Greg Drouillard is a hands-on manager who isn’t comfortable sitting on the sidelines in anything he does. So, whether it’s on the ice for a hockey match, learning to drive a NASCAR performance machine, or stepping up to accept the role of STAFDA president for 2007, he brings every ounce of energy he has — which is considerable — to the task.
2007 will be a banner year for Target Building Materials. It will celebrate its 40th anniversary and owner/president Greg Drouillard, lower right, will be the president of the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Association (STAFDA). Here, founder/CEO Moe Drouillard, upper left, executive assistant Cheryl Samek, upper right, and controller Donna Crabbe, lower left, join the president for a glimpse of what else might be in the future as the company plans yet another expansion project.
Knowing their customers needed a variety of tools to put the other products available at Target to work, expanding the line of related products and accessories was a logical move.
Target Building Materials gets in on the ground floor of many projects, literally, through its array of concrete-related products from basic reinforcing mesh, expansion joint materials, sealants and assorted sizes of Sonotube forms.
Behind the counter, right, two more technical sales representatives Gerry Marentette, background, and Al Thompson are ready to put their problem-solving skills to work in person or over the phone.
The bright, inviting counter area, manned by Jason Banks, is an efficient focal piont of the operation.
A billboard in motion
Unique mounting hardware and sign design gives Target Building Materials more versatility in decorating its vehicles than most businesses. The sign panels can be changed regularly without taking a vehicle out of service for an extended period of time.
Once considered “in the boondocks,” Target Building Materials’ location is now in the middle of the traffic flow in and around Windsor.
Where the action is ... the warehouse area at Target Building Materials keeps.
Martin Griffin on the move, whether applying Target logos to incoming orders or loading a truck for a timely delivery.
Tony, left, and Nick Rosati, center, join Greg Drouillard at the site of a 90,000-square-foot addition to the VistaPrint plant in Windsor, Ontario.
There are literally acres of greenhouses in Leamington, Ontario, housing millions of tomatos destined for restaurants and groceries throughout North America. These are visible from the driveway of Mike Mastronardi owner of MCM Acres, LTD, one of Target’s most important customers.
The Protofino Riverside Condominium project includes underground parking behind the building and an excellent view of Detroit from the front.
Target Building Materials provided insulation, concrete products and related tools and fasteners going into the project, from the parking garage to the recreation area on the roof.
Windsor, Ontario, Canada — "I don't like being a spectator; I want to participate and accept the challenges." That's the way Greg Drouillard, president of Target Building Materials, describes his approach to business and life.
So it comes as no surprise to see him in a hockey sweater, behind the pit wall at a major racing event, on a jobsite with key customers or taking over the top office at the Specialty Tools and Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA). Drouillard, representing STAFDA Region 10, all of Canada, will become president of the association at its annual convention in Las Vegas, Nov. 13-15.
When his father, Moe, started the business in 1967, Greg had no intention of making it more than a summer job. His goal was to be an airline pilot. When his eyesight wasn't up to airline standards, he began rethinking his options.
"I started working here in the warehouse and helping with deliveries," he recalls. "When I was in college, I found out that Air Canada was hiring locally so I thought that was my ticket to the airlines."
After a brief stay in a converted railroad roundhouse, Moe Drouillard was given a unique opportunity to move into a building of his own. A customer had just taken on a metal building franchise and offered him a unique piece of property with one condition — he put up one of the customer's buildings on it. The deal was struck and today's operation took shape.
Ironically, Target's facilities are directly across the street from the Windsor airport.
"In 1990, Dad asked me to come onboard as a full partner. I took a week to consider that move because it was a pivotal time for both of us," Greg says. "I've never looked back and have enjoyed every second of it. In this business, there's never a 'carbon-copy day'; we're always learning. It was fun then and it's fun today."
Ten years after making that momentous decision, Greg became even more immersed in running the business.
