Armed with an unshakable positive attitude, Doug Wittal, co-founder of DW Builders, did not participate in last year’s recession. Instead, he controlled his attitude towards the weak economy and in the process managed to redefine success.

If ever there was a person that exemplified the Residential Construction Person of the Year, it is Doug Wittal,” says friend and legal advisor Rick Heney, who has worked with Doug for seventeen years. “Not only has Doug built one of the most successful construction firms in the City of Kamloops, he has done so without losing the smile from his face or compassion for his fellow man. It is a pleasure to see that someone with a congenial attitude can succeed in business. His success in this industry gives trust to the statement that good guys can finish first.”

Doug Wittal’s list of awards, and his commitment to his community, underlines his company’s reputation as one of the most positive and high profile builders in the Central Interior of British Columbia. For, although he was born in North Vancouver, Kamloops has been his home since 1963. The fifty-three year old father of two says he knew from an early age that his destiny lay in the building industry. “I took the first pre-apprentice program offered at the college,” he said. “I went straight from high school.” Doug, whose passion and enthusiasm for rugby as a youth spilled into his studies of the building trades, was tough, eager and committed. By age twenty, he was a journeyman.

Doug began his apprenticeship in 1974 under local builder Bob Walsh, followed by guidance from Franz Vanderwoning. Four years later he set out on his own with his wife, Mona, who kept the books. Today his son Wayne and daughter Cassie work with their father, rounding DW Builders into a truly family affair. Together, the Wittal family has put its stamp of integrity and excellent workmanship on residential and commercial construction projects throughout the interior of BC.

“Even after all these years, I still leap out of bed to get to work each day,” says Doug. And his passion for the building industry remains as strong as in the early days.

“Things are not always easy,” explains Doug, “but we don’t let things slip. We take even the small things seriously. I love the challenge of solving problems and making things work.”

Doug incorporated his company and in 2006 he partnered with Mark Poulsen, a journeyman carpenter, former businessman and construction manager for Sun Rivers Development Corporation. Together, they invoked a vision to create a more diverse company. To facilitate this, they expanded the office space to better accommodate their five office staff. With new products constantly coming online, they are committed to keeping current.

“Today’s consumer is well educated. My motto is: If you think like you’ve always thought,” says Doug “you’ll get what you always got.”

About DW Builders

Doug Wittal credits Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) member Ben Nielsen of Dansk Alpine Construction with infusing him with the “right stuff” to create a successful business model. The company was one of the first in the province to be recognized as a certified R-2000 builder and is currently a registered Built Green™ BC Builder as well as a Certified Registered Builder with the Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia (CHBA BC).

“We’ve been building green for years,” says Doug. “We discard the gimmicks and discern what really works.”Because changing times bring new challenges, DW Builders recently completed an extensive Strategic Planning Process with staff and site supervisors. The partners encouraged all members of the team to participate in this extensive new plan.

Doug and Mark continue to work with a business consultant to implement the goals they have identified as they work toward the continuing growth of their company. Despite the economic downturn, DW Builders is committed to several high profile residential projects within the past year that include:

• Golf Ridge – previously built 24 units, now building two more duplexes
• Orchards walk – previously built 37 units, now building four new homes
• Cortland Park – first six-plex completed, started another six-plex plus one four-plex. First phase is now complete – twelve phases in total to be built.
• Saddleback Hills – six spec homes built and sold, and two underway
• West Brier Estates - six homes built plus two custom homes, and four underway
• Additional Custom homes – two under construction
• 2009 Y dream home (project management)

The company’s commercial renovation projects include:

• Interior Allied Tribes Memorial Project in Spence’s Bridge
• BDC office renovation
• Dr. Peter Gorman’s office at 851 Seymour Street
• Certified Prosthetic’s and Orthopedics office in Tudor Village

Clients Count

Long-term success rests on creating a reputation for quality work and gaining trust in the community. DW Builders excels in both arenas. With a complement of twenty employees, the company oversees between five and eight crews working on various projects at one time. The company has also developed human resource policies and operations protocols, so necessary for a growing company. These initiatives include employee orientation forms that cover general requirements and site requirements. And the company offers courses through CHBA BC to employees at its expense. It also keeps an eye out for new apprentices and encourages its employees to upgrade their skills.

While DW Builder has a stellar reputation for on-site work, it also pays close attention to its customers. Each new client receives a welcome letter, has weekly contact with staff and can count on updates as the project progresses. When the project is complete, clients receive a thank you gift. Residential clients also receive a comprehensive homeowner’s binder and follow-up service if required.

Doug Wittal respects and follows the CHBA Code of Ethics. That commitment has attracted significant business through word-of-mouth referrals. DW Builders have grown their business one satisfied client at a time. Wrote Roy and Anne Kahle: “It was a pleasure to work with Doug. He was flexible and graciously accepted our decisions relating to specific construction requests. His billings were at all times above reproach. Moreover, the construction costs were well within the terms of the contract. His framing crew requires special mention. They were quick and extremely accurate.  Both the carpet layers and the hardwood and tile floor layers expressed surprise at the accuracy of the angles throughout the house. In particular the stairs were singled out for their excellence. Your award as the top home builder in the recent Kamloops Daily News Poll is well deserved.”

