November 27, 2006

ASSOCIATIONS

Derksen to change course at MCAC

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

Staff Writer

Winnipeg native James Derksen, chair-elect of the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada (MCAC), set his sights on a career in the trade when he was in his late teens. But first, he had to convince his father Henry that it was a sound idea.

“My sister and I were strongly encouraged to get an education,” recalls Derksen, who studied drafting in high school and graduated from Kildonan East Secondary School in 1978.

“My dad wanted me to become an engineer. After I was accepted at the University of Manitoba, I turned to him and said, ‘I don’t really feel like going. Why can’t I go to work for you?’ ” His father, then a partner in family-owned Derksen Plumbing & Heating, reluctantly agreed.

Derksen worked summers for the firm and relished being outdoors and working with tools. He spent the next three years “doing the worst possible jobs the company could hand out.

“I was the guy doing the hauling, digging, jackhammering and crawling through the crap,” he recalled with a laugh. “My dad finally said, ‘I think he wants to become a plumber. We’d better train him.’”

Now 46, Derksen hasn’t looked back. He joined the company as a first-year apprentice and became a journeyman in 1983. Three years later, he was made an estimator. Derksen worked his way up through the ranks, becoming commercial manager in 1988, a partner in 1993 and then general manager in 2003.

“It’s been a great life,” Derksen said. “When I started out, I was just interested in becoming a plumber. I certainly never thought I would be operating a company like this.” His partners in Derksen Plumbing & Heating (1984) Ltd., as the firm now is known, are his cousins Brian and Kurt.

The company, which opened an office in Edmonton 18 months ago, works in Manitoba and Alberta as well as northwestern Ontario.

"I certainly never thought I would be operating a company like this."

— James Derksen Chair-Elect MCAC

Derksen has been active in the Mechanical Contractors Association of Manitoba since the late 1980s and is a past chair of that organization. He was elected to the MCAC board five years ago.

MCAC represents close to 1,000 companies engaged in plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, welding and fire suppression, primarily within the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.

Derksen takes over the MCAC helm during the association’s upcoming 65th annual national conference in Puerto Rico. He has identified several priorities for his two-year term of office:

• Establishing guidelines, training and possible certification programs in the commissioning field. MCAC established a task force in 2005 to look at this area. The association also is working with the Canadian Standards Association to develop a commissioning standard.

• Getting the newly minted Mechanical Service Contractors Association of Canada off the ground. The MCAC board has agreed to move forward with establishment of an organization to represent companies that specialize in service and repair contracting. A membership drive is expected to get under way early in the new year.

• Expanding educational and training programs, offered through the Canadian Mechanical Contracting Education Foundation.

Succeeding Dartmouth, N.S.-based Tom Vincent as chair, Derksen is enthusiastic about initiatives being undertaken by the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada.

MCAC is one of the founding members of the coalition, which recently held a seminar in Toronto on getting paid and paid promptly.

“It was tremendous,” Derksen said of the event. “We’d like to take the seminar across Canada.”

The coalition’s other priorities are promotion of unaltered forms of contracts and of bid depository use.

Print | Email | Comment