BC company poised to dominate $4 billion moving and storage industry
in Canada with expansion in Ontario

VANCOUVER and KELOWNA B.C. – BigSteelBox and Mission Group have signed on a merger agreement. With 18 locations across Canada BigSteelBox has become the fastest growing moving and storage company in a multi-billion dollar industry with its innovative container-based service.

Mission Group has developed and sold over $600 million in residential real estate by providing original designs and excellent customer service. Both privately held companies, the merger creates a stronger more diversified company well positioned to take advantage of current opportunities for expansion in Ontario, Canada’s largest moving and storage market.

With the merger BigSteelBox gains access to construction and land acquisition expertise and it insulates Mission Group from the cyclical real estate market. BigSteelBox rents and sells storage containers for residential, construction, industrial and commercial use. An expanding part of its business is BigSteelBox modifications. BigSteelBoxes have been modified for many different uses, including offices, housing, guard shacks and mobile labs and Mission Group’s construction division will dramatically boost its ability to meet the growing market demand.

“The merger agreement was a mutual collaboration with all the partners,” says Jason Siebenga, president of BigSteelBox. “It makes both companies stronger: Mission Group is an award-winning developer that will help BigSteelBox acquire land as it expands across Canada and enables us to service the growing modification business.”

Both companies will continue to operate under their own brand identity. Current staff members of both entities will work for a merged entity called Mission Group Ltd. Both Big Steel Box and Mission Group Properties will operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of Mission Group Ltd.

The new corporate structure will include three separate business divisions; each led by a President reporting to the CEO. The CEO, Jonathan Friesen, will report to a Board of Directors comprised of the shareholders of the merged companies. Financial terms of the merger were not released.

“The companies have similar values based on providing their customers with an exceptional experience,” says Jonathan Friesen, chairman, Mission Group. “Both companies have been successful by providing industry innovations and working together better positions both companies to capitalize on opportunities.”

Mission Group subsidiaries include one of the largest builders in the Okanagan, MGC Construction and Mission Group Commercial, which provide leasing of the commercial holdings. As the builder for Mission Group’s residential and commercial communities, MGC Construction has completed projects ranging from $150,000 to $75 million. The acquisition of land for current and future BigSteelBox operations will be part of land holdings which will become commercial building projects.

Mission Group develops residential communities in the Vancouver/Lower Mainland and the Okanagan. Past communities include Ocean Bay Villas in White Rock, Sage Townhomes in Abbotsford and Mission Shores, Verve, Sheerwater, Amberhill and Mode in Kelowna. Current communities include Dwell and Winsome Hill in Kelowna and plans are underway for Secret Ridge in Coquitlam and Aqua Resort in Kelowna.

Media Contact:

Scott Henderson
Managing Director, dHz Media
scott.henderson@dhzmedia.ca
403.921.2001

left to right: Gary Nystrom, President Momentum Interiors, Kyra Hartley, CATO Student, Joel Lewis, Royal Lepage, Darcy Nyrose, Nyrose & Associates

THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE WHO ATTENDED

We would like to thank everyone who attended the Realtors lunch on April 24th which was hosted at the Next Top Designer Townhomes at Dwell. The event was a great success and those who attended enjoyed a taste of the fabulous Dwell Lifestyle with food and wine on the rooftop patios.

Take a look at the creative designs from Centre for Arts & Technology students and the amazing furnishings from Momentum Interiors. Vote for your favorite and register to win a $1,000 shopping spree at Momentum Interiors.

The showhomes are open from 1-5pm at Dwell, 1851 Ambrosi Road. There will be additional $5,000 incentive program for buyers who purchase at Dwell before May 31st.

Two teams of talented students were given the hands-on learning opportunity of creating designs targeted at the 20 to 30-something generation. One was asked to design an interior for a single male (Team Maled It) and the other for a young couple with no children (Team Hooked It Up). These audience profiles match the demographic attracted to the modern community at Dwell, where all the homes have rooftop sundecks and feature tri-level open floor plans.

These homes will be on display until May 31st.

