F ifty has often been defined as middle age. But when it comes to companies – and to Hamilton-based Barclay Construction Group Inc. in particular, you can’t help but think that this 50th anniversary is but one milestone in many yet to come. Founded on the principles of honesty, integrity and a genuine desire to satisfy the customers’ needs, this privately owned, third generation, general building construction company has just begun.

    The son of a farmer from Cruden Bay, Scotland, James Sancster Barclay moved into

live with his grandmother at age 16. He wanted nothing to do with father’s farm; his grandmother would let him train as a carpenter. In 1910 with his new wife Bella and first son Jim in the womb (as lore would have it), he set sail for opportunity in the new world, and for better or worse, turned north at the border.
    Jimmy Barclay developed his skills as a lead carpenter for different builders working primarily on institutional projects during and following WW1. Intrinsically honest and frank he would take a drink but only one and only neat (“the wee man in Scotland knew precisely how much water to add when he made this Scotch, why would you think it could be better with more ?”).
    Working with W.H. Yeats and

Company through to his retirement in the late fifties as chief building superintendent, he would be responsible for some of the Golden Horseshoe’s finest facilities, including the Hamilton Post Office(the Dominion Public Building), the Delta Collegiate School, and the Victoria Hospital in London, Ontario.       His son Jim apprenticed with his father from the time he was 18 and fresh out of high school. “University in my father’s eyes was a waste of time, a place to hide and rest”, Jim Barclay, future founder of Barclay Construction, had said of his decision to enter into the trade.
    That was 1928, just on the brink of what was to become one of the most difficult and challenging economic periods in modern history. So young Jim, like many young men do,

all the way. Long thankless hours, fierce competition, continuous financial pressure from their fair weather lenders, and little profit if any as inspiration.
    But pride and encouragement carried Barclay through to a better era of growth and success to come alongside of company niche and purpose.
    In time, he, in turn, would pass on much of his knowledge to his own son, Jim Barclay Senior (James William Barclay), who joined the family-owned company on January 1, 1961.
    “I had been working in the engineering department of another company for a couple of years,” recalls Jim Barclay Senior. “My father was in the midst of building a shopping centre development and needed someone to help with the drawings and do estimates so he asked me to fill in.”

    Once on board, Barclay Senior never looked back. When the shopping centre project was completed, he found himself starting at the bottom of his father’s firm – learning the ropes before progressing to the other departments.
    “We were a reasonably-sized company for that period of time and were doing large volumes in terms of business,” explains

followed his father into the productive world of construction, and became a carpenter as well.
    Taking nothing for granted and working hard at his new skill, Jim Barclay would work to develop a similar style and confidence. Not wanting to play favourites, the son was always on the very top of the layoff list towards the end of each project. ”I understand what he was trying to do, but I was a hell of a lot better than most of the fellas that he’d keep on after me. He was stubborn for sure.”

    Through the challenges of the Great Depression and the rewards of the post war boom, James Simpson Barclay developed his own reputation as a reliable driver of area construction projects, working along the Hamilton Bayfront for

city industry heavyweights like Otis Elevator, Bell Telephone, the Bank of Montreal and the Steel Company of Canada.
    On the advice of a small group of clients who would originally sign on as business partners and with the knowledge and approval of his long-time employer, Robertson Yates Company, Jim Barclay set off on his own in 1953 with nothing other than a pickup, a wheel barrow, and a hard head.
    He would later tell his grandson that he offered part of his new venture to his father, only to hear the conservative senior Scot advise otherwise.”…I have a good job for a good firm and a pay check every week, a reputation and a family who depends upon me, tell me why would I want to go out and risk all of that ?”
    Jim the founder would later recall that those first 10 years, as most new firms are sure to experience, were touch and go

Barclay Senior, who adds that all went well until the recession hit. The two Barclays soon discovered that volume was not the key to success. Profit, it turns out, was the more important factor.
    “When we reduced our overhead and anchored down, we found that we can make a reasonably good living engaged in the industrial projects, instead of trying to take on all other building concerns such as Defence and School Construction work as well,” says Barclay Senior, adding that this

focus primarily in the steel industry, remains at the core of the company today, augmented by work in the hydro and gas industry.
    The relationship between

father and son was a good one and one that helped build the company in the many years following. By the time his father retired in 1971, Barclay Senior was well versed in both the family business and the construction industry. He picked up the mantle where his father left off and today, attributes the firm’s longevity to a couple of very important factors. One, he says, is finding a niche and sticking to it. In this case, it was focusing on the industrial manufacturing industry. Two, he adds, is operating within your means. “We always try to leave some of our earnings in the coffers so when there is a downturn, we don’t have to go running to the bank,” he explains.
    There’s one other piece of advice that Barclay Senior learned from his father and has since passed down to his own son, Jim Barclay Jr. (James Simpson Barclay II, after his grandfather), who picked up the reins to the family tradition and has been running the company since 1996.
    “My father told me that your reputation is only as good as the last project you’ve completed,” says Barclay Senior. “If you didn’t do a good job, then the guy is not going to call you back to do another one and he certainly won’t be telling anyone

