Allen Williams’ corner office isn’t always in a corner.

Some days, it’s in a cockpit. The chief executive officer of A.D. Williams Engineering moonlights as one of the company pilots, fulfilling a lifelong passion by flying the consulting engineering firm’s six-seater Piper Malibu aircraft.

An accomplished pilot with 11,000 hours of experience, Williams has had his small business on cruise control for most of its 25-year history.

The 61-year-old Edmontonian boasts annual growth of 15 to 20 per cent per year in the history of a private company that now operates out of Edmonton, Calgary and Yellowknife.

Jack Dagley photos, for Business Edge
Allen Williams takes a hands-on approach to business and flying.

That success may be attributed to the fact that Williams’ job is a product of two of his life’s labours of love – flying and mechanical engineering.

1. What was it like growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan?

“You know, it was an absolutely great way to grow up. You learned to work, have responsibilities and do things that a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to do. In our firm, if we can find a farm boy from Alberta or Saskatchewan, we’re pleased because they usually are very practical and have very good work ethics and so on.”

2. What was your boyhood dream?

“I wanted to learn to be an airline pilot from the time I was five or six years old and, when I was about 10 or 12, I made a deal with my dad (Ed) where I would milk cows and share half of the cream cheques with my mother (Shirley) . . . By the time I was 15, I had enough money saved up for flying lessons. I think that was a real good lesson because, while all the other kids were playing ball and hockey, I was milking the cows. It was a good lesson about making money and paying your way.”

3. Was it a financial struggle for your family on the farm?

“We weren’t poor farmers, but nobody was wealthy. My dad went through the Depression and he was quite cautious. We weren’t so poor that we didn’t know what we were going to eat next, but we certainly were not wealthy.”

4. So at what point did you get your pilot’s licence?



“I started my lessons when I was 15, made my first solo flight on my 16th birthday and I had my licence at 17. I have an airline transport licence now. When I finished high school, I tried to get on with Air Canada, but they didn’t take people with glasses at the time. I still love flying and I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to combine that in business. We’ve had our own company airplane since we started the company and I’ve really enjoyed that part of it.”

5. What initially appealed to you about the engineering field?

“I think engineering has got to be one of the most exciting professions. There are always new challenges, new ways of doing things and every project is different. You get a lot of satisfaction creating something, whether you’re building a bridge or a fuel-storage facility.”

6. What led you to start your own company 25 years ago?

“I didn’t have a big desire to start my own company, but there were some management changes and restructuring in the firm with which I was working (B.W. Brooker/D. Panar & Associates). That sort of almost forced me to start out on my own. I decided at the time that it would be a good decision, because I had potential clients and the experience. The day I started, I had no office, no staff and no clients. I didn’t have very much money, I had a mortgage on a house and three small kids. It was a huge step for me, but there was never any doubt in my mind that I would succeed. Engineering is a fairly low- investment business to start up. Your biggest investment is hiring people. When you start hiring people, you’ve got to make some money so you can pay them.”

7. How did your company weather the economic slump in the 1980s?

“We actually grew through that period, and I think that was because we were just nicely established, but not too big. We were able to maintain a lot of our clients and get new ones. We basically have averaged 15-per-cent to 20-per-cent growth over the 25-year history of the company, and it has been fairly steady growth.”

8. To what do you attribute that success?

“We have some extremely good people and very good repeat clients that have been quite loyal to us. I think we’ve found some pretty good niche markets and we strive in terms of being leading edge. We’ve developed a knowledge-management system for which we’ve won a national award.”

9. How would you describe your management style?

“I try to build very strong teams and I certainly give people a fair bit of rope to go get the job done. I think one of the keys is the way we’ve established a cohesive team despite having three offices and different disciplines.”

10. What’s the key to hiring and retaining staff in your business?

“I believe the secret to our success is quality staff. We do a very thorough screening process before we hire people. We do personality profile testing, we check references very thoroughly and I have a bit of a policy in which I also get to interview everyone we hire besides the manager.”

11. What’s the best advice you’d offer someone who was launching a small business today?

“I think you’ve got to work very hard in building a good client base and good staff. You might have the best company in the world, but if you can’t sell your services, you’re not going to go anywhere. And even if you are able to sell your services, you’ll only be as good as your last job. You have to do very good quality work and build the teamwork from within.”

