聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 With life-long ties to the community, Devon Sawka and Garrett Frost have established Renegade Plumbing and Heating in Canora, a business they say will grow as residents become familiar with their work.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The business was set up in October, but it wasn鈥檛 until January that the partners, both journeyman plumbers, began to advertise and actively seek out clients.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e鈥檙e both Red Seal journeymen,鈥� which means their qualifications are recognized across Canada (less Quebec), said Sawka. 鈥淲hen customers call, they can be guaranteed that a journeyman will be in their homes, doing the work,鈥� not an apprentice or a labourer.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Sawka has been a journeyman plumber for 14 years, including the last 10 in Saskatoon where he was employed by one of the largest plumbing-and-heating businesses in the province. He and his wife, Chantelle, wanted their three-year-old son Maddix to have the same benefits as he did, growing up in Canora.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When he arrived, he began discussing setting up their own business with his brother-in-law, Garrett Frost, who just received his journeyman鈥檚 ticket last summer.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Plumbing in a small town is a dying profession, said Sawka. Most journeymen would rather work for wages in a city then set up their own business.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Garrett and his wife, Amber, have a 19-month-old daughter Lilly and they too have purchased a house in Canora with the intention of raising their child in a small town.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Being able to offer the service locally means that customers will not be charged mileage, he said. That cost can be significant when hiring someone from Yorkton.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Renegade Plumbing, which is named in honour of the former Canora senior hockey team, is available for all plumbing jobs, from leaking taps to new construction. Sawka is certified to design new systems. One of the major needs thus far has been to clean drain systems and 鈥渨e have the biggest roto-rooter in town,鈥� he said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The business demand thus far has been good and both are very happy that the people of the area are willing to give them a chance to prove themselves. They are grateful the people are giving them a chance and they hope to have the business develop beyond having an office in Sawka鈥檚 house and working out of the truck.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With any luck, they hope to expand which will mean that they will be able to hire locally and give some local workers the opportunity to apprentice.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 They already have many contacts for parts and equipment suppliers to ensure they can offer their customers parts and equipment at fair prices. They are also making inroads with a number of equipment suppliers that they will be the exclusive installers of some premium heating systems.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e do the work ourselves and guarantee the service,鈥� said Sawka.
