Canada’s TOP Contractors Aquicon Construction Co. Ltd. thrives through growth, diversification and partnering with clients and sub-trades Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature Aquicon Construction Co. Ltd. has grown from the passion and dedication of two brothers, Mario and Frank Aquino, to create their own construction enterprise, into one of Canada’s top general contractors with almost $3 billion in projects com- pleted to date. Today, second generation Daniel Aquino sits at the helm as the company’s president after a 2014 management restructur- ing brought the company wholly into the hands of him and his father Mario. Through expertise and skills acquired from work- ing his way through the ranks and taking on previous roles as project manager and vice president of operations, Aquino con- tinues to strive for growth and development opportunities while maintaining the partnering approach that has become synonymous with the Aquicon Construction name. Aquino says Frank and Mario applied a hands-on approach to each project, beginning with many of the GTA’s elementary 38 – January 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report and secondary schools. “Although the operations and staff ex- panded during those first 10 years, as more projects were taken on, Mario and Frank ensured that the quality of Aquicon Construction’s facilities remained to their highest expecta- tions.” When Aquicon Construction began, he says, the industry was laden with general contractors. Mario and Frank however stood out because they were firm believers that “partnering” with clients, consultants and sub-trades would result in expert- ise sharing between all project team members and ultimately a higher quality finish than what was being offered in the in- dustry. “Staying true to this approach, the company built an es- teemed reputation in the industry and was chosen by clients to take on projects of increasing complexity.” Aquino says the company also built strong relationships with sub-trades. This translated into stronger pricing on proj- ects that would help pave the way for more complex projects