Doug also credits his business success to his membership with CHBA BC - and he supports the association with his time and expertise. He is an active, enthusiastic member of the 180-member central interior association. During his twenty-one years with the association, he has served three terms as president of his local chapter. He is currently 1st Vice Chair for the Education and Training Committee of CHBA BC. Last September, Doug was elected 2nd Vice President of the CHBA BC Executive. To underline his commitment to the industry, Doug is also involved with NETAC, which provides national education and training leadership.

Excellence and integrity have paired to provide DW Builders with a string of awards for residential construction. Among these, the company has been honoured as the:

• Two-time Keystone Award winner in 2005 for Renovation and Single Detached Home
• Two-time Keystone Award winner in 2006 for Renovation and Resort Development
• Three-time Keystone Award winner in 2007 for Best Multi Family Development, Best Interior Design and Best Single Family Detached Home
• Four-time Keystone winner in 2009 for Best Single Family Detached Home and for Best Renovation in three different categories
• 1992 Georgie Awards® Winner for Best Residential Renovation in British Columbia (Doug Wittal Construction)
• Winner of the Kamloops Daily News, Readers Choice Awards for Best Home Builder for the past eleven years

Building Confidence

There is more to Doug Wittal than building his business and accepting awards. He is a community catalyst, bringing together people and ideas to benefit all.

Under Doug’s leadership, the local CHBA association partnered with Thompson Rivers University to provide carpentry students with hands-on experience.

DW Builders was recently instrumental in bringing to fruition the construction an EQuilibrium™ Demonstration House, a program supported by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This ambitious project, considered among Canada’s greenest, aims to build eco-friendly homes that are zero-net, generating only as much energy as they consume. Doug considers this a “great building adventure” with leading edge green technology. The project is well underway and is a testament to the organization’s competency level and the expertise of directors and members. “The last ten homes we have completed have been Built Green™ Gold or better,” declares Doug. “This is a natural next step for us to pursue.”

Key elements in the home include passive solar heating, photovoltaic panels and a solar hot-water heating system to take advantage of Kamloops’s more than 2000 hours of annual sunlight. Landscaping will include edible and/or drought-resistance landscaping.

The house, which is being constructed at the Sun Rivers Gold Resort Community, is slated for completion in April 2010 and will be open to tours for six months after it is finished. This home is also a training house, constructed from the ground up by students. It will ultimately be sold at a reduced cost to the YMCA for their annual Y Dream Home lottery fundraiser. 

Doug also took affirmative action on behalf of the building industry during the past several months of economic woes. He recognizes the power of the media to influence public perceptions and so organized a press conference to announce to the community that, “DW Builders was not participating in the so-called recession.” In his news release of March 2009, entitled “The Road is Rough but the Sky is not Falling”, Doug wrote: “we need to move from the sometimes misplaced sense of knowing our customer to understanding our customer. This requires a company to listen to the customer, create a dialogue with them; treat them as a business partner or co-creator.” He then added that the return to a vibrant economy starts with “each of us doing our part” emphasizing that “although we may not be able to control the current economy, we can control our attitude towards it.”

Two months later, determined to push away the prevailing doom-and-gloom, Doug announced his lead involvement in the $200 million-plus Sedric’s Adventure Resort and Theme Park. The 45-acre resort, which he considers his “dream project,” will be situated on the west side of Highway 5. It will initially feature a water park. A hotel, conference centre, arena and commercial space will follow. The project breaks ground in the spring of 2010 and will employ hundreds of people at the construction level. Doug also formed a committee of community leaders from the housing industry to “put forward a positive face” and to regularly inform the media about “good news stories.” To further raise the profile of the building industry in the community, he frequently appears on television and CFJC’s Home Improvement Expert Show. All this, and more, made him the natural choice for the 2009 Business Person of the Year, awarded by the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce.

Community Counts

Doug Wittal is no stranger to the residents and businesses in the Kamloops community. He annually sponsors the Thompson Rivers University Foundation Golf Tournament. His company is an annual lead sponsor for the Gur Singh Golf Tournament Fund raiser to benefit the brain injured, and he is sitting on the City of Kamloops Track and Field Club Steering Committee to bring the World Masters Association Games (3,000 athletes) to Kamloops in March 2010. This is the first time this event has been held in North America. Doug is organizing the building of a “throws” shed for the Kamloops Track & Field club to house their implements. Through his connections he has been able to have most of the building costs donated.

In November 2007, Doug used his personal time to travel to Swaziland, South Africa and build a home for AIDS victims. In November 2008, Doug was part of a volunteer team who worked with the Developing World Connections in Guatemala on a two-week project to build a home for 150 children. Doug has just returned from Cambodia with a DWC group who built thatched hut homes for underprivileged families. The group built five homes in seven days, including a soccer field. These are but a few examples of how Doug uses his considerable leadership and practical skills to benefit others.

At home, Doug takes an active interest in providing opportunities for young apprentices, giving work experience for four apprentices at a time. Over the years DW Builders has trained twenty-four apprentices, of which twelve have completed their total apprenticeship with him.

“My greatest pleasure is passing on what I have learned—not only with my children, who work in the business with me, but with those coming into the industry. And I feel good about leaving a legacy in Kamloops that the world can come and see,” he says referring to the Sedric water park project.

“Doug’s success lies in his approachable, down-to-earth personality,” says daughter Cassie. “He gets along with everyone, sees the best in people and can make things work whatever the situation. He’s a modest man who has great pride in his work. He’s a great dad, too.”  BCHM