Buying a glazing contractor in Canada

If you are evaluating a glazing contractor, start with what you must be able to do yourself. You may be buying a company, but the work is regulated by provinces and shaped by safety rules, and some of the gaps cannot be closed by the seller. This page is about what a good one looks like, what a seller may not mention on their own, and what you personally have to qualify for. Diligence on documents and registries is covered separately. Nothing here is advice on whether to buy. It is a list of questions worth asking.

What you must qualify for yourself

Start with the province. Quebec’s Régie du bâtiment publishes contractor licence classes and subclasses, and you can check a licence holder in its repertory. Confirm with the Régie what you would need to hold and how a change of ownership is handled. In Ontario, Skilled Trades Ontario sets out compulsory and non-compulsory trades, so ask which applies to the people doing the glazing work and whether the company needs anyone on staff in a particular category. For other provinces, ask the provincial trades authority directly. Do not rely on the seller’s answer.

What a good one looks like

Look for a company where the commercial work is documented project by project: contract, drawings, completion date, and who dealt with the client. Look for a second person who can estimate and run a project, a crew whose certificates are current, and a set of equipment with maintenance records. A business that depends on one person to price, sell and supervise every job is a different purchase from one that has a bench. Ask who the three most recent bids were won by, and who would have won them if the owner had been away.

What a seller may not volunteer

Ask about water-infiltration and seal-failure claims on finished projects, including those settled without a formal claim. Ask which customers have a history of slow payment, and whether any project is in dispute. Ask what equipment is near the end of its life, and what a replacement of suction lifters, access equipment or lifting gear would involve. Ask whether any bonding the company uses is personal to the owner. These are not accusations. They are questions to put to any seller, and the answers may bear on price and structure.

Safety, certification and workers’ compensation

Check which provincial occupational health and safety rules apply to working at heights and suspended access. Alberta publishes its Occupational Health and Safety Act, regulation and code, and says employers must develop prevention plans as outlined in the OHS Code. Other provinces have their own. Ask for the safety program, training records, and incident history. Also ask for a workers’ compensation clearance. WCB-Alberta says that if you do not have a clearance letter and the contractor has not paid their premiums, you may be liable for those premiums. Ask what your own province’s board provides.

Which kind of buyer are you?

If you are another glazing contractor, ask what you can judge about the crew and equipment yourself and how much weight you put on the project record. If you are a general contractor adding self-perform capacity, ask whether the company’s other customers will stay once they know you are a competitor to them. If you are a first-time owner, ask whether you can run estimating and site supervision, or must hire for it. A seller’s advisors may have different views, and brokers are useful partners here. The point is to be honest about which gaps you are filling.

Customers, contracts and the pipeline

Read the open contracts for terms on assignment and change of control, and ask whether a developer or general contractor must consent to a new owner. Ask the seller how the pipeline of bids has been won and whether any customer has said it will not continue. For more on how buyers approach this kind of company, see buying a trades business in Canada.

Equipment, vehicles and the yard

Walk the shop and the yard. Ask for the age of lifting gear, suction cups, glass racks, access equipment and trucks, and when each last had maintenance or inspection. Ask whether anything is leased or financed, and whether the premises are owned by the seller or a related company, since that affects whether the business can stay where it is. Photograph what you see and match serial numbers against the list. If the equipment is older than the seller described, raise it in the price discussion.

• Confirm in writing with the provincial body what licence or certification the business and its crew need.
• Ask who priced and won each of the last several commercial bids.
• Ask for the claims history, including settled and informal matters.
• Inspect the lifting and access equipment and ask for maintenance records.
• Ask whether any bonding or customer approval is personal to the owner.