This is the fifth installment in our ongoing ‘Meet the Parklane Team’ Q&A blog series, introducing you to our Production Manager Andrew Duncan.
When your business is built on delivering customized manufactured solutions—all to help customers across North America address their daunting noise and vibration control challenges—you need a leader who can bring complex engineering designs to life. In our case, that person is Andrew Duncan. Andy has been a key member of our team for more than a decade, moving up the ranks to lead our production department, and overseeing the fabrication and installation of every one of our components.
In this ‘Meet the Parklane team’ blog, Andy shares a few details about his extensive industry expertise. We explore how he’s leveraged experience working for companies across the Yukon, Ontario and Alberta to enhance our product and service offerings, while motivating the Parklane fabrication team to achieve their full workplace potential. Learn more about how Andy’s skills, hard work and dedication to our company culture have helped drive Parklane’s growth:
Key info
Team Member: Andrew Duncan
Position: Production Manager
Education: Completed the four-year sheet metal certificate program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
When he’s away from the office: As a new dad, Andy has his hands full changing diapers and balancing work and home life. When he’s not spending time with his family, he enjoys golfing and watching sports. He also makes time each year for his family’s annual hunting retreat in the Yukon. It’s a week-long annual outing that brings multiple generations of Duncans together to enjoy the outdoors. “I get to see them once a year and it’s one of the best soul-searching trips you can do,” he says.
Can you tell us about your professional background?
I grew up in the Yukon and my family had a mechanical contracting business where they also had a custom fabrication shop. My dad was the president and he really taught me the core values of treating employees with respect and motivating them. Then I worked for a company out of Edmonton who had a contract with Suncor, and gained a lot of expertise with large duct work and rigging. It was all valuable experience that I’m able to rely on today. When I moved to Ontario and started with Parklane in March, 2012, they allowed me to do custom metal work, which I really enjoyed. Every job offered a new challenge and it really pushed me to grow in my career.
What’s your current role?
As the Production Manager I’m responsible for managing all of our manufacturing operations, plus installations. I make sure everything is properly built, I oversee quality control and ensure all deliveries are on time. It’s not only about fabricating our noise and vibration control solutions. We have to follow all acoustic details to make sure everything we build integrates with the mechanical systems of the facility where we’re attenuating the noise problem, while also making sure it aligns with the building’s aesthetics. We put a lot of effort into ensuring that the final fitment and colours of our components are exactly to the architect’s or facility owner’s specifications.
Our trades workforce has been growing rapidly, so a big part of my job is working with our team and making sure they have the support needed to do their work. Our projects can be dangerous. If things were to go wrong, they could go very wrong. We take care to make sure that doesn’t happen, but our team still needs to know we have their back and we’re here for them. It’s a group effort.
How does your past experience relate to this current role at Parklane?
Back then I was a young, on-site journeyman, there was a lot of valuable experience that came out of filling different roles. In Fort McMurray, we were installing massive duct work at a rock crushing facility. The duct work was huge and was fitting in tight spaces. Learning how it was installed and manipulated was very interesting and gave me different perspectives that I was able to bring to Parklane.
But it was when I started my career at our family business in the Yukon, and worked until I was a journeyman, that I learned the importance of quality, respect and efficiency. When I left the family business and worked for multiple companies, I was sometimes treated like another set of hands. I really missed being in an environment where people actually cared for each other. I wanted to bring that into Parklane when I took a leadership role in production.
What drew you to Parklane?
I met Greg and Matt (Downey, Parklane’s Founder and President, respectively) through a mutual acquaintance. I wasn’t happy where I was working and Greg offered me a job. I started out at Parklane as a fabricator before being promoted to foreman. I worked really hard to build a strong team environment staffed by really great, motivated people.
I liked the fact that Parklane provides full-service solutions from start to finish, handling all manufacturing, design and installation for our clients. There’s also some really diverse expertise on our team. Everyone has experience in different areas. Everyone puts their knowledge into one giant pool to get the job done right.
What do you think is the most unique feature of Parklane’s culture?
We win and lose as a team. If someone doesn’t know everything or needs help, other people will help pick up the slack if needed. I’ve worked for a lot of companies and that mentality is very rare. I really believe that no one is here only for their personal success.
Job titles are important, but they’re not our main focus, and no job is beneath anyone that works here. That attitude comes from Matt and Greg. Our people are really focused on completing projects correctly and efficiently.
To reach a Parklane team member to discuss your noise and vibration control challenges, contact us now.