It’s been said that teamwork is “less me and more we,” and that’s a statement Harrington and Associates takes to heart.

Started in 2008 with an eye to shaping its construction management services to create quality client care, over the years the Richmond Hill-based company has stayed true to its original goal: developing protocols in a partnership manner, making a supreme effort to know their clients and understand their clients’ businesses, and always embracing a true team attitude.

“We spend a lot of time learning from our clients, how they operate today and how they plan to in the future,” says Vice President Chris Flanagan. “Once we have an understanding of their goals, we build a project team to help them grow and complete their projects, always keeping in mind the end goal, so we correctly make the right steps together. We take pride in understanding their business and growth plan, and build their project to fit.”

The company’s impressive work across the GTA and surrounding areas has been diverse, and covers a wide range of industries, including heritage reconstruction, new construction, interior renovation and pharmaceutical production.

“We’re strategic, experienced and ready to take on complex projects,” says Flanagan. “As a team, we’re focused on the fine details, the big picture and everything in between.”

This focus is due in large part to the company’s ongoing collaborative relationships with sub-contractors, and the ongoing effort to build strong, confident relationships with clients.

“Our company would not be the success it is today without our quality contractors who make the clients’ spaces possible,” says Principal Paul Harrington. “Our Harrington team are specialists in managing the many layers of a construction project and supervising it to ensure it meets our high standards.” Harrington stresses that the level of quality and reliability from the company’s sub-trades have been built over the years on repeat projects together.

That level of trust and reliability is one that Harrington and Associates is proud to maintain, with reliability leading to satisfied clients.

“We have developed a culture of yes, everything is possible for our clients,” says Harrington. “We are faced with many challenges with our clients, whether it’s a tough schedule, difficult builds, or value engineering, but we always find a way to work together and succeed.”

Again, it’s that capacity for collaboration and working together that is at the forefront of every one of the company’s projects. Both Harrington and Flanagan express their appreciation for the team at large, and how that culture of cooperation, appreciation and teamwork is at the heart of the company’s core values and beliefs, and ultimately carries the company to success.

“Our company has always done business in a collaborative manner,” says Flanagan self. “Our office is a high-energy, family-style operation where teams work together and have access and support from the senior staff whenever needed.”

With core values built on a foundation of honesty, Harrington and Associates fundamentally cares about the growth of the company scaling the right way, says Flanagan.

“Our leaders pave the road and lead by example for when new staff come on board,” he says. “They follow the program and immediately strengthen the team.”

It’s obvious the company takes great pride in maintaining a healthy and supportive relationship with its team, aiming to foster the passion that keeps employees ready and eager to do their jobs well.

“Doing the right thing — company first, team second and self last — is key,” says Flanagan. “Our staff are addicted to improving each other’s skills, making our clients’ experiences better each time on our repeat projects, and simply being kind to each other. It really makes our work environment fun to be part of each day as we treat everyone like family.”

That “family feeling” stems in part from hiring practices that embrace those core values that Harrington and Associates prides itself on fostering.

“We hire for the right attitude and personality,” says Flanagan, adding, “We can teach the skills of construction, so we look for solution-oriented people. As problem solvers, we have to make sure they are a good host. We’re often the centre of the show, organizing all the members. The company and staff are constantly evolving and improving technology, but remain consistent on all projects and teams.”

That impressive consistency includes a hard and fast dedication to safety in the workplace — the company boasts an above-average safety record — which is another one of the company’s important core values.

“We make every decision with the highest regard to the safety and well-being of our families, partners and clients,” says Flanagan.

Integrity is another value the company works steadily to embrace and practice on a daily basis, striving for the highest standards of ethics in everything they do. “You can always count on us to be honest and transparent, and consistently exhibit the highest level of integrity,” says Flanagan.

The ongoing client-first approach means clients are present and appreciated at all stages of every project, big or small.

“We put the focus on you: anticipating needs, solving problems and helping you to make the right decisions,” says Flanagan. All of this, of course, involves developing excellent communication skills, which the company works tirelessly to maintain. “We are a diverse and connected group of professionals,” he adds. “We create efficiencies for you by leveraging our deep pool of expertise and knowledge.”

