From accounting to innovation, Brent the President at Acro Aluminum, shares his journey of learning the industry and his hopes of contributing needed materials to the glass world.
“Our hope at Acro Aluminum is that we can be part of solving the glass door problem by providing doors to the industry which will help contractors build great buildings, meet the energy code and contribute to an efficient design.”
Getting to know...
Brent Friesen, President of Acro Aluminum
What is your background?
"After I earned my CA, CPA accounting designation I had the opportunity to work in some large businesses, creating metrics for their finance, accounting and projection challenges. I really enjoyed the interactions between finance, business, people and team building. This was the impetus to take on the adventure of working with Bruce, my dad, to build Baywest Glazing, and then start a Canada-based aluminum distribution company: Acro Aluminum.
How is it working with your dad?
"We have mutual respect for each other. There are times where I'll say “I don't think that's a good idea” and there's times where he'll say, “let's do it this way” but overall, it's working efficiently. We celebrate our different strengths and it's been a good team."
What are the innovations Acro Aluminum is bringing to the industry?
"Through Covid we kept getting higher and higher thermal requirements for our projects and one of the areas that was coming up short were glass doors. We partnered with a fantastic designer to help us come up with the best thermal door in the industry."
See more about the completed thermal door in an upcoming post!
"Our hope at Acro Aluminum is that we can be part of solving the door problem by providing doors to the industry which will help contractors build great buildings, meet the energy code and contribute to an efficient design.
The other innovation we’re focusing on is integrating computer systems to streamline manufacturing. The glass industry hasn’t seen a lot of innovation or even new ideas in terms of how the process works or how to integrate computer systems with the construction industry. We are trying to build innovation into our processes and systems. We’re using a great CNC machine but also supporting it with software that flows well into the machine, like an industry 3.0 thing. It's been a challenging project but fun and hopefully will have great benefits in the future with both speed and accuracy. There are some things that computer-controlled machines are really good at and some things that they're not good at, so we're trying to design a process where we can take advantage of doing both."
Challenges in developing the business.
"People. This is our biggest need. I’m trying to find people that are hard-working and have good skills. Bruce and I can do all the planning and strategizing we want on the back end but if we're not delivering the product, it's really not helpful for our customers. So, we’re trying to focus on the product delivery and making sure that at the end of the day it works well."
How have you solved the supply chain challenge?
"The supply chain is definitely a problem. During COVID we realized that the default suppliers that we were using before didn't work for every situation. So, we started trying to be creative. We got connected with some new suppliers that have been able to provide the product that we need at good prices. This gives us more control over the lead times and cost as well. We're continuing to innovate where we get our products and as we grow, I've really enjoyed the opportunity to work with different people, like the connections we have in Vietnam."
Why Aluminum?
"As Acro Aluminum gets into the industry more and more, we’ve learned what actually works and what doesn’t. We've developed our own systems of curtain walls and doors, focusing on the details. It gives us a better end product, that we really understand. We're not just taking somebody's word for it; we are the experts. The process to get there has been both fun and challenging."
In the last year you've become part of Fenestration Canada, chairing their Commercial Chapter. Can you tell us about what you hope to bring to the association?
"As chair of the FenCan Commercial Chapter, I am committed to working with our members and stakeholders to create a vibrant, productive and successful organization. My goal is to ensure that we are operating at an optimal level so that our members can take advantage of the resources avaible to them. I plan to foster collaboration amont all involved in order to create a unified and effective working environment." See Fenestration Canada article HERE
Stay tuned for the Thermal door press release
Get quotes today: https://www.acroaluminum.ca/
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