While his official titles are owner and founder, Ray Klassen of Pioneer Wood Designs sees his role as one of team leader and manager for a group of dreamers, planners, and artists.
“Somebody comes up with a design, and it's our job to figure out how to make it happen,” says Klassen.
Imaginative ideas often create new situations for the founder.
“We build things all the time that have never been built before,” Klassen says. “[The projects are] unprecedented due to unique design and/or creative functionality.”
In business since 2006, Klassen’s team at Pioneer Wood Designs spends their days fulfilling the need for quality commercial millwork not only in Winkler, but also throughout Manitoba and other provinces. Specializing in custom projects, their designs often start out as a client’s dream with no certain path to reality. That’s where Klassen and his team step in.
“In the beginning, we had the minimum of tools. Just a lot of energy and ambition,” Klassen says. “Over the years our team has grown, we’ve gathered more equipment, gaining knowledge and experience [of] how to best serve our clients.”
With multiple decades spent working for various cabinetry companies, Klassen knew he really enjoyed the line of work and wanted to expand his horizons for the rest of his career.
“I have always loved building things,” Klassen says. “I had a dream that someday I’d have a business, and at 45, I figured it was now or never.”
Today’s products include cabinetry, counters, wall panels, and other unique interior woodwork for commercial buildings such as credit unions, car dealerships, hospitals, schools, and offices. The manufacturing process is a blend of technological innovation and time-honored craftsmanship, ensuring an end result that is both attractive and high quality. Both beautiful and functional.
“I’m proud of our team. We have people with a wide range of skills and differing personalities who apply themselves to make [projects] happen. I’m also proud of the trust this group of people has helped us build with our customers,” says Klassen. “The trust [has been] built through hearing what people want, top-notch service, reliability, and a quality product.”
Klassen and his team have a reputation among contractors, architects and tradespeople across the province as a group that completes a job well, on time, and without cutting corners. While they aim for the quality of their work to exceed expectations, Klassen believes that the service is what keeps clients coming back.
The Pioneer Wood Designs team prides itself on how it approaches a project.
“Essentially, we’re problem solvers,” adds estimator and project manager Ben Damphousse. “We try to help people meet their vision, merging commercial millwork and craftsmanship. We love to serve people in that way.”
For Klassen, the objectives of any given project are multifaceted.
“Our job is to make things look good, and obviously to ensure our work is engineered to last.” Klassen says. “It also has to feel good. Look good, yes, but people like to touch their woodwork. What else can I say about it? Being a part of creating beautiful spaces where people enjoy working or doing business is ultimately satisfying for us.”
The difficulty of a project adds to its satisfaction for Klassen.
“A recent project that stands out is a credit union in Winnipeg. Again, it involved building something we’d never done before,” says Klassen. “This was at the start of [COVID-19] and driving down Pembina Avenue felt like being on deserted main street of a southern Manitoba village” Klassen recalls. “We put a lot of time and thinking-outside-the-box on that project. When all was said and done, it looked fantastic, and everyone including owners, contractors, and employees about to work in this new environment were so pleased. We certainly were [too].”
Looking back on past projects, both Klassen and Damphousse agree that the most challenging ones resulted in some of the greatest rewards.
“They can be the catalyst for creating the best relationships with customer,” Klassen says. “When a job gets tough, when for whatever reason all involved in a project are feeling the heat, the ability to persevere and maintain integrity become valuable assets not to be taken for granted. The customers we work with during those times are often the ones calling us later for their next project.”
Ultimately, Klassen values the social sphere in which he is now a fixture.
“I’m proud of our community,” he says. “We have so many innovative businesses and industrious people in our area, [and] we can’t take it for granted. It’s a really great place to live and to do business.”
Nearing twenty years of watching Pioneer Wood Designs flourish, Klassen is grateful to be a part of a thriving industry, and he looks forward to the future.
For information about the services Pioneer Wood Designs offers, click here.