Gowing Contractors: A reputation for success Jane Gowing leads successful water and wastewater enterprise with multimillion dollar projects Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature Gowing Contractors has co-ordi- nated municipal water and waste- water projects since 1998, developing a reputation for high levels of work- manship, effective and efficient prob- lem solving and consistency. As the company’s reputation has grown, so has its capacity. Gowing is currently working on its largest project to date – the $150 million Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant project in Toronto. Company president Jane Gowing says municipal projects are unique for their requirements and standards and for the variables in timelines and fund- ing. To address these challenges she says it is critical to stay on top of the industry and to be in close communi- cation with clients and project own- ers. Gowing Contractors also commu- nicates with consulting engineers re- garding designs and future plans because, as she says, “With develop- ment, you cannot be playing catch up but must be ready when the time is right.” Gowing says despite growing recognition of the need for infrastruc- ture spending and investment, that doesn’t always translate to spending commitments. With the recent elec- tion and the Liberal party’s promise to increase spending, she is hearing from clients who expect to have more work over the next five years. In a market in which being compet- itive means being the lowest bidder, Gowing says her company has devel- oped skill in doing the job faster, bet- ter and less expensively. “I encourage staff to come forward with new ideas, to use their imaginations to find ways to do things better.” The company has a competitive ad- vantage through its own fabrication plant in St. George, On. Here, Gowing offers its clients high quality materials with guaranteed on time delivery. Gowing also attributes the com- pany’s success to its employees. Though Gowing herself has been rec- ognized by Profit W100 several years as one of Canada’s Top Female Entre- preneurs, she says the award is not really about her. “This award, for me, is recognition of the hard work of building our business and of the hard work of our staff.” The award process itself has been valuable personally, forcing her to sit down and look at what the company has accomplished, and at how to best grow and move forward. Gowing says the awards also rec- ognize the challenges, and her suc- cess, as a woman in construction. Within her own company of 40, proj- ect management staff are split evenly between men and women. This was not a conscious decision, although Gowing encourages women to em- bark on trades careers. “When you get a group of men and women together looking at solving a problem, the dif- ferences in perspective and differ- ences in ways of thinking are going to result in a better overall solution.” She says she proactively promotes networking opportunities for women. And while she says joint opportunities are equally valuable, she also says there are a lot of networking events more geared towards men. “Women need mentoring to move ahead in their careers and that means women meeting with other women.” Gowing participates in an informal Women in Water and Wastewater group. “We started as a group of six women who would get together for an evening out to talk and brainstorm. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — January 2016 – 45