Zoe Mitchell is President of Durwest Construction Management Inc.
By Mark MacDonald
VICTORIA – Durwest Construction Management Inc. will be building for the future under new ownership.
An umbrella of companies came together to purchase Durwest: RAM Consulting under their parent company BDI Holdings, Quattro Constructors and Etro Construction acquired Victoria-based Durwest, which was established in 1979 and moved to full-time construction management in 1983.
“The conversations started over a year ago with RAM’s leadership team expressing interest in acquiring Durwest,” notes Durwest President Zoe Mitchell. “They felt the organizations had similar values: focusing on people, the community and delivering quality work. The conversation continued and evolved.
“Well into the acquisition negotiations, Etro had a conversation with a representative from Quattro, and mentioned that many of their existing clients have upcoming projects on Vancouver Island. Etro preferred not to undertake these projects without a reliable local partner to help deliver these projects without compromising on quality or reputation. They have found that partner in Durwest.”
Quattro Constructors, based in Vancouver, has built milestone infrastructure projects on a local and national scale, including Kicking Horse Canyon highway, emergency repairs on Highway 8 in the B.C. interior, and in Vancouver, the Broadway Subway and airport fuel facilities at Vancouver International Airport.
Etro Construction’s headquarters are in Burnaby, and their resume includes multi-family residential projects and buildings like B.C. Place, First West Credit Union and high-end retail outlets like Arc’Teryx Metrotown and Pacific Farms Markets.
RAM Consulting, also of Vancouver, has a team of professional engineers, technologists, project managers, construction managers, designers, inspectors and estimators and builds infrastructure projects throughout Western Canada, including the new St. Paul’s Hospital. South Fraser Perimeter Road (Highway 17) and the expansion of the Centerm container terminal at the Port of Vancouver.
Durwest is currently building Royal Roads University’s new West Shore Campus, affordable housing project Michigan Square, and just completed the Western Canada Marine Response Corp. (WCMRC) base at Beecher Bay in Sooke.
Mitchell joined Durwest last year. “When Darcy Kray, who had been our president for 40 years, announced his retirement a year ago they started a recruitment search,” she recalls. “When the announcement was made, somehow that information made it over to the leadership at BDI, the owners of RAM, and they connected with Darcy. BDI’s mission is to work with great people, they find good companies and make them great, and we have a 40-year foundation, a fabulous reputation, long-standing clients and a great team working for us. This will help us grow in a sustainable manner.
Mitchell notes that Durwest will remain autonomous operationally. “Our management stays intact, and I have a new board that I report up to,” she says. “They have other companies that also run independently. Each company develops their own strategic plan and are accountable to deliver on them.”
Mitchell is excited about the new partnership. “It’s an exciting opportunity and great timing,” she states. “We have ambitious goals and our new partners will us help achieve them with a new velocity because we have expanded resources to collaborate with.
“There’s a lot of energy and excitement, and our new partners are progressive, they embrace technology and innovation, and this will help Durwest. We’re all ready to embrace that.”