else to call you either.”
    Although still very much a part of the company, Barclay Senior is now splitting his time between Barclay Construction Group and the golf course (a real passion for Jim apparently). Having passed the mantle to his son, Barclay Senior has taken a step back from the day-today operation and is content to sit back and watch Barclay Jr. take it from here.
    “I think my father was very pleased when I came into the business,” says Barclay Senior. “I know he was very happy when my son, Jim, decided to join us. I, for one, am absolutely thrilled that Jim came on board and I think he’s doing a great job.”

    Today, Barclay Construction Group is approximately double the size of what it was when Barclay Senior first joined the company. Its reputation for a straightforward and above-board manner of conducting business has earned the company a repeat client base of between 70 and 75 per cent. Much of that business remains in the industrial manufacturing industry. In fact, Dofasco Inc. and Stelco Inc. are among the

company’s most long standing clients and much of the work done for these companies over the years is visible along the Hamilton Bay front.
    “We run the majority of our work within a 150 mile radius at present, generally shooting to cast approximately 10,000 m3 of foundations annually” says Barclay Jr., who adds that the situation was the geographic opposite as little as 10 years ago when market forces motivated diversification and pragmatism. When the steel industry slowed down during the early ’90s, Barclay Construction Group augmented that business with natural gas and hydro electric plant projects that took them pretty well right across the country. The company is still willing to take on large projects from well outside the Hamilton area and is committed to setting up mobile offices as required in order to meet those needs.
    Its rich history in servicing the industrial manufacturing sector translates into a strict adherence to production deadlines when it comes to schedule delivery, safety and workmanship. Safety remains a priority at the company and is exemplified in the impressive safety records attained over the past few years. The company will be the recipient of the OGCA Safety Achievement for Zero Frequency Award for 50,000 Derived Hours and Over in 2002.
    This focus on safety, coupled with an ongoing commitment to

customer service, has brought a steady supply of business to Barclay Construction Group. Among the more recent projects that the company has under its belt is a new communication centre for Hydro One in Barrie, ON. The project began in January 2002 and involved a high cast in place structural wall installation priced at around $ 1 million.
    Barclay Construction Group can also lay claim to a $ 2.5 million Weld Shop Modification Project that was done for Toyota in Cambridge, ON. The project wrapped up in January 2003. And, this summer, Barclay Construction Group finished a Biofilter Tank Structure Installation for Maple Leaf Foods in Dundas, ON. The state-of-the-art project is also priced at approximately $2.5 million. Current is a large Lake Erie

Steel and St. Mary’s Cement process installation at Nanticoke, Ontario for Aecon Industrial, and through the summer, they were pleased to be very busy within Dofasco.
    Barclay Jr. attributes the company’s continued success to the set of values that were instilled in the corporate culture back in the days of his grandfather. “Our company is all about basic business values,” he says. “We focus on service, on staying close to customers so that they’re satisfied. More times than not, we like to exceed expectations.”
    Nonetheless, like his father and grandfather before him, Barclay Jr. is quick to shy away from self-aggrandizing and constantly tries to prevent a feeling of complacency from settling over the company. “We’re continually looking for

that shoulder chip to knock it back off as soon as we see it,” he jokes. “It always returns.”
    “It’s a survival game year after year, you have to stay lean and humble and move quickly on your feet.” He jokes about a comic ritual he and his father run between themselves: “Bad as it gets sometimes, predictably every couple of years, I approach him shamelessly and say,
    “I don’t know Dad, maybe it’s finally time to get out’. To which the elder replies, ‘Its tough, sure it is, but tell me, what the hell else are we going to do ?’. To which we have a good laugh, dust off, shore up and start in on the pile with some fresh ideas the next day.”
    That determination aside, Barclay is also careful to express weariness and concern over the current political and business climate in Canada.

