By / Natalie Bruckner
So often, grabbing an opportunity that comes along, no matter how far from your current path it may be, can be the best move you will ever make. Case in point: Rob Bertram, CEO of Ideal Products Group.
Back in 1991, Bertram was in post-secondary school studying psychology. He was just completing his second year when his wife Tammy (then girlfriend) mentioned that her parents, who owned an insulation contracting business, wanted to start a fabrication business making plastic insulation jacketing. And so Bertram, excited by a new venture, decided to switch gears and hopped on board. “It was neat and new, and I got to learn a lot and learn aspects of business,” Bertram says.
At that time, the business was small. In fact, Rob and Tammy were the first employees of the venture. Things have changed quite a bit. Since they bought out their business partners, Dale and Wanda Maloney, in 1999, they have diversified the company. Today, Rob and Tammy Bertram run an incredibly successful manufacturing company with a staff of 100-plus in offices in Canada, the United States, and China. In addition, the company has been hailed for its commitment to revolutionizing the global mechanical insulation market.
Bertram, however, is one of life’s humble human beings. When he’s not working on ways to provide products and services that help increase productivity while decreasing safety risks, you are likely to find him camping with the family in the great outdoors, out hunting and shooting (admittedly with a camera, these days), or with a hammer in his hand, building a tree house or a new warehouse.
Bertram is just one of those people who sees opportunities, no matter where he is. One story that truly sums this up goes back to 2003 during a work trip to China. On that trip with his operations manager, Augustine Ngan, he was driving past a gentleman using a machine to make corrugated sheets. Bertram sprung into action. Within minutes, he had Ngan (reluctantly, he adds) bartering for the piece of machinery. “I saw the machine and thought, ‛That’s exactly what I need for my business in Canada!’ The guy told me I couldn’t afford it, but after some back and forth I ended up paying 10,000 Renminbi (around $2,000 Canadian dollars) and had it shipped back to Edmonton. It’s still in operation today, and it has made countless stainless steel sidings for projects, including my own office and warehouse,” laughs Bertram.
It’s this character trait, plus his wife’s business savvy, that has undoubtedly played a huge part in the success of Ideal Products. While the company today is a great success, like any entrepreneurial journey, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
“I would say one of the biggest challenges we had was when it came to manufacturing some plastic products,” Bertram says. “We were very much underfunded. We had developed a product where we knew we could get business in the industrial sector, but we had to get a fire rating approval and so we spent every last dollar we had on going for the approval. I met with the Underwriters Laboratory of Canadian in Toronto to go through the approval process knowing full well it was make or break time!”
The risk paid off. Ideal received approval, and Bertram could breathe a sigh of relief.
There have been many wins throughout the journey with Ideal, among them the entry into the metal jacketing business in 2003, opening its manufacturing plant in China in 2004, being ranked number 65 on Canada’s list of 100 fastest growing companies in 2008, Bertram being nominated for entrepreneur of the year in 2009, and introducing SafetyJacs, a new standard in cut and roll jacketing, in 2013.
However, for Rob and Tammy Bertram, perhaps the biggest win is having built a company where people want to invest as a result of their core values: to act with integrity; to support one another; to do what it takes; respect for all; to always be learning.
“Tammy and I have spent an awful lot of energy on making sure that everybody in the company really aligns with the values,” Bertram says. “I suppose you could say this is where the psychology came in. We hired a business coach and worked with him on how to engage the employees.”
There was a realization that everybody in life has six basic human psychological needs: certainty, significance, variety, connection, contribution, and growth. “Everybody has a dominant need and that need has to be fulfilled,” he says. “It’s no different than business. So we went through a process and trained all of our junior managers and all of our supervisors, as well as our senior leadership group, on understanding how to create space where their needs can be fulfilled, and to be aware of what the needs are.”
And this has paid off. Ideal’s retention rate is extremely high. In fact, even when people leave, they often end up returning.
With so much to be proud of, what does the future hold for Rob and Tammy Bertram and the company? “While insulation may not a very sexy business on the surface, if you really look at the mechanism behind it and the character of our business, it’s about protecting people, partners, and our planet,” Bertram says. “What fires us up is that we’re able to actually do a better job and continue to make a difference.”
Learn more about Ideal Products Group at idealproducts.ca ▪
