Curb Appeal

The Helton Group
of Companies
Enhances
Curb Appeal

The Helton Group of Comp
Enhances Cur
The Helton Group of Companies integra
Lean Manufacturing to bring more valu
any home or industrial project
WRITTEN By Logan Broyles
Produced BY Chris McDonald

Helton Industries
anies
b Appeal
te
e to

Helton Industries
Enhancing C
In 1981, Gerhard Rauch and Henry Neels
had a vision to start their own company that was
focused on the manufacturing, distribution, and
installation of door and window products. While
still employed at other companies, the two worked
tirelessly over their weekends to build the foundation
needed to start their own rollforming business, Helton
Industries Ltd.
Rollforming is a progressive process that passes a
metal strip through a series of pre-shaped roller dyes
that mold the metal into the desired rollform profile.
Three decades later, their company has not only
survived, it has thrived. The Helton Group now
encompasses four smaller companies and has offices
in Abbotsford, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Kamloops, Calgary
and Prince George.
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
To ensure that its products are always of the highest
quality, Helton Industries employs five continuous

urb Appeal page 5
improvement teams that meet on a weekly
basis. Each team is self-directed and
has its own budget, allowing them
to produce grassroots projects
that directly impact the
productivity of the
shop floor.
In order to foster
a productive
and positive
environment
for its
employees
to work
in, Helton
Industries
holds “town
hall” meetings twice a year
with the entire company,
giving every member of the
Innovative
products
such as
DURAHEM
track have smooth
hemmed edges to
provide safety and
strength for installation
personnel and end
users

Helton Industries
staff an opportunity to be a
results are shared with ever
well-informed and can work
“We’re a very flat compan
Mike Rauch, company Vice
command structure like ma
Helton displays its products at th
Association annual expo every ye
American cities

page 7
part of the company’s future. Corporate strategy and
yone, so that every member of the company’s staff is
together towards a common goal as a team.
y, there aren’t a lot of different tiers in place,” says
President. “Everyone has a say, we don’t have a rigid
ny other companies do.”
e International Door
ar in various major North
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Helton Industries places a
high value on keeping its staff
happy and productive. The
company offers competitive
wages; benefit packages, and a
safe work environment. Helton
Industries recognizes that
employees are the foundation
for any successful company.
“Hiring the right people and
putting together the right team
is the most valuable thing a

Helton Industries
Enhancing C
company can do,” says Rauch.
“When skilled people are in an
environment where they see
their co-workers as productive
members of the team, they
develop an automatic respect
for each other. The result is a
powerful team and a fun place to
work.”
TECHNOLOGY
Technology plays a vital role in
Helton Industries’ production
process. The goal is to use the
right tools that will allow the
company to keep things as
simple as possible and running
efficiently.
“We have eleven employees
in our Machine/Tool & Dye
The Helton Group le
power to procure over
annually, directly from
the w

urb Appeal
page 9
shop where we do everything
from building complex dyes, to
overhauling and customizing
machinery,” says Rauch.
verages purchasing
20 million lbs of steel
steel mills throughout
orld
INDUSTRY TRENDS
The garage door industry is
seeing an emerging trend as
customers are giving more
thought to the design and
appearance of their homes. As a
result, garage doors are starting
to become higher end products.
“Consumers realize that
the curb appeal of their home
is important to its value, and
garage doors are one of the most
significant upgrades that can be
done to improve this appeal,”
says Rauch. “Carriage house style

Helton Industries
Enhancing C
doors are coming into the mainstream by supporting
popular traditional styles of architecture.”
On the commercial side, access control and
high performance door products are getting more
sophisticated. The Helton Group routinely supplies
large projects using high
speed doors, rubber doors,
and even custom aircraft
hangar doors as large as
50 feet wide by 18 feet
high in Western Canada’s
growing resource and
industrial sectors.
FORWARD FACING
We’re a very
there aren’t a lo
tiers in place.
a say, we don’
command struc
compani
Mike Rauch, compa
BUSINESS PLAN
When looking ahead to
the future of its business, the Helton Group is focused
on three key areas. The first is maintaining efficient
operations. Rauch believes the company’s Continuous

urb Appeal
page 11
Improvement Initiatives will keep machine outputs
high and production costs low.
Second, the company wants to enhance its supply
chain. Rauch believes the next step is to continue
building a more sophisticated distribution system so
that customers get the
right product at the right
time. Helton’s purchasing
strategies already leverage
volumes to ensure a low
cost of all incoming raw
materials. The high degree
of vertical integration
means the Helton Group
can offer exceptional
value throughout Western
Canada and the USA.
“Lastly, and most importantly, we need to make
flat company,
t of different
Everyone has
t have a rigid
ture like many
es do
ny Vice President
sure all of the employees in our group have the skills
and motivation to exceed customer expectations,”

Helton Industries
Enhancing C
In 2007 Helton began manufacturing
torsion springs for overhead doors

urb Appeal
page 13
says Rauch. “We will focus on cross training and
communication to achieve this goal. We have so many
skilled employees; the trick is to make sure they are
sharing ideas with one another to develop all parts of
the organization.”
PLANS FOR EXPANSION
“Our focus is on maintaining and growing market
share in key areas where we can be geographically
strong,” says Rauch. “We have more than enough
manufacturing capacity since the US economy is still
slow.”
The company is focused on solidifying its
distribution capacity in Western Canada. Helton
has capitalized on several recent opportunities that
have allowed the company to expand into Kelowna,
Kamloops, Prince George and Alberta. This included
two recent acquisitions, Myron’s Door and Gate
Systems Inc. and Central Door and Gate Systems Inc.
Both companies previously had strong relationships

Helton Industries
Enhancing C
Westgate Door Industries Ltd
1996 expansion to 77,000 sqft
with Helton’s wholesale distribution division, Westgate D
“We’re focused on making sure each company gets the
continue their past success, and to grow in the future,” sa
Helton Industries also foresees more market savvy cus
provides more information about the different products a
Consumers are no longer satisfied with vanilla products o
are very specific about what they are looking for.
“This dynamic can be daunting for some industry supp
“However, for companies capable of embracing customer
this trend provides an edge on the competition.”

urb Appeal
page 15
STATISTICS
Name:
The Helton Group of
Companies
Country:
Canada
oor.
support they deserve to
ys Rauch.
tomers, as the Internet
vailable on the market.
r average service; they
liers,” says Rauch.
service and technology,
Employees: 225
Est: 1981
Industry:
Manufacturing
Premiere service:
Overhead Doors and Access
Controls
Owners & Founders:
Henry Neels, Gerhard Rauch
Website:
www.heltongroup.ca

Helton Industries
30840 Peardonville Road
Abbotsford, BC
V2T 6K2
T: 604-854-3660
E: info@heltonindustries.com
www.heltongroup.ca
Powered by:
http://
FInd out more >>