Finally, implementing engagement as a key core value means social awareness, respect, and showing appreciation for the community where they work and live. “We strive to be good neighbours,” says Flanagan. “We’re interested in understanding other cultures, sharing our culture, and engaging in community outreach.”

Challenges are met head on, and always as a team. Of course, this past year-and-a-half has presented truly unique difficulties to Harrington and Associates along with many other businesses around the globe, but the company has worked hard, through positivity and team spirit, to make the best of a challenging situation.

“The majority of our business was deemed essential through the pandemic, and our team had to rise to the challenge for increased safety measures,” says Harrington.

Weathering a change in communication and managing the very volatile supply chain, the cost increases and delays, was a test to the company’s resources, but in some ways brought everyone even closer together.

“We successfully grew our business in this tough time and strengthened our relationships with our staff and clients,” says Harrington. “We stayed extremely focused on the challenge at hand and delivered our projects as promised to our valuable clients.”

That dedication to creating and maintaining quality client care has been a longstanding mainstay for Harrington and Associates, and will be a key part of its future plans and growth. The company has accumulated numerous achievements over the years, but its team and client relationships remain at the forefront always.

“Since the company started, we always had a plan that we would partner with our clients on a construction management/design build style of business,” says Harrington, adding that they wanted to continuously grow the company’s size sufficiently and effectively serve its repeat clientele.

“We have had to annually increase staff to keep up with the on-going repeat business and referral work from our valuable clients and relationships our staff have developed,” he says.

That initiative has been a success: Not only has the company’s business volume significantly increased annually, the dedicated team has maintained Harrington and Associates’ high level of quality throughout.

“Staff on-board training ensures all of our new members successfully represent our brand as intended,” adds Flanagan. “Having our clients compliment our staff and let them feel part of the team and original partnership is very rewarding.”

With the company’s employees being such a vital part of Harrington and Associates, it’s easy to see why this message is so important to impart. “If anyone knows us, they know we like to compliment our employees first,” says Flanagan. “There’s a team vibe here, and we want our employees to get a big pat on the back.”

Whether it’s “making the old new again” through restoration, building from the ground up with new construction, or renovating an existing space, Harrington and Associates takes the time and care to ensure every client receives the attention they deserve from start to finish, and again, they stress: the team is the heart of the company.

“We have always lived by the expression that we are only as good as our last project,” says Flanagan. “This has always been driven into the teams’ brains – that we ensure that we finish our projects on time, on budget and with first-class professionalism. We have built the company with a goal to grow the company by quality first and volume second.”

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Adhesive Applications is the industry leader behind a tremendous number of North America’s bonding solutions. There is hardly an industry that Adhesive Applications does not serve, with expertise in aerospace, appliances, automotive, building and construction, doors and windows, electronics, graphics, medical, and HVAC. For 50 years, through economic downturns and fantastic market highs alike, the company has thrived, innovating, collaborating with, and serving Americans through tough and great times.

The company’s success is closely tied to the high level of collaboration its teams are encouraged to maintain – both within the organization and with clients. “We’re really rejoicing in the ability to just walk down the hall and have a conversation with every part of the organization [again],” says Petra Schaefer, President.

Based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, the company concluded a thorough overhaul of its headquarters earlier this year. An addition of more than 55,000 square feet to its existing footprint meant that all departments, including converting and shipping, can now operate from one facility. “This [expansion] has allowed us to greatly improve our efficiency and processes for our customers,” says Schaefer. “Having the whole management team engaged and involved in meetings allows for decisions to be made quickly. We excel at being nimble and quick to market,” she adds.

Powered by people
“Even our new office is collaborative,” agrees Judette Savino, Vice President Sales and Marketing. We have a new whiteboard table [where] we have quick meetings. And we do this constantly. Throughout the day you’ll see people standing there talking through an idea before everybody goes back to their desk.” Naturally, this type of collaboration takes place within the safety of COVID-19 distancing regulations and is juxtaposed with cleverly appointed office cubicles that offer both privacy and space.

