Town & Country

C M Y K 2 WINNIPEGFREEPRESS,SATURDAY,MARCH22,2014 WINKLER By JENNIFER MCFEE For the Free Press F ROM FARMING TO WELDING AND MANUFACTURING, ENTREPRENEUR BOB TOEWS WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO TRY SOMETHING NEW. And that can-do attitude extends to the com- pany he co-founded more than 20 years ago, keep- ing Convey-All Industries on the cutting edge as a custom manufacturer of conveyor systems. As a farmer, Toews would try to grow almost anything, says Convey-All Industries business development manager Steve Froese. Now as a manufacturer, Toews continues to focus on di- versity by building unique custom products for his clients. After a dozen years of farming near Winkler, Toews switched gears and worked as a welder for another decade. In 1983, he embraced his entrepreneurial spirit and launched a company called Commercial Welding, along with a busi- ness partner. Over time, they began to build conveyors, and eventually they renamed the company Convey-All Industries. "On the farm, there were standard grains, but he also got into specialty crops and speculated on different crops," Froese says. "He tried to produce almost anything that you could grow in southern Manitoba. He was not afraid to specu- late and grow crops that were probably on the cutting edge at the time when he was farming." Toews became involved in the pipeline busi- ness before Commercial Welding got off the ground, and he drew on that experience to en- sure he made the best product possible. "The way we produce our products is a direct throwback to how Bob worked on the pipeline and how he saw things were built at that time," Froese says. "The philosophy is to build a quality product that will last. With conveying equipment, that's kind of the premise that you want." Toews remains actively involved as president of the company, and his son, Carl, is following the same path as vice-president. "It is definitely a family business. Bob is a very intelligent man. For the most part, he's fairly soft-spoken, but he knows what he wants and I think he has a good idea of what customers want. Part of that is probably due to his history in the agriculture industry," Froese says. "Splitting off from that, conveyors are also the product of choice in the fertilizer industry. The problem with fertilizer is that it's so very corro- sive, so the company has built a lot of stainless steel products for that industry." Convey-All Industries also provides products for the oil and gas sector. "They got into products that specialize in the fracking industry. Even our conveyors are used for moving sand, which is very important to the whole process," Froese says. "We also build SandKings, which are huge tanks that are used in the fracking process." With nine manufacturing plants, one research- and-development shop and one training facility, Convey-All provides jobs to more than 150 em- ployees in the Winkler area. Since the oil and gas industry is cyclical, the company works hard to maintain a balance dur- ing busy and slow times. "We steadily get orders, but it is up and down depending on how the price of the gas and oil goes. That's always the challenge. It's very labour intensive to produce some of these prod- ucts, so you need a lot of people when things are going well," Froese says. "But when you hit the lower cycle, how do you handle your employees when you don't have the work? Those are the logistical issues that ownership deals with as those rises and falls happen." By JENNIFER MCFEE For the Free Press W ORD OF MOUTH HELPS, but it's not the only secret to Winkler Dental Clinic's success. The clinic is taking a big bite out of dental prob- lems, offering more quality care to more patients each year. Dr. Samantha Klassen worked at the clinic for five years before she bought the practice in 2006. Since then, the business has grown exponentially. "It's been fantastic. Since I bought the practice, we've expanded to triple the space and basically triple the staff as well. We have four dentists, five hygienists, four administrative assistants and eight dental assistants. We also have a part-time surgeon who comes in from B.C. for three or four days a month," Klassen says. "We've expanded in terms of patients as well. When I purchased the practice, there were around 4,000 active patients. Now there's almost 16,000 active patients, and we're always ac- cepting new patients. I think that's key to grow- ing your business. You always have to have your doors open." And once patients walk through those doors, they can feel at ease in the clinic's relaxed and professional environment. "We did renovations in 2011. That was a big project, but it was fun too. I had a lot of great support from people along the way. We worked during the renovations, so there were a lot of challenges for staff and everybody else," Klassen says. "We