Sheet Metal is in Their Blood
By Natalie Bruckner
In many ways, the sheet metal industry and in particular steel buying sector here in Canada has, over the past two years, seen some of its biggest shifts in history. First there were the steel tariffs imposed under the Trump administration, and then along came COVID-19.
For new business owners in the industry this could have been make or, more likely, break time, and yet, for Mike Davis and Cindy Pugh, co-owners of Samson Metals Ltd. in B.C., they took it in stride, rolled with the punches, and have come out the other end smiling.
That’s quite something for the duo who, back in 2018, decided to take the plunge and purchase Samson Metals Ltd. from long-time owner William Howell.
“Cindy and I have a history of working together that goes back to 1996 when I started with Mercury Metals,” Davis says. “Cindy’s dad was my boss at the time and had a big influence on my career. Cindy joined the company in 2000, and while we went our own ways for a while, our paths kept crossing. Eventually we ended up working together again for Bill. She’s like my sister in so many ways.”
When Howell decided to retire from the business, he offered to sell the company to Davis, who approached Pugh with the idea of becoming co-owners. “Cindy could cover one side of the business with accounting, and I could cover the other in the shop,” Davis says. “It was a perfect mix.”
It’s obvious when you speak to Davis and Pugh that they have a certain synergy. Combine that with their passion for the industry and you have the recipe for success.
Sheet metal is in their blood, both coming from a long line of sheet metal workers. “My dad was the foreman out in the shop and before that he was a journeyman/foreman in the field,” says Pugh. “He was very involved with SMACNA and Local 280 as well. I grew up with it. I remember being 12 years old and helping my dad install a roof on my house.”
For Davis, sheet metal was always his path, too. “I started in the Mercury shop and was trained in the union’s apprenticeship program,” he says. “My brother and I both started with Mercury at the same time. I went into the shop and he went into the field and ended up at Apollo Sheet Metal after that. It was a coin flip, really, who went into the shop. It worked out great for both of us. I am glad I ended up where I did, as my path led to being co-owners of Samson with Cindy.”
Today, Davis and Pugh run one of the leading businesses in the manufacture of metal roll-formed products and structural sections. Alongside their team of about a dozen employees, they run a highly unique and specialized business.
As you can imagine, their portfolio of projects is vast and varied. From the YVR expansion to a daycare centre, and one project that Pugh is extremely excited about—her old elementary school that is currently being rebuilt. But for Pugh and Davis, the industry is about much more than the projects. It’s about being part of something bigger, something more akin to a family, whether that’s their own team or SMACNA, with which they are both incredibly involved.
“When we took over Samson, joining SMACNA-BC was one of the first things we did,” explains Pugh. “There is so much knowledge within, and there is also something special about being part of a community like that. SMACNA has just always been a common name in our lives, and it provides such great networking opportunities.”
Davis currently sits on the SMACNA-BC’s Joint Conference Board, because, as he says, “It’s great to just be involved, and as I’ve always told my kids, if you don’t vote you can’t complain!”
While it’s fair to say that, due to external factors, the road hasn’t exactly been smooth for Davis and Pugh in their first two years as business owners, they are enthused about the future and having the right support around them to continue to grow.
“It’s been a challenging time recently, but we were fortunate to not really have been affected by COVID,” Davis says. “We are, however, looking forward to things going back to normal. Zoom calls are great, but even when you are at a meeting face-to-face it is afterwards, when you go for a bite to eat, that the real networking begins . . . I’m looking forward to that again, being able to travel on some of the SMACNA trips, have a beer with my friends, and watch the Seahawks!”
Pugh is also enthused about what 2021 will bring, but for now she is enjoying running the business with Davis, and when she has time, getting out on the water in her kayak and helping as a volunteer district deputy commissioner and as a unit guider and treasurer with the Girl Guides.
Having navigated through these times, what advice would Pugh and Davis give to anyone considering buying a business in the industry as they did? “For us, the transition of buying the company was easy as we were running it long before that, but what we learned early on was take care of the people that work for you, and they will take care of you,” says Davis. ■
