Ackard Contractors wins gold for fourth year in a row
For the fourth year in a row, Ackard Contractors has won Gold in the Edmonton Journal Readers’ Choice Awards.
“It’s always great to hear that we’ve won an award, especially one that comes from the public,” says Ackard co-owner Aquilino Naccarato. “We are extremely thankful for all our present and past clients who have trusted and supported us over all these years.
“Our goal here is to always create great spaces, and by hearing that from consumers, it solidifies for us that we’re on the right track.”
Naccarato and fellow Ackard co-owner, Richard Plamondon, became friends while working together more than 35 years ago.
They could see a place in the market for custom renovations and home building, so they started Ackard Contractors in 1982, specializing in quality renovations and custom home building.
Projects cover the gamut: bathrooms, kitchens, outdoor living spaces, full home renovations and new builds.
While the focus has been on quality since the get-go, much has changed since those early days. The city of Edmonton has grown, along with Ackard Contractors, which now has 55 employees.
Trends have changed, too. Because of the Internet, people are more aware of global renovation trends, and they expect to find those trends at home.
Clients also have more to choose from. Take countertops, for instance. Thirtyfive years ago, most were laminate, and there were a dozen or so colours to choose from.
Now, the possibilities are almost endless: laminate, granite and other natural stone, you name it.
“There is so much selection,” Naccarato says. “It can be challenging to pick.”
That is why, earlier this year, the Ackard team opened a showroom where customers can check out the latest offerings in home renovation and homebuilding, everything from flooring to cupboards.
There’s someone there to help you envision your updated home, too.
When Plamondon and Naccarato started in the industry, they showed paper plans — line drawings, really — to clients, who had to visualize what the final result would look like.
“But now you can give them a 3-D rendering that’s almost like a photograph,” Naccarato says. “It’s a lot easier now to meet a customer’s expectations.”
These days, Naccarato and Plamondon are starting to mentor the next Ackard generation. It only takes a moment or two of talking, however, to hear the passion they both still have for their business.
“There are challenges, but we have 55 dedicated and amazing employees,” Plamondon says. “And we both still really like what we do.”