Ellisdon's Smith a Canadian construction titan

EllisDon co-founder Don Smith built a construction legacy across Canada which transcends the simple bricks-and-mortar of its projects.

Smith, considered one of the "great Canadian success stories", passed away on July 16 at the age of 89.

"He helped change the industry in a big way," said Toronto Construction Association (TCA) president John Mollenhauer.

London, Ont. contractors Smith and brother David Ellis Smith began the company on April Fool's Day 1951 with only four employees.

"He started with a wheelbarrow," said Walter Woloshyn who worked with Smith for over 25 years. "I have a lot of respect for what he did and how he did it. He was a great guy to work with it and look at where the company is today."

The company quickly became the first Canadian contractor to own its own tower crane, in 1956, and the first to fully computerize its accounting and cost systems in 1968.

Today the company completes over $3 billion in volume annually, has worked all over the globe on every type of project, and is nearly 50 per cent owned by its 1,600 employees. Smith's son Geoffis now the company's president and chief executive officer and sons Michael and David are the vicepresident of marketing and business development and vice-president of project management respectively.

"It's recognized globally as a formidable builder and it's nice to be able to travel the world and see EllisDon or a PCL sign and say these are Canadian success stories," said Mollenhauer.

"The leaders that brought them there and the folks that worked with them have to be complimented for having achieved such overwhelming success."

Woloshyn said EllisDon has grown consistently from the day it was founded until today.

"Don never looked back. I don't think there's ever been a year, regardless of all the downturns in the economy, that the company has ever had any major setbacks vis-à-vis volumes."

One of Smith's proudest achievements with the company was constructing the fully guaranteed $400 million SkyDome project, now the Rogers Centre, which had the first fully retractable roof.

"He kind of bet the farm (on it). It was a tremendous undertaking," said Woloshyn.

"Had he failed at it and had we failed, it probably would have collapsed EllisDon. The future of the company really rested on the project.

"It went well through good management and good staff. We worked hard at it."

The project was an engineering and construction feat as the technology was so new at the time.

"It was an extraordinary achievement and it's still a Toronto landmark, it's a global landmark," said Mollenhauer, whose company, the Mollenhauer Group of Companies, was part of another consortium that bid on the project in 1985. "The whole initiative speaks volumes about what Don was like as a person. He was a pit bull, he didn't know how to back down. He was very entrepreneurial. It was about success, period."

Smith was a tenacious person who got things done. If the company was having issues with surety bonding, he would knock on people's doors.

"In those cases, with surety companies, he said 'I'm Don Smith and this is what I have'. In a lot of cases, he put up his personal valuables, like his house, at different times, to secure the bonding that was required to do the work," said Woloshyn.

EllisDon has ranked among the 50 best managed companies in Canada for several years in part due to the company's culture. Many senior Canadian construction executives today received their start at the company.

"It was a very entrepreneurial company. He gave you a lot of rope and it was up to you to make it work," said Woloshyn.

"He had a lot of faith, and he put a lot of responsibility on his staff. He paid them well, looked after them well, and they had a sense of duty and responsibility to perform. He got a lot of performance out of a lot people."

Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) president Clive Thurston ranks Smith among the visionaries who helped build Ontario and Canada.

"These guys did what they thought was right, they built, they had vision, they weren't afraid to take on anything. Don is one of the finest examples of that," he said.

"EllisDon is just an amazing company right now and moving forward in a lot of things. He's lefta great legacy and he will be missed and it is part of our construction history."

EllisDon was just one part of life for Smith, who was a committed philanthropist, raising funds and support for the Boys and Girls Club, Fanshawe College and many other charities and individuals. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews for his stands against bigotry and unfairness.

He also worked with David Peterson to rebuild the Ontario Liberal Party from the bottom up.

A celebration of Smith's life will be held at the London Hunt Club on July 23 at 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, "Don would ask you to multiply that cost by at least 10 and donate it today to your favourite charity," says his obituary.

Sidebar

Don Smith, co-founder of EllisDon, considered his company's construction of Toronto's SkyDome, now the Rogers Centre, as one of his proudest achievements.