T I T L E S P O N S O R
At LAPRAIRIE, we solve your project challenges with a highly skilled workforce, innovative thinking and state-of-the-art equipment. Our operational team and comprehensive
fleet of cranes, trucks and heavy equipment are ready to deliver – anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s executing super-heavy, engineered lifts, hauling extra-heavy loads,
maintaining the safety of your roads, mining and trucking aggregates, or supplying and delivering quality frac sand products – LAPRAIRIE gives you the advantage.
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dad retire and put our company in a position to grow and
take things to the next level.”
van Bruggen says that the partnership has been very
successful for Barricades and Signs, with the company
seeing significant growth over the last two years.
“It truly is a partnership. We learn from the Powell
family’s years of experience, while staying true to our roots.
They have empowered us to grow.“
“It’s rewarding to know that we’re not losing anything
that we’ve built; in fact, we’re emphasizing those things
that made us who we are,” he said.
Finding opportunities throughout COVID-19
Barricades and Signs has continued to grow even throughout
the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, deciding first
and foremost that the most important strategy to moving
forward was to focus on its people.
“There were two main ways I saw that contractors and
companies like us – suppliers/manufacturers – responded
to the pandemic. One was to lay off or try to downsize as
quickly as they could, which actually put those companies
at a disadvantage, because there really was and is a lot of
opportunity to help and to get work done,” said van Bruggen.
He says that the companies that went this route at the
outset of the pandemic restricted their ability to get after
some of the work opportunities. Barricades and Signs, by
comparison, did not lay off a single person; instead, they
added to their team.
“We took the opportunity to reinforce our culture, and
as people became available or were looking for work, we
actually hired and worked through some of the initial
downturn,” said van Bruggen. “It was rewarding that we
could provide employment to people when things were
tough. It put us in a position as things continued to open
Photo courtesy of Jan van Bruggen
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