The only thing customers can't get at Wm. P Somerville (1996) in Burnaby, BC is a bad experience. The company might be a leader in providing quality fasteners, tools and equipment to the construction, roofing and sheet metal sectors, but above all else, its customer-driven focus is what puts Somerville at the top of its game.

The large, fully equipped distribution plant offers a huge inventory of decking, drywall and sheet metal fasteners; roofing, cutting and power tools; and top quality driver bits, masonry anchors, lubricants, caulking, abrasives and safety products. And that's only the beginning. UCAN fastening products head up an impressive line-up of high-performance products, with signature products from Walter, Irwin industrial tools, ITW Buildex products, Leland Fasteners, Stubai tools, Strong-Tie anchor systems, and Marson Klik-Fast Fasteners rounding out the roster.

The company prides itself on offering products for any scale of job, and for scoping its inventory based on customer demand, ensuring quick and off-the-shelf service.

"When you're on a job site with ten guys who need the product now, you can't stand around and wait," says company president Duane Porritt.

Porritt and his partner Troy Atkinson purchased the company in 1996. It was founded by William P. Somerville in 1950, who mainly supplied Nelson studs and hangers to the shipbuilding industry. Later Don Collins, Somerville's accountant, took over and passed the company on to his son, Clay. It was from Clay Collins that Porritt and Atkinson purchased the company in 1996, where they had both been working for three years.

Since its inception, the business has remained strong, despite the challenge of meeting the demand for high-quality merchandise with many newer fasteners coming from off-shore manufacturers. Somerville employs five full-time and two part-time staff and even in the throes of a construction boom, operations are still running smoothly, indicating that the market isn't affecting daily operations as much as Porritt would expect. "That or we're more organized than we thought," he says.

"Business is good," says Porritt. "You'd think with how busy construction is right now we'd be run off our feet, but we're not. Sales are up, and orders are getting larger ... A customer who might usually order three or four thousand screws is now ordering 10 or 20 thousand."

Pruitt says the company would like to expand to a larger premises as demand increases, but that they want to stay in the same area to facilitate customers' accessibility since the company has been at its present location for over 30 years. "We've been looking for about a year now," says Pruitt, "but it's a hard market. We've got three realtors looking."

They'd like a space at least twice the size to accommodate the increased demand for diversity in fasteners created by the construction boom. "Screws all have different coatings," says Pruitt. "Now you can get the same one five or six different ways and we have to carry them all."

The leaky condo problem has led to innovations in construction including more exorbitant coatings and salt-spray testing on exterior finishes, requiring different coatings on screws. Somerville carries standard carbon steel, cadium-plated, Ruspert coating, standard JS 500 plated screws with 500 hour salt-spray threshold, DT 2000 long-life coatings that will withstand 2000 hours salt-spray testing; painted screws for cladding and roofing, and seven or eight different types in 30 or 40 paint colours.

Wm.P Somerville has established itself in the industry with more than quality products. Its dedication to serving customers and keeping them at the center of the company's focus is Somerville's strongest asset.

Somerville distributes for over 40 product manufacturers and their market ranges from Vancouver Island, across BC and up to Whitehorse.

"Our business has always been customer driven," says Porritt. "When customers ask for something and we hear it a few times we'll start carrying that product. We just see a niche to get into, a product that the customer can't find anywhere else, and we'll carry it."

Niche items Somerville customers can count on include specific types of self-drilling screws, Stubai cutters and blades, Kett cement-fibre and portable power shears, all of which can be serviced at Somerville where parts are also available.

In a world where technology is taking over operations in most sectors, Somerville has remained simple in its operations, mostly to ensure a personal touch in customer relations. Somerville has an email address it rarely uses and there isn't a website for the company, suggesting a long while before technology beats out a paper and pen. Employees at Somerville handwrite the invoices and prefer a direct phone call to electronic communications. "I like talking to people in person," says Porritt. "Why not just take a phone call and then you're right there," he says.

The future of Wm.P Somerville is as dependent on its solid reputation for service and product quality as it is on the construction industry. This is good news for a company so dedicated to keeping its eye on customer care - its biggest and most valued asset.

Members of SMACNA-BC needing assistance with registering for or learning more about the free seminars are welcome to contact Bruce or Michelle at the SMACNA-BC office, 604.299.4641. If you work in the Sheet Metal industry and have an innovative project your working on or if your interested in speaking to us about profiling your business email our publisher at lperraton@pointonemedia.com or complete our contact form and we'll contact you as quickly as possible.