Oke Woodsmith

The History of Oke Woodsmith Building Systems Oke Woodsmith Building Systems was launched in 1984 with just one client and a tremendous vision. In the years since then, the Hensall-based company has built and renovated 600 distinctive custom homes from Muskoka to Rondeau Provincial Park for clients who have come to expect the unusual. The idea for the company came about in 1983 when the four Oke brothers – Brad, Wayne, Randy and Kevin – reunited with their parents for Christmas. At that point, Brad, an architectural technologist, was employed by Bell Canada in Saudi Arabia and Wayne, an engineer, was working in the tar sands in Alberta. Over Christmas dinner, Brad enlisted his family ’s aid to help him build a home in Southcott Pines in Grand Bend. Wayne volunteered to quit his job in Alberta to work on the project, Kevin quit his job as welder in the agricultural sector, and their father, Don, decided to resign from his management position. Many years before, Don had owned his own construction company. With just one client, Oke Woodsmith was born. It was a courageous move, given the recession of 1981. “How foolish were we to think we could start a construction company? ” Brad recalls. “Three guys quit their jobs, we bought a couple brand new trucks and we started to build my house, so we were going to be a one-house wonder. “The only reason we were successful quickly was the fact that my father had 33 years of building experience and was very well-respected as a builder in the area. Even though we started off fresh, people weren ’t looking at a bunch of kids building houses. ” Don, who was an equal partner in the company, priced the homes and ensured his sons correctly estimated the time needed for each stage of construction. After completing Brad ’s house, the partners landed a contract for a $1-million home in Grand Bend, which raised their profile in the area. Randy and Brad worked for the company on evenings and weekends until the business grew. Brad, who was still working for Bell, was the last to join full-time in 1986. “It took us two years from inception until the company was large enough to pay five. The day I came in, we had three new contracts, ” Brad recalls. “We went out to dinner to celebrate because we figured now we were a construction company. ” Brad ’s role centred on selling the homes, which involved providing architectural drawings to clients based on their ideas, budget and property. That was a new concept in an area where clients normally chose a stock plan and contracted a builder to construct it. There was no charge for the drawings, which included three revisions and pricing. If clients weren ’t happy with the results, they weren ’t obligated to work with the company. “With nine out of 10 people that we did that for we were able to achieve the budget and the design to their liking, ” Brad says. The five partners undertook all aspects of the construction work, from roofing to drywalling the homes. Randy believes that was a benefit. “It ’s very satisfying when you start a job from the ground up and finish it.