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Allen Schiedel has a very strong side of office the family doesn’t usually discuss business
foundation in the construction business. around the dinner table. “We try to keep work at work.”
But the family does like spending quality time with each
Schiedel, an architectural designer and project manager other. In fact, Allen says he plays hockey with his cousins
for Schiedel Construction Incorporated, practically grew and that the extended family always gets together at the
up on the job site. family cottage.
“As high school students we all worked as labourers dur- “Everyone gets along really well,” says Allen. “I think my
ing the summer. We were all in the trenches,” he says, dad and uncle have a great dynamic together which has
referring to himself and his two cousins, Seth and Zach, provided great leadership for my cousins and I to follow.”
who are also partners in the family-owned business. “We He says his family’s Christian background has helped the
all learned the ropes from the ground up.” company retain its core values when it comes to doing

That invaluable experience has assisted this third gen- business.
eration of Schiedels in ensuring the legacy of quality and “Working together as a team, each of us is responsible
fairness established by their grandfather, the late George for running our own projects as well as wearing the hat
Schiedel, continues. of an owner.”

“We all wanted to work in the construction industry,” says Allen also credits the Schiedel workforce, including Eric
Allen, taking a break between meetings in the company’s Freeman, the company’s safety and operations manager,
Queen Street West headquarters which has served the with making the company a productive and safe place to
company well since it was founded in 1951. “I think we work.
all like building with our hands.”
“We have a great team environment where everyone
Allen believes he comes by the love of building very natu- works together and chips in,” he says, adding Schiedel
rally, following in the footsteps of his grandfather who makes a point of mentoring people to become project
first entered the concrete business in 1949, prior to start- managers and site supervisors. Allen, who joined the
ing a very successful general contracting business. company in 2008 after working for a Waterloo architec-
Initially, the company specialized in farm building con- tural firm for nearly two years after graduating from uni-
struction before moving on to churches, schools and versity, followed such a path.
medical buildings. Today, Schiedel focuses on a variety of He says quality and fairness means everything at Schie-
industrial and commercial projects as well as recreation del.
facilities and mix use commercial/residential properties.
“We try to build relationships. We want repeat business,”
“We’ve done a lot of work for Home Hardware over the he says, adding working with a core group of trade pro-
past 30 years, in particular my father Fred,” says Allen.
fessionals has been a big benefit to the company.
In the early 1980s his father, Fred, and uncle Phil, joined “Our main goal is to design and build a good quality build-
his grandfather in the business propelling it even further ing that meets our clients’ budget so that they have the
to become one of the most renowned design-build op- foundation to succeed and grow their businesses.”
erations serving Southwestern Ontario. Allen says the de-
sign-build concept has played a key role in their success. He says the company uses the similar approach when
supporting a variety of community causes and initiatives.
In the design-build approach, the project manager works “We try and support a lot of things and non-profit agen-
with the designers and engineers providing a single cies,” says Allen, who currently serves on the board at the
source resource for the client from the start to finish of Grand Valley Construction Association.
the build.
In terms of the future, he says the succession plans are in
“I think the clients are much more appreciative to go with the works for the next generation of the Schiedel family.
just one person to discuss changes and any issues,” says In fact, he says his two daughters may be the fourth gen-
Allen. “I think it eliminates a lot of communication break- eration waiting in the wings to take over the reins.
down.”
“They are two and five and really love building with
He says working closely with family also assists in the Legos,” he jokes. “They’re building forts all the time.”
communication process, especially since they all have
had that ‘hands on’ approach in their industry.
PHOTO: Allen Schiedel practically grew up on a job site at Schiedel Con-
“I think that reduces any conflicts because we all have struction Incorporated. The family-owned business prides itself on fair-
ness and quality.
similar experiences and knowledge and we can help each
other where we are lacking,” says Allen, noting that out-

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