Click here to visit Centre for Arts & Technology and Momentum Interiors

The genesis of the idea came from Darcy Nyrose, who is managing sales at Dwell. Because most of the buyers at Dwell are young singles and couples, he thought it would be cool to get young people designing the displays for the next phase.

We obviously hope that it creates interest in the new homes at Dwell, but beyond generating some buzz, and hopefully traffic, the most gratifying part of the project has been working with the students. It is great to be able to provide a real life experience to the next generation. I’m also pretty sure it has been more rewarding for the students than a typical practicum, because they are much more involved in the creative process. Instead of working in a paint store or shadowing a designer, they actually get to apply their knowledge on a real world project.

Guiding them through the process has been Shannon Nystrom of Momentum Interiors. The project would not have been viable without Momentum providing design direction and custom ordering new product for the displays.

We’re all excited to see how well the new designs turn out, and we hope that everyone who has an interest in interior design has a chance to make it to Dwell to see the students’ work.

None of this is news of course. In this market, smart shoppers are looking for a deal, and they only buy when they feel confident they are getting great value. As an industry insider, I’ve found myself say, “wow, that’s a good deal” on more than a few occasions. The recent “50% off” sale at Tuscany Villas in West Kelowna was the latest example of a successful, larger scale distressed sale.

When I looked at it (from afar), I wasn’t surprised it was a success. There was great value no matter how you looked at – quality finishes, good location, large floor plans – and a deep discount. The shoppers recognized it too, and put pen to paper. In this case, I think the values will hold up, and in a few years it will still be a desirable place to live.

The risk for home shoppers looking for the lowest price or the lowest price-per-square-foot is that they may ignore some of the fundamentals of making a smart decision. Most notably, selecting the community, and thinking about how desirable it will be in the future.*

*I made this mistake once when I bought the nicest home on a crappy street. I wish I could go back and change that one!

Admittedly, I’m biased, but we have a pretty good track record of creating communities that are still desirable places to live long after the last home has sold.

Are we creating the next great communities at Dwell & Winsome Hill? It depends on your definition of “great”, but they are both well designed, well built homes in good locations that should stand the test of time. The fundamentals of good design go well beyond the floor plan and finishes inside the home, and can have a lasting effect on the enjoyment residents have living in the community.

If you’re shopping for a new home, don’t forget to get a feel for the community. When visitors show up, are they going to be impressed or distressed? Does it fit in within the greater area or does it look out of place? Does it have charm and character or does it look like someone cut corners?

Our goal is to create communities where people want to live. That they will proudly call home. In the long run, homebuyers will be better off if they make the community aspect part of their value equation.

As a marketing guy, I receive these comments with a mix of understanding and deflation. How could someone not care about all my hard work?

This led me to start thinking about whether or not buyers should care. Should they be suspicious? Should they be cautious? I think a healthy amount of skepticism and caution is good when you are making the most important financial decision of your life. But how should people feel about the marketing?

I’m biased, but I think home buyers should care whether or not a builder is an effective marketer.

First of all, there is a lot more to marketing than simply having some nice ads and a well-designed brochure. Having well-designed, well-built products in great places, and offering them at prices that provide good value are critical components to marketing success. Builders who are effective marketers understand this and these factors play a vital role in their planning.

But I think the biggest reason why a home buyer should care about the builder’s marketing ability is because they will want to live in a community that will be sold and completed in a timely manner. Does anyone really want to live in a community that is partially sold? Where construction stops and starts and drags on forever?

We launched our Amberhill community in May of 2008, which coincided with the collapse of the global economy, so our timing could not have been worse. The townhomes at Amberhill were sold out in 2 years. It took us longer than expected, but it is now a thriving community, shared by 44 families. The same cannot be said for other townhome communities in the area, where only a fraction of the homes are sold and occupied.

We’re committed to building, marketing and selling homes in a timely manner. Not only does this make good business sense, it also means that the community will be finished sooner, so that the homeowners can enjoy all the benefits as soon as possible.

Marketing is only part of the overall mix, but it does have value for those reasons. So, by all means be suspicious, and check out the builder’s completed communities. If they are thriving, sold out communities, that’s a good sign.