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Edmonton company continues to grow by focussing on new avenues of recycling.
Visco Demolition Contractors isn't about to stay static. Instead of focussing its efforts just on tearing down structures, the Edmonton-based company is always seeking new ways to expand into related services that keep Visco on the leading edge of the demolition industry.
Case in point, Visco Demolition Contractors added a service last year with its commercial blue box recycling program that provides bins to construction sites for collecting construction debris. When the bins are full, Visco picks up the debris and, in most instances, converts it into a recycled product instead of landfilling it.
"Recycling saves landfill space, which is something we've become very aware of during the past because, so it's much more environmentally friendly," said President/Owner Neil Visser. "We've gradually built up to a point where we're recycling nearly 99% of everything on a demolition project. Adding the blue box program encourages others to do the same".
Recycling the material on its own projects is no small feat for Visco Demolition Contractors, which tackles some of the largest tear-downs in and around the company's home of Edmonton, Alberta. Like its gradual rise in recycling, Visco has continued to steadily increase the size of its projects, which today involve mainly large commercial sites.
Visco Demolition Contractors grew from Visco Rentals & Contractors, which Neil Visser founded in 1968 as an excavation and utility installation company. He occasionally did small demolition projects as filler when other work was slow. That other work came to a near grinding half in the late 70's, leaving Visser with the tough choice of continuing to struggle along in hopes things would pick up or go out of business.
But Neil's wife, Shirley, had another idea. "There was a lot of competition bidding on the same job, and I told Neil, 'Why don't you go into demolition and drop the other? You enjoy doing that as filler work, why not make it a full-time venture?'" recalled Shirley. "It made sense to me".
A Family Atmosphere
Shirley remains active in the business, serving as Office Manager for the company, which switched its name to Visco Demolition Contracts. The Vissers' sons Ron and Corey are General Manager and Superintendent respectively, and Ron's wife, Jody, is Office Administrator.
Ron and Corey started working with their dad around the time of the switch, working on weekends and holiday breaks cleaning bricks for spending money. By the time they were out of high school, the brothers were running equipment and upon graduation came on board full-time at Visco Demolition.
"That was in the mid-1980s and we were doing some fairly large projects by then," remembered Ron. "In the early '90s, the economy really took off and we started on a large 10-story building here in Edmonton. Our customer base grew, and we became a prominent demolition contractor in this area. We have seen steady increases in our market share ever since."
Foresight Leads to Expanded Services
Playing the biggest role in Visco Demolitions success has been the Vissers foresight and willingness to build upon the foundation it started with the switch to demolition. As the business was taking off in the early 1990s, the family was one of the first to recognize the value of recycling as part of the demolition process. They set up a recycling yard and started bringing in concrete to crush into aggregate.
"Before that, we were taking it to the landfill, which incurred dumping fees," said Ron. "Recycling avoids that and turns the concrete into useful products. We stockpiled the raw concrete at first and contracted out the crushing, but we've since bought our own crushing equipment. We crush at our yard, but we also crush on site at a project. That's even better for the environment because the material is often reused right there, which saves trucking, and in turn, fuel costs and emissions."
Last year, Visco Demolition Contractors turned more than 200,000 tonnes of concrete into recycled aggregate, but the company's recycling efforts extend beyond concrete. As part of the demolition process, the company had previously taken metal products to scrap yards for reuse. Now, it does on-site processing for customers who have scrap metal they want to clean up.
"We go right to the customer's location and take care of everything," Ron pointed out. "Visco can do that for large industrial plants or someone who has a regular supply of excess metal. With our 'Weigh and Pay' system, they know exactly what each load weighs and what it's worth to them".
In the past few years it's added wood to the list by shredding lumber to make three types of wood chips: landscaping, compost and "hog fuel" that can be sold for energy use.
Komatsu matches Visco Values
Another area where the Vissers take environmental impact seriously is in their equipment choices. They look for the latest machinery that's not only fuel-efficient, but also reduces emissions too. In the past year, Visco Demolition Contractors has taken steps to reduce its carbon output by more than 20 percent by running a truck fleet with the latest diesel particulate technology and using biodegradable hydraulic and engine oils.
To Visco's fleet of Komatsu equipment, which ranges from a PC750 down to a PC45, the company has added many new Galeo models, including a PC400-8, a PC300HD-8, and two PC300 excavators, as well as a new WA380 wheel loader. The company's six PC400s and eight PC300s are all equipped with shears, thumbs, grapples and other specialty attachments.
It's important that the equipment we use reflects our values of efficiency and environmental protection, and Komatsu really does," said Ron. "Komatsu uses the latest technology, such as its KOMTRAX remote machine-monitoring system, which allows us to track fuel usage, idle time and other valuable information. It's helped keep our costs to process and move materials low. It equates to better profitability, and that means we can put more money back into expanding the business."
That's helped Visco Demolition Contractors add additional pieces, eventually clearing its entire excavator fleet of anything other than Komatsu. "We bought eight Komatsus in about a five-year span, and each one continued to run without a major problem from day one," said Ron. "We eventually replaced our original Dash-3 model, and at the time it had close to 45,000 hours on it. In the environments we used it in, that's a real testament to the value Komatsu provides. We still have several Dash-5 and Dash-6s we're using along with the newer models, and we plan on keeping those for the foreseeable future."
Continued Customer Care
Even though it does large, often hard-bid projects, the company still does small work when called upon, and the balance of the type of work it does has tipped toward a 50-50 split between demolition projects and recycled aggregate production.
"I'd eventually like to get 30-30-30, with the other component being the new roll-off blue box service," said Ron. "At the same time, I don't want to dilute our core business because that's what we've built on. We still do the occasional small tear-down for a long-time, repeat customer. After all, that's where we got our start. Everything we've added to Visco Demolition Contractors has made it stronger, and we want to continue that trend, but that won't be the case if we don't take care of our customers."
"With its experience and expertise, Visco takes on challenging projects, including this bridge demolition, taking place while traffic moves in the far lanes."
"Here, Visco Demolition Contractors demolishes an old grain elevator using a Komatsu PC400LC excavator."
"A Visco operator loads a truck at a demolition site using the company's new Komatsu WA380 wheel loader. "It's important that the equipment we use reflects our values of efficiency and environmental protection, and Komatsu really does," said General Manager Ron Visser."
"Visco Demolition Contractors workers use Komatsu PC400LC and PC300LC excavators to feed a crusher and stockpile material at a demolition site. Visco is devoted to recycling as much demolition material as possible, including on-site concrete crushing providing a new roll-off service."
"Neil and Shirley Visser founded what was to become Visco Demolition Contractors in 1968. Neil is President/Owner and Shirley is Office Manager. The Edmonton company specializes in large, commercial projects with a keen focus on recycling materials. It also sells recycled aggregate and wood chips and recently added a roll-off blue box service.
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