More Opportunities on the Horizon for Langley Landscaping Company
Publish Date: August 2008
Seventeen years ago when Horizon Landscape Contractors was first established, the small proprietorship conducted most of its business in the residential sector. Since then the Langley-based company has grown and evolved dramatically. Horizon has now taken the next step in that evolution, having successfully bid on a subcontracting opportunity from Bird Construction to complete the landscape installation for the UBC Winter Sports Arena ahead of the upcoming 2010 Winter Games.
“The arena was a great project to work on, and it was a pleasure working under Bird Construction,” said Brian Dougherty, General Manager of Horizon Landscape. “We did all the hard and soft landscaping, which involved everything from the concrete pavers to the planting, turfing, pathways, and irrigation. The work ended up being completed ahead of schedule, and the arena was the first of the new venues to be completed.”
Beyond the installation, Horizon has also taken over the landscape maintenance for the venue leading up to the Games. “We had done the maintenance during the warranty period, and that lead to the confidence in Horizon to continue for the remainder of this year and all of next.”
For BC companies like Horizon Landscape, sub-contracting opportunities are a terrific way to get in on 2010-related business. General contractors are constantly looking for additional help and expertise for their projects, and Horizon knows firsthand the value of these types of opportunities. In fact, now that the UBC Winter Sports Arena is complete, Dougherty says the company is moving on to lend a hand with the Vancouver Olympic Village on False Creek.
“There are two main contractors in the Village, Metro-Can Construction and Inter-Tech Construction. We have done a lot of work with Metro-Can in the past which gave us the opportunity to bid on this project. We are going to landscape two of the parcels for the village and possibly more.” The Scope of the work is quite complicated notes Dougherty. “We’re really looking forward to this project because of the many fantastic landscape architecture features to the village, including outdoor playgrounds, multiple styles of concrete pavers, and sustainable green roofs designed by Vancouver-based Landscape Architect firm, Durante Kreuk LTD.”
The green roofs in particular are very exciting. The benefit of them, explains Dougherty, is that they covert carbon dioxide into oxygen, insulate the building to reduce heating and cooling costs, and limit storm water runoff – as well as create a more visually appealing rooftop.
As a business owner, Dougherty sees the increasing demand for sustainability – and the decreasing costs associated with it – as a breath of fresh air. “We’re a green business in a green industry and so it’s nice to see Vancouver taking the lead with sustainability and green considerations. It will be a great sight from above looking down on the Olympic village with the green roofs, and all the other vegetation.”
For other companies who would like to be a part of 2010, but aren’t sure they could compete in the competitive bidding process, Dougherty offers the following advice: “There are projects of all types and sizes associated with the Games. There is something for almost any business. Just spend a bit of time looking into it and you will find something that will fit your passion.”
And a great place to start looking is the 2010 Commerce Centre which offers numerous tools for connecting businesses to Games-related opportunities, including workshops and the 2010 Business Network, which is free to join. “We get e-mails on a regular basis from the 2010 Business Network which helps keep us in the loop,” said Dougherty.
To sign up on the 2010 Business Network, and to receive e-mail alerts, visit the Sign-Up page.
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