Sasco Contractors Ltd. employees
VICTORIA – Sasco Contractors Ltd. celebrated their eighth anniversary on Vancouver Island in the grandest style by completing the massive Canada Food Inspection Agency Labs Canada project in Sidney for the federal government.
“This was a highly specified project that employed over 30 union electricians at its peak,” explains Ian Bartlett, Regional Manager Vancouver Island for Sasco. “We continue to provide solutions to complex electrical problems and projects, but we have expanded into taking on much larger ground-up projects.
“We are now moving on to a new 3-building, 206-unit multi-residential complex with a parkade, In Langford for Starlight investments. We are also currently working with the City of Victoria and Seaspan on two major distribution upgrades,” he states. “We are now known in Victoria as a well-respected, full-service electrical contractor that can take on any electrical project small and large. We have earned the respect of consultants, suppliers and general contractors.”
The Canada Food Inspection Agency Labs Canada building in Sidney, a Sasco Contractors Ltd. project
Sasco started in business on the lower mainland in 1985, and Bartlett came on board with the opening of their Vancouver Island office in 2016. Bartlett was born raised on Vancouver Island but spent a number of years on the mainland where he worked as an Electrician and completed his electrical training at BCIT. It was during these years that Craig Paquin, now the President, and Bartlett met.
Bartlett Moved back to the island in 2010 to start a family and Paquin stayed in touch. With continued growth, Paquin presented an opportunity for Bartlett to open a branch for Sasco in 2016. With experience as a project and service manager with Red Seal, Master Electrician certification, he was deemed a perfect fit for Sasco on the Island.
Sasco Contractors Ltd is full-service electrical contractor specializing in all facets of electrical and communications work for new commercial, Multi-residential and Institutional construction projects and renovations.
“We had some key advantages when we started as long-term clients wanted us to do more work on the Island, but many of our customers have been new to us as well,” he notes.
Sasco also specializes in fire alarm upgrades, highly specified distribution upgrades, and working in environments where power must be maintained, and in occupied buildings where it looks as though they have never even set foot on site.
Sasco Contractors Ltd.’s handiwork inside the building
“We also maintain and install electrical infrastructure in remote locations on islands and up on mountains where material delivery and handling are very challenging,” he adds.
Sasco was founded in 1985 by Hank Paquin and his business partner, Brian Hirakida. Hank’s son Craig Paquin became a part-owner in 2006 and he serves as President.
“My focus has been to build relationships with service clients, engineers, general contractors, suppliers and municipalities while managing a team to estimate and manage projects from new buildings, fire alarm systems, elevators and distribution upgrades, as well as tenant improvements,” Bartlett points out.
He says that the company grew steadily up to the pandemic, but like a lot of companies, were challenged to maintain work and grow during those difficult years.
“We were lucky to have some key projects and clients at the time which helped to keep some of our key foreman and installers working,” he recalls. “Coming out of Covid we managed to get involved with some larger projects which enabled us to build our office staff to include a new coordinator and project manager. We are continuing to grow, as we’ll be adding another project manager/estimator in the new year.
“Our goal is to continue to build our team of well experienced and organized foreman and installers and provide quality, well managed installations that we all can be proud of and keeps our clients looking to Sasco for their future projects and endeavors.”
The team is excited to have the tools on hand and be on a size to take on larger projects, as Bartlett observes there are good opportunities available for local contractors that can take on projects worth $5 million or more.
Bartlett says the keys to Sasco’s success continues to be “Quality Installations, excellent project management and providing electrical Solutions on complex projects where we design and manage the work and sub trades from start to finish as a general contractor.”
Business Examiner Staff