wanted to create a homey kind of feel. People are already anxious a lot of the time when they come to the dentist, so if they can relax for a few minutes, it does make a big differ- ence. It helps people to not feel like they're in a real clinical setting when they walk in the door." Some patients aren't able to visit the clinic, so Klassen takes her skills to them. "I occasionally visit the local nursing home. I do some dentistry there because it's not always easy to transfer people and it's not always pos- sible. Especially for people with dementia, it's very disruptive and creates a lot of anxiety to take them out of their environment, so I usually just go there instead if I can," she says. "We can do the exams, and if somebody's hav- ing some problems, we can deal with that. I also do some hospital dentistry, so we are able to see young children or special-needs patients at the Altona hospital, which is fairly close." The clinic also provides dental education in local schools and preschools. "Again, it's a service we provide. We have to be advocates for young people because they can't always let people know when they're hav- ing problems," Klassen says. "Their parents might not realize that their kids have some pretty big issues in there. So if we can catch them when they're young and their teeth are still healthy, we can maintain their oral health. It is so beneficial." Klassen has been a dentist for 15 years, and she still enjoys sinking her teeth into a fresh challenge each day. "What I like about being a dentist is that no two days are ever the same. There's a lot of variety. No two people are the same, and no two procedures are the same. So to me, it's always interesting and it's always challenging. It keeps me thinking, and I like that," she says. "I really enjoy the fact that I get to be around people and talk to people all day long. You form relationships with people over time, especially in a rural community. I go to the grocery store and I recognize people and I like that. I enjoy bumping into people I know." Maintaining relationships with patients is important to Klassen and her staff. They get to know families and learn about their lives, and Klassen enjoys catching up on the latest news. "I like to see how they're doing and how their grandchildren are doing and how their kids are doing in school. I really enjoy that aspect of my job." The community is integral to the success of the practice, and Winkler Dental Clinic gives back by supporting minor hockey, the hospital auxiliary, Candlelighters Cancer Support Group and many other worthy causes. And it's earning accolades for its exemplary service and ongoing community support. The team won a 2013 Business Excellence Award from the Winkler and District Chamber of Com- merce, and at least eight letters of recommenda- tion accompanied the nomination. "I was really touched by that. I think what makes us stand out is the people that work here. I have an incredible staff," Klassen says. "They really care about people and they care about their jobs. They enjoy what they do, and I think that makes a difference."❚ THE EXTRA SMILE DENTALCLINICSTAFFBONDWITHPATIENTSINWINKLER Photo courtesy of Winkler Dental Clinic. ON THE RIGHT TRACK CONVEY-ALL INDUSTRIES KEEPS THINGS MOVING Men at work: Eastview plant manager Peter Banman (left) and Steve Froese. Photo by Darcy Finley. The clinic also provides dental education in local schools and preschools. STORY CONT. ON PG. 5 www.westernsd.mb.ca CERTIFIEDGENERALACCOUNTANTS Winkler 204-325-7579 Steinbach 204-326-6842 Winnipeg 204-669-4213 Rosenort Co-op Ltd. You'eathomehere. Box 10, #15 Main Street Rosenort, Manitoba, Canada R0G 1W0 Phone: 204-746-2041 Fax: 204-746-2128 rosenortcoop@gninc.ca .................................................................. Grocery Store / Hardware / Cardlock Gas Bar ALTONA VisitUsToday intheAltonaMall Ph. 324-6425 Dr.SamanthaKlassenandassociates Box1689/500MainStreet,WinklerMB R6W4B5 Ph: 204-325-4343 www.WinklerDentalClinic.com Isthisyournewhouse? Call 204-529-2533 Call 204-529-2533 to find out more or brad@pennerbuilders.com AnEnvironmentallyFriendlysolution forsurfacing&resurfacing Provides a Durable and Decorative Surface Suitable For Light & Heavy Traffic • Driveways • Parking Lots • Golf Courses • Hiking Trails We offer a complete service from prep to finish ph (204) 746-3607 See us on our website cousinsgravel.ca Comejoinusincelebratingour50th Manitoba Sunflower Festival July 25-27, 2014 Visit our website at: www.altona.ca So you've been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) We can help to provide HOPE. Call831-1510 E-mail: HOPE@alsmb.ca ALS Society of Manitoba 493 Madison St. Winnipeg, MB., R3J 1J2 www.alsmb.ca TC_xx_Mar-22-14_CO_01.indd 2 TC_xx_Mar-22-14_CO_01.indd 2 3/18/14 2:27:36 PM 3/18/14 2:27:36 PM

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