On Side Restoration Services Ltd. Acquires Higgins ProTeam Restorations Inc.

On Side Restoration Services Ltd. of Vancouver is pleased to announce that it has acquired Higgins ProTeam Restorations Inc. a southern Ontario multi branch restoration contractor. The deal which was formalized late last week will expand On Side’s number of branches to 25 across Canada.

On Side had entered the Ontario market two years ago with the purchase of StayKleen Services in Markham but market conditions dictated that a conservative approach would be more practical for expansion plans.

“Our mission is to be and be seen as the leading restoration contractor in Canada and there is no doubt that you have to have a solid foothold in the Ontario market to think about making that a reality,” said Craig Hogarth founder and owner of On Side.

“Are we excited about this? You bet. It means we will have a broad foundation to build on, good staff, good facilities and locations that can effectively serve 8 million Ontarians. It is an opportunity, not a guarantee, so we have our work cut out for us, but life would be pretty dull if we didn’t seek out meaningful challenges” exclaimed Hogarth.

Higgins ProTeam had four offices; Kitchener, London, Burlington and Woodstock. Each location provided full service restoration – emergency services, contents and re-construction to a number of Insurance Companies, Insurance Brokers and Property Managers.

“There is a lot of consolidation going on in our industry which is putting pressure on smaller industry players. By joining On Side we have been able to have access to much more sophisticated infrastructure, capital and human resources that we believe we need to be successful going forward,” says Jay Kielt a prior owner of Higgins and the newly appointed Manager responsible for the London and Woodstock operations.

Prior to becoming an On Side company, Higgins ProTeam was a member of Canadian Disaster Restoration Group (CDRG).

With the exception of one of the previous owners, staff will remain unchanged. Jay Kielt will oversee London/Woodstock, Bill O’Callaghan will oversee Burlington and a new manager will be hired for Kitchener. The company name will change and operate under the “On Side Restoration” name as soon as is practicable.

While On Side Restoration’s origins are in Western Canada with 12 branches in British Columbia and 7 branches in Alberta, it also has branches in Atlantic Canada (St John’s) and now 5 branches in Ontario.

From humble beginnings in Craig Hogarth’s garage in 1979, the company has grown to over 700 employees coast to coast making it Canada’s largest owner operated restoration company.

In closing Hogarth commented that, “I would like to think we are different than our competitors. Our ownership model allows a much higher degree of focus and accountability. We react as one without even thinking about it and we are totally committed to the restoration business. We have developed systems and services which are focused on providing our clients a superior service experience and they are exclusive to On Side. As we continue to get better and customers continue to experience our service we will move towards satisfying our mission. Of course there are lots of growth opportunities that will become a reality in the future, but that is a different press release.”  

http://www.onside.ca