The company’s specialty lies in being solidly committed to custom product development backed by science and innovation at a price that suits its clients’ budgets. Adhesive Applications particularly focuses on companies in need of a sophisticated, yet affordable single-source adhesives partner, one that is adaptable and diverse in its capabilities with a well-developed research and development team. Adhesive Applications’ breadth of expertise means that the team can meet customers’ diverse bonding, laminating, mounting, gasketing, splicing, and sealing needs, with products developed and manufactured to exacting, high-performance specifications.

Serving key sectors
Experts from a multitude of fields trust Adhesive Applications to develop proprietary solutions to their unique challenges in its state-of-the-art laboratory, making the company the go-to advisor for some of North America’s biggest names. “Because if you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything,” says Schaefer. “Now we’re seeing, because of COVID and so many other factors, the drive to get things done faster and respond more quickly is more and more critical to everyone’s success. We see and understand that.”

At Adhesive Applications, customer care is another cornerstone of great service, and the team meets daily to improve its level of service even further. Staff are encouraged to look at the bigger market picture as well as future market demands. Interestingly, while customers come from wide and far for its custom solutions, some of Adhesive Applications’ best sellers remain its longstanding foam, silicone, and acrylic tape selections popular in a wide range of markets for their equally diverse performance specs.

As markets adapt to the pressures of improved personal and environmental health, the company has seen a defined surge in business from the medical field as well as the electric vehicle sector. The latter follows the drive for putting more sustainably powered cars on the road in a new, more wellness-oriented world. In terms of surviving COVID-19, the company’s innovation made a large contribution to point-of-care testing (POCT) through developing adhesives in microfluidic testing tools. This is a tremendously important field within diagnostics, especially in these times, as POCT microfluidic testing tools abate the need for laboratory testing, saving both patients and medical care providers time and money. “It’s a great industry to be in because it is ever-changing,” says Savino.

Rooted in quality
To ensure optimum quality, the company’s adhesives adhere to strict rules such as those set by The International Organization for Standardization. At present, Adhesive Applications holds ISO 10993 and 10993-1 certifications that comprehensively govern testing procedures around cell toxicity and issues concerning skin sensitization and dermatitis triggers. “Our approach to developing products is unique in the industry as we let the application drive the product selection. Through a company-proprietary, objective evaluation process, we carefully assess the attributes and requirements of every product application,” says Erik Vinh, Digital Marketing Manager.

The company’s history is one of tenacity. It was started by Petra’s father, Michael Schaefer, who emigrated from Germany in 1986. Originally, he acquired three separate businesses. When the tape manufacturing outfit started outperforming the rest, Schaefer decided to place his focus there and, in 1970, founded Adhesive Applications, leveraging the synergies that had developed between the original companies over time. In 2002, the company expanded again, giving clients more variety and better versatility as well as more powerful research and development capabilities. And, while the firm continues to grow, it prides itself on serving its loyal clientele better than ever.

That’s because the company’s staff of over 70 is as knowledgeable and loyal as its median tenure is long; some members of staff have been here for thirty years or more. “We do not have the staffing issues that we hear about to the degree that we see throughout the industry and throughout the world right now,” shares Schaefer. To ensure that its staffing status quo remains this way, the firm researched its pay equity situation some time ago to guarantee that everyone was earning a fair and sufficient salary. Management also used the opportunity to share the company’s financial well-being with employees.

In addition to being a fair and generous employer, several of the company’s management team are women. “[In this way we could show our people] what we’re focused on and what we need to do to get there. Now I think we’re attracting very hardworking people… Almost everybody goes above and beyond in some way, shape, or form to deliver to a customer. And that’s huge,” Schaefer says. The company’s management team is as hands-on as all its other teams and it is therefore not uncommon to see leaders working just as hard as the rest of the company’s people out in the field. “It’s a very collaborative group. Everybody at every level works with each other,” she adds.