“It’s frustrating for us: we have one big, bloated, autocratic party without well matched democratic challenge, high taxes across the board, knee jerk politically correct spin doctors driving every decision made, and a strong bias towards Quebec alienating the western provinces. The people of this country have put all of their faith in the federal Liberals, standing aside and saying nothing as they parade around on their moral high horse, slamming its neighbour and customer, spending and leading without discipline or control. We have the greatest friends and neighbours in the world in our U.S. allies. They have brought us so much opportunity and prosperity: I am ashamed at how we have treated them recently.”
    “We have such great potential in this country; it’s difficult to be patriotic with so many individuals in everyday life busting their asses and making ends meet while our federal leaders sit complacent with the status quo. They’re holding us back for sure”.
    “We’ve had an unprecedented opportunity in the last 10 years to beat down the federal debt, clean government up and rocket society ahead and we’ve blown it, settling for token victories instead. 15 per cent is still tallied on top of every dollar spent. 25 cents of every tax dollar still goes to service this mammoth debt. Progressive income taxes still stand among the highest in the world. How tough is it to understand that we will soon pay large for this arrogance ?”
    “The founders risked all to build this country and make it great. They were selfdisciplined and ran conservative and

ordered governments. They stood behind difficult decisions that were forward thinking and not necessarily only popular. That’s our true history, that is our real heritage. Sometime in my lifetime, for my son and the next generation and for the survival of this big rig, it would be nice to see that faith in and commitment to the people come back into fashion.”

    Although each of the Barclays who have run, or are currently running the company, has his own distinct style and business philosophy, each also has emphasized the importance of family and people.     “We’re only as strong as the team we’ve assembled,” comments Barclay Jr. “We have excellent, dedicated people on the frontlines who we’re proud of and fortunate to have working

with us.”
    One of those people is Betty Ann Elms, who has been with the Company for the last 10 years and in the construction industry for the last 40. ”I came to Barclay because it was a small, family-owned company, not a huge conglomerate,” she explains, adding that she plans on staying until she retires. “Barclay is a very upfront, honest firm. Their reputation precedes them. What they put on paper is what they actually do.”
    Elms’ years of experience at the firm has earned her a lot of responsibility, from handling the switchboard to assisting Mr. Barclay Senior and Mr. Barclay Junior to helping out the estimating department and overseeing general office duties. “The people who work here are usually here for the long term,” adds Elms. “They tend to like small companies because you can get more of a hands on feel for the business and really feel like you’re a part of it. You get to see a job from the point when a tender goes out to the point where it’s completed.”
    Elms has seen a lot of change over the years, from the days of Barclay Senior when a gentleman’s handshake would suffice instead of a contract to the fast-paced, increasingly competitive times of today. “It’s

a good company,” she comments. “You don’t survive 50 years without having a good reputation.”
    According to Peter Clark, the controller for Barclay Construction Group and a 19 year veteran with the firm, the Barclays have always been real family people who have tried hard to maintain the integrity of the firm by hiring honest, straightforward employees who are willing to understand the needs of the client and to put those needs first.
    “We all have idiosyncrasies,” says Clark, “but we all try to put those aside and work together.”
    That teamwork is reflected in the open invitation extended to retired employees, who are encouraged to drop by and visit at any time and apparently do so.
    Currently, Barclay Construction Group employs some 20 full time employees and another 75 or so out on the field. But, according to Clark, that number may grow significantly. “Jim Jr. has tremendous drive,” explains Clark. “If he can continue that drive, bring on the right people and maintain the right corporate mentality, then I suspect that we’ll see a lot more growth coming.”

    In January of 2002, a month before the birth of young Jim’s first son Jake, and sadly two years following his passing at age 89, the founding Jim Barclay was inducted into the Hamilton Construction Hall of Fame. The honour marked a special point in the history of the Barclay Construction Group and paid homage to the humble man who started the whole ball rolling.
    “There were many similarities between my Grandad and Dad. Love for family and golf. Love of architecture and history. Healthy contempt for Liberal

governments. Ability to bitch and rant with the best of them. But most importantly, they complemented each other with unique strengths. My Grandad built things properly and solidly. Dad is a numbers guy. He took calculated risks and managed his costs with a close and focused eye. They both fortunately were straight, honest and determined, and stayed close to their customers. It’s been a very positive guide and advantage for me.”
    As for the legacy that he will leave behind, Barclay Jr. is very humble in his reply. But his actions and his respect for the men who came before him lead one to believe that he will steer Barclay Construction Group into a new era of success for many years yet to come.     “The Industry is cynical out there these days. Some owners shielding behind corporate sleezebag lawyers and duping the low tender builder into signing on to the transfer of all project liability – overruns, inflation, scope changes – certainly more liability than

is reasonable. Building is so dynamic; our industry firms depend upon fair and reasonable partnerships. These you have to work on; it takes time and consistency.”     “My legacy ? …just that we were able to hang onto who we are and where we have been, to reinvent things a little bit and to be pragmatic enough to keep it going nicely into the next generation. We’ll give it our damnest shot at the very least.”