Lloyd Scott Enterprises
For over 55 years, Alma, Ontario based Lloyd Scott Enterprises has been able to continue to combine quality product, competitive pricing, top-shelf employees and strong family values; and remain a leader in home renovation projects, windows and doors and custom kitchen cabinetry. Started back in 1969 by Lloyd Scott, the company is now in the hands of son’s Jeff and Rick, with the former explaining the company history.
Our dad, Lloyd, was originally a farmer”, says Jeff, “and with farming in the ‘60’s, there was spare time in the winter months. Fortunately, dad was very handy so he began building cabinets and doing renovations on a small scale for family and neighbours. In 1969 though, he came to the realization that farming wasn’t his calling; he preferred doing renovations and opted to sell the farm and launch a business comprised of siding and other aluminum work. He was pretty much a pioneer in this brand new industry, especially out here in the country. He was also the first person in the siding business to work in the Alma area. Eventually, Rick and I started working with him during the summers and on Saturdays from about the age of 12. The company moved into insulation, windows, doors, refacing & even ‘dabbled’ selling wood stoves. ‘Refacing’ which is modernizing existing cabinets by adding new doors and matching cabinet cladding was another industry that you could say we pioneered; back then people didn’t understand what refacing was as it was all very new.”
In the mid 1980’s, the company continued to expand, offering new cabinets as an option to refacing. In the early 1990’s we ramped up to manufacture our own custom cabinets in our shop in Alma with more emphasis on the design aspect as well. About the same time as we moved into manufacturing cabinets on a full-time basis, the windows and doors started to play a larger role within our business”, adds Rick.
Jeff says that the company has now fully moved out of the siding business. Sales and installation of custom KV windows and doors combined with new custom cabinets and refacing are now equal components of Lloyd Scott Enterprises.
I asked Jeff, ‘when the company was starting out, how did you let people know you were in business?’
“Word of mouth, as you certainly wouldn’t have had much of an advertising budget back then”, he says with a laugh. “If you did a good job for someone, you hoped that they would spread the word for you and you would pick up some more business. To be honest though, I really don’t believe that it was dad’s intention to take this company to where we are today. He was always the ‘boss’ and was working because he needed to make a living but once Rick and I came on board, things started to change. The refacing was a different venue completely and the other products were a bit of ‘ebb and flow’, like the wood stoves, which we decided didn’t fit our company model and so we got out of retail. However, I truly believe that we have always been a business that has helped to serve the people’s needs and we continue to do so today.”
Who would you say makes up Lloyd Scott Enterprises market now and what areas do you reach into?
“I believe that there was a time when most of our clientele were older, but now we are starting to notice more younger demographics as well, making the buying decision” says Rick. “As for what areas we are reaching into, on occasion we have built kitchens for people with cottages in Haliburton and the Muskokas but I would say it’s usually within a 45 minute radius from our shop.
Describe in 50 words or less, how your customers would know Lloyd Scott Enterprises.
“One word”, says Jeff, “Quality! I know quality is sometimes an overused word, but in our case, we try to provide the customer the ‘absolute’, very best product possible. On our cabinet side, our installers take the necessary time needed to ensure the job is done right and our customers are satisfied. Our goal is to be the best in the industry. That’s how dad was and we have always said that there are two ways to do the job, the fast way or the right way! It’s service that we sell and because we have been around for 55 years and servicing the same areas, you need to service what you sell, or ‘word of mouth’ will shut you down.”
So, what’s the ‘secret sauce’ to working together successfully as a family?
Rick says that he and his brother have been managing their two distinctive divisions, where he’s responsible for the windows and doors division, while Jeff looks after cabinet division.
“We don’t step on each other’s toes as our skill sets are very different and it’s actually been a great career for both of us, 44 years full time! We have been very fortunate to work with a tremendous clientele who are just ‘good people’. Actually, we had an employee who worked for us for 35 years before he retired and he said to me one day, ‘I can’t believe how nice the people are that we do work for’ and I think that it actually goes both ways, as we attract nice people, because we treat people well!”
Finally, Lloyd Scott Enterprises, over time have, according to your web site, completed 40,000 plus projects, is there one that still resonates for you?
“There’s one for me”, says Rick. “We did a retirement home which was a very large project for our company and it turned out great. The building has since been repurposed as a different type of retirement home now; the windows are still in place and dad even stayed there for a couple of months this past winter. That kind of project just gives you a real feeling of satisfaction.”
WRITTEN BY: LARRY SIMPSON | PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL SPEARS
