities in the custom stainless steel business, Trent has never looked back on his decision.
Since the doors opened in 1974, growth has been rapid.
“By 1990, we were in the building we currently operate in, and by 1999 we had to expand it by about 5,000 square feet. In 2008, continued growth meant we had to add to our facility.
“When we expanded to B.C. and opened Halbar Stainless Okanagan, Dean moved there to handle the operations. Around the same time, we started investing in newer technology, including a CO2 laser. This dramatically increased our production levels and capacity for larger, more complex projects.”
The family business is now on its third generation with Dean’s sons, Josh and Devon, working out of West Kelowna handling sales, estimating, and accounting. His daughter, Danielle, does CAD and drawings out of the Edmonton facility. Trent’s daughter, Madison, handles sales management and support out of Edmonton, and son-in-law, Jesse, is also involved as a shop manager.
The variety of products keeps them and the team very busy.
“Everything we do is custom,” says Trent. “We build a lot of carts for hospitals that are used in operating rooms. We also build stands and cabinets for medical use. There are projects for the food service industry along with plenty of architectural work; handrails, tabletops, counters, outdoor barbeque kitchens – we do it all and nothing is standard. It is always custom work on every job.
“We offer a full service to our customers from start to finish. We do design, consultation, site measuring, and coordination of installation. We also look after things after the fact. Installation is not the end of the project. We ensure our customers are supported long-term.”
The success of the business lies, in part, with the long-term employees that offer over a century of combined experience.“
What started with five employees when my father launched the business now has 34 between both locations. Our advantage is our large contingent of long-term employees who are more like part of the family than just employees,” says Trent. “For example, Andy Crighton has been here for 39 years. Willie Burton, our production manager, has been with us for over 40 years in a variety of roles. Jeff Dakin has 31 years of continuous service in production management and design. In 2016 we brought on CFO Lorelei Tauber. That just names a few. The wealth of knowledge, loyalty and dedication in our employees is second to none.“
We are very thankful for the people that work with us and for our family-run atmosphere. Being a family business means more than family owned. We have employees that work here alongside their children and we treat everyone like family. We really stress that here – that each team member is family. We back that up with social events, staff BBQs and more. Most of our staff treat this business as if it was their own and for that, we are truly grateful. Dean and I are proud that we have nurtured this level of commitment in our employees.”
While Halbar is adept at introducing the latest technologies into its operations, Trent admits that the pace of tech combined with the exodus of industry knowledge can be a challenge.
“There is great growth with technology, but the labour field just isn’t there,” he says. “A lot of young people have chosen not to move into the trades. This has created a huge gap in knowledge between the long-term employees and the newest and youngest ones entering the industry. At the current pace, there are not going to be a lot of industry experts in the field to help train, mentor, and hand down knowledge to the young people entering the job market.”
To help address this challenge, Halbar continues its tradition of offering apprenticeships in sheet metal and welding.
“What is very rewarding,” smiles Trent, “is seeing the success of the business my father started so many years ago. His goal was to see his children and their children continue business – and we are. We grow to keep up with the times by adding technology and equipment that keeps us on the curve moving forward, if not ahead. We are always looking to advance what we do and how we do it and develop new markets, and that will never fail to be exciting and rewarding.”
If there is one message Dean and Trent could ensure their clients knew, it would be this: “We care about what we are doing and why we are doing it. We care about our clients’ satisfaction and their success. We want our customers to be successful, which is why Halbar always goes the extra mile. If there is a problem, we go and we take care of it right away – not just by making calls, but by going to the site to examine the issue firsthand. In the words of our dad Cliff, ‘Good enough is not good enough.’”
With a company history spanning five decades, the Bairds are thrilled to still be working with some of the original companies that partnered with Halbar Stainless Steel.
“Over the past 20 years we have seen a lot of change in the family businesses we started with, being purchased by outside interests or folded into amalgamations,” Trent adds, “but they remain our clients through their evolutions. For this, we are deeply grateful. We don’t count our success by awards or trophies. The greatest reward is the fact that our clients have been with us long-term and continue to put their faith in us.”
The Bairds are also thankful for, “All of our previous and current suppliers and vendors. There have been some tough times economically over the years, but they have always supported Halbar because they believed in our brand and our vision.”
Trent concludes, “We put so much effort into all of our projects. Whether it is a cart for medical care, an artistic piece for a restaurant or a rail on a residential property, every project gets the same level of care and attention. We created and installed the stainless steel stairs in Rogers Place. We have done mine projects in diamond fields. We have built projects for seniors homes in Florida, Hawaii and across North America. Halbar has done so many interesting things over the years… and we wouldn’t have it any other way. What’s next? More growth. Continuing to update our equipment as technology changes. Advancing our abilities in CAD design. Investing in new markets.”
He smiles, “We are going to reach the next level by always keeping up with the times.” selected.