History
KERR was started in 1978 by four friends and co-workers: Ken Rubin, Ed Wiebe, Russ McAuley, and Ron Creusot, hence the name KERR. All four worked for a company called Wood Cogger. They started out as strictly a T-bar company, and more than doubled their revenue in just 2 years, but that was the early 80’s and things changed very quickly.
They were committed to each other and it showed by how they slowly built the company into a force in the local construction market through the boom of the late 70’s and surviving the bust of the early 80’s and the recession that followed while many companies folded or gave up in those very difficult years. In the mid 80’s most of the jobs KERR was awarded were out of town as the government was the only one spending money on schools, long-term care facilities and regional offices. They grabbed any work they could and lived in trailers and truck campers to keep the costs down. Happy customers were paying customers and with very little room for error, every detail had to be managed.
KERR Company Photo, July 2015
To adapt to the market KERR started doing demountable wall systems, access flooring and specialty ceilings to make ends meet. Ken and Ron both moved on for different reasons through the years, and Darryl came into the office in 1996. Russ had to retire in 2000 for health reasons, so Wendell came into the office. The initial hard work and values of the original owners were deeply embedded in the company and have kept the company going down to this day.
Around 2004 to expand the company and KERR’s scope of work the company started doing load bearing steel stud buildings and EIFS. Due to constantly adjusting markets, KERR stopped doing EFIS in 2008 but, has continued with load bearing steel stud buildings.
In 2007 KERR started developing a semi-automated assembly line for panelizing to improve efficiency and reduce time spent on site.
Currently KERR can construct up to an 8 story building using Load bearing steel stud and Comslab or Ultra-bond floor systems, or a combination of steel stud joists and shallow deck for the floors. KERR also builds custom Steel stud Roof trusses up to a 60’ span. This is a very cost effective way of achieving a non-combustible rating on a building.
With the continued contributions of our dynamic team of employees KERR looks forward to a bright future with PRIDE.