Adhesive Applications’ signature knack for adaptability remains one of the company’s strongest attributes. As illustrated through its robust response to COVID-19, staying on top of technological advances in the field will continue to strengthen its bonds with clients. While continuing to monitor market changes closely, the Adhesive Applications team will also stick to what it knows works – solid science, rigorous testing, and quality relationships.

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With myriad uses across military, towing and recovering, all-terrain, forestry, mining, utilities, and large-scale industrial and consumer applications, the popularity of Ramsey Winch products can be attributed to their dependability and ruggedness, which is genuinely legendary. And all this is framed by committed customer service.

Designed and manufactured to the highest possible standards, Ramsey Winch products are punishingly tested to ready them for a hard, unforgiving life in the field.

As company President and Chief Executive John Celoni says, “these aren’t winches made to sit on front bumpers and look pretty,” but winches manufactured for the military, mining, and other tough-as-nails industries where working vehicles and equipment sent must be able to self-recover in any environment, from muddy terrain to deep snow and ice.

Far from an ordinary winch company, Ramsey employs highly trained, dedicated staff who ensure their products function under these challenging conditions – every time!

The people factor
Responsible for the design, machining, assembly, sourcing, finishing, painting, and outfitting of 50 to 60 different products, Ramsey’s team is composed of mechanical engineers, manufacturing engineers, electrical engineers, machinists, supply professionals, warehousing, and shipping and receiving with both domestic and international capabilities.

“The differentiator between Ramsey Winch and any other competitor is our people,” says Celoni. “It’s our people and our culture standing behind the product and service. We have staff with over 40 years’ experience in the winch business – specifically the Ramsey Winch business,” he says.

“We machine our own products, and we take it from concept to delivery, and everyone collaborates to solve problems and find opportunities to grow the business. It all evolves. Anybody can have a great strategy and a great product, but it’s the people that differentiate Ramsey Winch from anybody else.”

Unlike many companies where clients call and are immediately placed on hold, the opposite is true at Ramsey Winch. When customers phone, they talk to a live person, not a recording. “This is a people business, and Ramsey Winch is a people-first business, both internally and externally,” says Director of Sales and Marketing, Samuel Rooke.

With an extensive background in heavy equipment, Rooke knows the challenges of the industry, and the importance of working closely with customers. “We take care of our employees internally, and they want to take care of our clients externally. The single biggest piece of what makes our customer service team successful is that they care, and they’re going to work through a solution until it’s resolved, not give you piecemeal answers.”

Hard-won skill sets
Much of the company’s strength comes from the scope of its skill sets, which are shared among three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Ramsey Winch, Auto Crane, and Eskridge.

Ramsey represents the winch side, while Auto Crane designs and manufactures truck-mounted electric and hydraulic cranes, crane-control technologies, mechanic service bodies and work ready trucks, with Eskridge designing and manufacturing power transmission products such as planetary gear drives, anchor drives, and associated integral brakes. The three entities complement one another and continue the vision of founders Claude and Rayburn Ramsey.

Established as Ramsey Brothers Tool & Die in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1944, the company started off making tools, dies, and parts for the world-famous Douglas Aircraft Company.

The next year, the brothers unveiled their first winch, a design by Claude called Model 101, a heavy-duty worm and gear model. Ideal for pulling stuck vehicles out of sand, mud, snow, and through rough terrain generally, the Model 101 was soon seen on “Willys,” the iconic jeeps conceived and manufactured by Willys-Overland Motors for theater-of-war use.

The winches produced by the Ramsey brothers soon became essential equipment in the towing and recovery industry. Demand for products grew so much that Claude and Rayburn renamed the business Ramsey Brothers Winch Company in 1947.

As Ramsey Winch phrases it, “due to the significant impact that Ramsey Winch had on the Towing and Recovery industry, in 1987 the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame inducted Claude Ramsey as the first member who was not actually a towman.”

Still steadily growing, the company continues to manufacture products that set the benchmark of quality and endurance, including the PowerMaster™ Series – made for power and utility markets – and the Wildcat Series, used in oil and gas production.

