Vancouver Island Events

WHEN: September 22, 2010 | 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
WHERE: Vancouver Island University | 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo | Bldg. 255 Rm. 170
SPEAKER: Eileen Page | BSc (Hons), MBA
TOPIC: Project Leadership - The “WE” of Leading Projects
COST: $15 (includes catered lunch)

In this workshop for project leaders, Eileen Page BSc (Hons), MBA will be speaking to us about achieving results through other people. We will focus on strengthening our interpersonal skills, how to work with sponsors, steering committees and client managers and also learn to manage project groups, as well as your own team.

Click here for more information.

This month we interview Joel Morrison, CEO of Morrison Equipment, based in Parksville near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in 2001 and now with manufacturing and an office in Southern California. Morrison Equipment designs, manufacturers and sells D.O.D.(Department of Defense)-certified anti-ram vehicle and custom security gates to U.S Military and other groups concerned with property protection. In the last three years, the company has grown from $100,000 to $1,000,000 in sales and now employs 14 people.

SBBC:  What can you tell us about your business concept and how it developed?
 
Joel Morrison (JM):  Joel Morrison (JM): We were in the heavy equipment repair and rebuilding business -- working on excavators, doing welding and so on. About 20 years ago, one of our customers -- a contractor who wanted to secure a private road -- asked us to build an anti-ram gate. Gates were a side-line for us for a long time.

About eight years ago I started market research on the barrier business and discovered that there were virtually no products commercially available that were as robust as our systems. So I set out to market our products to the world. This has been a long and difficult road. Without a means to support the business through lean times -- that being the original heavy machinery equipment servicing business -- we would not have made it here.

Our customers now include the U.S. Military, U.S. Government, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, armored car services, power utilities, nuclear power plants, and so on.

SBBC:  What obstacles have you faced and how did you overcome them?

JM:  The anti-ram gate business has very few manufacturers and is a very expensive business to be in, where one fully developed system can cost you upwards of a half million. Though our gates range from $4,000 to $100,000, even running a certification test like the ones we were required to conduct can cost up to $120,000 with the set up, installation, crash test, uninstallation and clean up/disposal. Raising the capital for product development has been very challenging - it was largely funded out of pocket. However, Community Futures in Nanaimo helped us with the first big step, including working capital and some product development money. It would be safe to say that without Community Futures, we would not be where we are today.

SBBC: What has been your greatest moment of success?

JM:JM: The day we passed the U.S Army certification for anti-ram vehicle barriers. I had everything on the line for that one moment and it would have taken 1 second to make or break us. Had my gate failed that day back in November 2005, I would have lost everything.

SBBC:  Why are you passionate about this business?

JM:  I feel like I am contributing globally by protecting critical infrastructure and the lives of all that would be affected by an attack on the facilities we secure. HeavyDutyGates.com is now receiving international recognition for some of the most innovative security products on the market, with sales as far away as Abu Dhabi and the Philippines. We're really excited.

SBBC:  What advice can you offer other entrepreneurs?

CJ:  Growing the business took a lot of perseverance -- to not give up while waiting for that big break, to not lose heart. I'd had the website up for nearly 2 years, it was just a money pit with nothing to show for it. In fact, I was walking to the phone to call the web hosting company to tell them to pull the site down, and just then the phone rang and I got my first big sale. My advice to anyone with a marketable idea is: Don’t give up, keep looking for why it is not working and, while you do that, try to have another source of income to keep your business going.

SBBC: Why the Parksville area? Why California?

JM:  The Nanoose Bay/Parksville area has been my home most of my life . As we grew, it just made sense to be in California with the type of clients we have and the test facilities there. Let me tell you, it's been a few years, but Southern California is still a bit of a culture shock by comparison.

www.heavydutygates.com