12. You’ve had some success in winning three contracts in China. What’s your secret there?

“The first contract was certainly key because the Chinese very much like to build a relationship with the people they deal with. The Chinese spend a lot of time seeing how well you perform during the negotiation stage and they want to know a lot about your company. And I also think maybe a big part of us winning the first job was in me being there during the two weeks of negotiations (along with negotiator Robert Pitour, vice-president of A.D. Williams international division). Mr. Pitour has dealt with the Chinese for a lot of years and he understands how to deal with them. I think the more projects we get under our belt there, the more opportunity there will be.”

13. How is your merger this year with Calgary-based CWA Structures working out?

“We did the merger because their firm fit very well with our firm in Calgary. We were doing building signs, mechanical and electrical services in Calgary and we needed a stronger structural component in Calgary. It was a nice fit for us and for them, because I think they’ll find more opportunity with our multi- disciplinary team. I’m seeing some good synergies there. I guess we’re constantly looking and open to other mergers, but we don’t have anybody right now that we’re doing due diligence on.”

“I think we could be (a takeover target) if we wanted to be, but I’m not really interested. I’m having too much fun, we’re profitable and we’re growing.”

14. What’s your vision for the company?

“I think we’ve got a real unique opportunity in Western Canada and the North. I’d like to continue our growth. There’s also huge, huge potential in China if we could tap the market and find the right spots for it. We’ve also done work in Russia and the Caribbean.”

15. How do you see your industry changing over the next decade?

“There has been a lot of consolidation and it seems the industry is becoming more and more competitive. I think it’s necessary for any service company nowadays to be run much more in a business-like manner to survive.”

16. Who’s the business tycoon you most admire?

“One of my heroes was always Bill Lear. He was well known as the man behind the Lear Jet. He was a phenomenal inventor and entrepreneur. He invented the VHS, 8-Track and he was working on steam-powered vehicles when he died of cancer. I never met him and I kick myself over that, because I knew a guy that knew him well. I was in my early 30’s then and now wish I would have made the extra effort so I could have met him. Another incredible guy was Leonardo da Vinci. Besides being an artist, he was a great engineer. He developed the rudimentary idea of flight and the parachute. He was an amazing guy.”

17. Are you contemplating retirement?

“I guess I don’t want to hit a brick wall and suddenly I’m stopped. Ideally, I’m hoping my future partners will let me have a corner so I could come in and work a little bit. I think it’s a hard thing when you’re active and busy to just stop. I think one of the fortunate things about being the business owner is that once I get the succession going, maybe I can still come in one or two days a week.”

18. Is your son Reagan (also a mechanical engineer, pilot and partner in the company) being groomed as your successor?

“Oh, I think that’s very possible.”

19. What’s it like working with your son?

“It’s fantastic. He’s doing an excellent job and he’s also a commercial pilot and flies our airplane. I’m proud to see him doing what he’s doing.”

20. What’s your most important goal beyond business?

“It’s to have a balanced life and contribute to society.”

IN PROFILE: Allen Williams
* Title: President/CEO/majority owner, A.D. Williams Engineering Inc.
* Born/raised/age: Lashburn, Sask., Neilburg, Sask.; 61.
* Education: University of Saskatchewan, Bachelor of Science (mechanical engineering).
* Career: Prior to founding A.D. Williams Engineering in 1978, Williams was chief mechanical engineer and corporate pilot with B.W. Brooker/D. Panar & Associates Engineering of Edmonton, a company he spent eight years with. He has also worked as an oilfield production engineer.
* Moonlighting: Williams is the incoming president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada and a past-president of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta.
* Passions: Flying the company aircraft, a six-seater Piper Malibu, golfing, skiing, sailing.

IN PROFILE: A.D. Williams Engineering
* Brass: Allen Williams, president/CEO; Brian George, Yellowknife branch manager; Naseem Bashir, Calgary branch manager; Pat Jansen, Edmonton branch manager. Other partners in the company are Gord Rajewski, Randy Smith, Reagan Williams (Allen’s son) and Steve Sutton.
* Profile: A.D. Williams, founded as a single-discipline mechanical firm in 1978, has grown into a multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firm, providing services in mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, geotechnical and environmental engineering as well as building science technology. The company operates out of offices in Edmonton, Calgary and Yellowknife.
* Website: www.adwilliams.com
* E-mail: postmaster@adwilliams.com
* Headquarters: 10010-100th St., Edmonton, T5J 0N3.
* Phone/Fax: 1-800-263-2393; Edmonton 780-424-2393, 780-425-1520; Calgary 403-263-2393, 403-262-9075.