Ongoing innovation
To satisfy every extreme of customer requirements, Ramsey developed two types of winches: worm-gear driven, and planetary-gear driven. While the early years saw a focus on heavy-duty industrial worm gears – which, even today, some customers prefer for their ruggedness and durability – the technology grew to include planetary gear sets, the company’s primary focus today.

“The planetary tends to give you a faster and more efficient product,” says Rooke, “and therefore can potentially give you better return on investment.” He does point out, nevertheless, that with more moving parts, planetary winches can be more expensive than the worm-driven models. But whatever the final choice, Ramsey Winch quality is never in doubt.

Paying close attention to customer requirements, Ramsey Winch constantly designs and produces new series to meet the needs of the marketplace. These now include Wildcat and the Hercules series which was unveiled to the market about a year and a half ago, with 2021 seeing the full release of this exciting product along with Helios.

Focused on tow and recovery, the company’s Hercules has a line pull of 20,000 pounds (9,072 kg) to 50,000 pounds (22,679 kg), while the Wildcat has a line pull from 50,000 pounds (22,679 kg) to 250,000 pound (113,398 kg), making it well-suited to the oil and gas industry.

With a pull of 20,000 pounds (9,072 kg), the Helios 20000 has a speed of 37.5 feet (11.4 meters) per minute, and a cable capacity of 155 feet (47.2 meters) short, and 260 feet (79.2 meters) standard. The model is also available in other specifications. “When you need it to work, the Helios will pull it for you,” says Rooke.

Although relatively new to the market, client feedback on the Hercules and Helios lines has been overwhelmingly positive, both in terms of quality of manufacturing and of product performance.

“People are excited about these products coming into the market,” says Rooke. “They are a new iteration, and perhaps a little bit more modern than the older series of winches. Efficiency and return on investment is what we strive for.”

Like all Ramsey winches, they are subjected to rigorous testing internally, and undergo a four-step gate process for new product development at the company’s facility, which is ISO 9001:2015 certified. Meeting additional external standards including those set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and SAE International standards, products are then field tested with customers in real-life situations before being rolled out.

Future growth
At Ramsey Winch, it can take anywhere from 18 to 24 months to bring a new product to market. Winches are never rushed out the door, but thoroughly tested over and over to ensure they’ll easily stand up to client demands.

Among its many innovations, Ramsey has developed and patented thermal limiting modules and overload limiting indicators for electric winches, which allow customers to maximize the cycle duty time of a product while in operation.

Since electric winches generate a lot of heat, this is essential to their successful operation. By working with thermal technologies, heat is better controlled, with winches cutting off once they reach a certain amperage level or heat level. This allows them to cool down and recycle to become more efficient, critical in applications such as military.

“What was happening before we got in with this patented product is that the winches would burn up, then you’d be stuck out in the theater, so to speak, and at risk,” says Celoni. “So this prevents the motor from overheating and the winch from not being able to operate.

“It takes an operator’s knowledge and reduces the need for it, because technology manages that process for them. It’s a differentiator, and it saves lives.”

With the belief that the business is only as good as its people, Ramsey Winch continues to attract top-notch employees like Chad Martin. Vice President of Operations, Martin is responsible for all three businesses – Ramsey Winch, Auto Crane and Eskridge – and says what drew him to the company was its culture, people, and products (and super duper boss!!)

“It’s a very cool product with a long history of performance, and fantastic name recognition in the industry,” he says. “Everybody knows Ramsey Winch, and there are high expectations for that product. So the challenge I was ready to accept, coming to work for this organization, was to make sure I help continue that legacy of Ramsey Winch, as well as expand its capabilities and breadth across multiple industries.”

In business for 76 years, Ramsey Winch’s past achievements and sustained reputation for quality will ensure its success long into the future.

“We are a mission-critical component on a very critical piece of equipment that’s time-tested, with almost eight decades of experience and reliability that’s been out in the marketplace,” says Celoni. “And it’s all wrapped up in innovation and responsiveness when there’s a need. When you want to work, we’re ready… and the winch will work.”

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