Page 28 - BOMA Spring 2017 Insider

many flooring products under one roof, in those kinds of direct relationships with building owners and property
Manitoba or anywhere else, that I’m aware managers.”
of,” says Kolas, who’s quick to add marble, Over the years, Manitoba Public Insurance has been one of those
epoxy flooring, and the company’s trademark customers, and a frequent one.
Reazzo® to the list.
“Antex has been a long standing vendor for Manitoba Public Insurance
providing general construction services at various MPI locations throughout
Local Antex projects are as diverse the Province,” says Cheryl Taylor, Manager of Premises for MPI. Taylor
notes that Antex has been involved in renovation projects at all of MPI's
as the sprayed fireproofing and claim centre buildings in Winnipeg, at the crown corporation’s downtown

polished concrete at the Canadian head office building (Cityplace) and at MPI’s rural properties. Taylor says
she has found Antex Western to be “an integral part of our team during all
Museum for Human Rights, to of the projects they assist on.”
the Winnipeg Jets custom locker Additionally, Antex served as general contractor in 2011 for its own building

room carpet at the MTS Centre. at 1340 Church Ave., which was no small feat for a construction project
in excess of $1 million, and for a company whose work is already in high
demand. The Winnipeg head office – which the company has occupied
since September 2011 – serves as a showcase for the quality construction
The diversity of products is important, Kolas and finishing work that Antex employees are known for.
insists. “Regardless of what type of renovation Antex’s building certainly draws plenty of second glances from motorists
or maintenance issue that comes up, we have in the Inkster Industrial Park. The street view of 1340 Church is 100+ ft. of
people trained to handle any kind of situation gleaming glass curtain wall, and the high end interior finishes provide the
with respect to flooring. Plus, we have Dan 9,000 sq. ft. office area with an exceptional space for staff and visitors.
Demarcke’s department – Special Projects –
which includes carpentry, drywall, and a host of Not surprisingly, for a company that prides itself on commercial interiors,
other services. So if a flooring project requires Antex employees did all of the finishing work themselves. “We did our
the removal of kitchen equipment or relocating own access floor, demountable walls, flooring, painting and ceilings,” says
walls, for example, we’ve got that covered too.” Kolas, “and we poured and installed our own countertops.”
And given the breadth of product offerings and
longstanding reputation, it’s no surprise that the
great work bearing Antex’s stamp is seemingly
everywhere these days. Local Antex projects
are as diverse as the sprayed fireproofing and
polished concrete at the Canadian Museum for
Human Rights, to the Winnipeg Jets custom
locker room carpet at the MTS Centre.
They’ve also taken on full commercial
renovation work (Demarcke says that 90% of
Antex business now consists of commercial
interior finishes). However, Kolas is quick to
provide context: Antex Western is still primarily
a bid-spec firm, thus working mainly as a
subcontractor on projects for other general
contractors. The management team at Antex
knows that those relationships are critical.
“We would never compete directly with PCL,
for example,” says Kolas. “They’re a great
customer of ours. However, we’ve found that
some projects are too small for your typical
GCs, and quite frankly, those are the projects
that we would love to do more of—like small
office renovations. So we’ve started to develop

27 BOMA MANITOBA INSIDER | ISSUE 7 | SPRING 2017