Perry Vermette, Vermette Wood Products, Prince Albert
By: Cassi Smith
Perry Vermette’s relationship with CCDF began more than 30 years ago. As a 4th generation entrepreneur, starting and growing businesses came naturally to Perry, and with the help of CCDF, he was able to turn his inherent knack for business into a prosperous career.
From an early age, Perry learned the value of hard work and how to strike a deal. Today, the success of Vermette Wood Products remains unmatched in the industry, something that didn’t happen by chance. With a keen eye for growth, Perry quickly understood where his business needed to go. “As much as fenceposts are in my blood, I was soon to realize that if I did not diversify my company, it would be a constant ongoing challenge to keep my business afloat.” So in 2010 Perry began attending federal and provincial procurement symposiums looking for new opportunities. “At one of those symposiums I was introduced to Jim Mabee from SaskPower. When Jim found out we were a pentachlorophenol treating company, he asked if I would be interested in treating utility poles for SaskPower.” Perry said he was interested, but that he had little experience in the wood preservation industry, however he was willing to learn if SaskPower was willing to teach him. Within 12 months, Vermette Wood preservers had produced their first 1600 utility poles for SaskPower.
Gaining industry giant SaskPower as a client is not as easy as Perry makes it sound. Perry’s ability to negotiate with earnest honesty and a respectful determination makes him a worthy opponent in the boardroom. “One of the first things I did when I took over VWP, was analyze the cost of producing fenceposts, and I soon realized I would have to increase prices by a minimum of 35%,” says Perry. “Monday morning, I received a call from our largest distributor in the US. He said, ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ I told him we either raise our prices or we shut our doors forever. I chose to raise the prices. His said, ‘It’s about bloody time somebody started to manage the business over there properly.’”
Perry’s American client wasn’t the only one hesitant to pay the new prices. “Shortly after, our largest Saskatchewan peddler came into the office and told me it would be a snowy day in July before he ever paid those prices,” says Perry. “I asked him to follow me outside and I pointed to my uncle’s trailer. I said, ‘Inside that trailer is a lonely old man who worked all his life to be where he is today. He is not rich, and you are probably a millionaire. His business was going broke because of people like you coming in and telling him his prices were too high. You should feel ashamed for how much money you made off the Vermette family.’” Perry told the man he could either pay the higher prices or take his business elsewhere. “I had to stand my ground. The peddler walked away. Then he turned around and came back and he is still buying fenceposts from Vermette to this very day.”
Perry says he’s been able to procure major clients and maintain an upward trajectory by removing the following words from his vocabulary: no, impossible, can’t be done. “Words like that defeat an individual before they even start,” says Perry. Even now, Perry continues to look for new ways to revolutionize and grow his business. “Our partners, including the Province of Saskatchewan, are asking us to be innovative and think outside the box,” he says. “Vermette’s and SaskPower, SaskTel, Sask Highways, and Sask Parks are working together to better utilize our forests and double their life expectancy. The ultimate goal is to save trees, something I truly believe we are getting better at.”
Looking forward, Perry says the support of his clients and partners like CCDF means VWP will always have a place in this province. “We are so proud of being Saskatchewan made. Nothing can hold us back from this point forward.”
