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"A Family Tradition for 125 Years" Local contractors are still feeling pinch of recession By Scott Anderson Although there are positive indications that things are starting to turn around in the economy, many involved in the building industry say it still looks bleak. Building permit figures indi- cate that not only did the num- ber of building permits de- crease for the first six months of this year, but the value of these permits fell as well. A total of 131 permits were is- sued during the period of Janu- ary to June 1991, compared to 165 for the same period a year earlier. The value of these per- mits fell to $8,546,455 for the first six months of 1991, as com- pared to the value in 1990 of $10,708,105. Of particular note is the de- crease in the number of single family dwellings being built. In the first six months of 1990 there were 46 permits ac- quired, but for the same period this year, only 24 were taken out. As a result, sales at the com- pany have dropped by approxi- mately 40 per cent. This has prompted the company to lay off approximately 40 per cent of the full time and part time staff. Last year Scugog Lumber had 95 employees on the pay- roll, it currently has 55. The company's truss divi- sion, which pre-builds a num- ber of these units for new homes, has been affected by the slow-down. With the number of new homes down, there is not a great demand for the trusses. Mr. Griffen says they are coming into the slow time of the year, which is going to hurt even more. The company has been forced to start offering different prod- ucts at the store, such as brass lamps, in order to generate traf- fic. "It won't keep the business, Mr. Griffen says, "but it cer- tainly helps. Every dollar helps." The contractors are feeling it's a bad year for business, according lan Griffen of Lake Scugog Lumber, and he feels the outlook for the rest of this year will not improve. Nobody has felt this slow- down in production more than the builders and related compa- nies, who say the availability of jobs is down considerably this year. They don't expect things to pick up in the near future ei- ther. Ian Griffen, an owner at Lake Scugog Lumber, says the biggest cause of this slow-down is that nobody is buying new homes. He says there is "a glut" of resale homes on the market at the present, and until the prices are brought into line with the new homes, people will stick to resales. The high prices currently being asked for land is another factor restricting new home development. Supply and demand is play- ing a large part in the sagging sales at the company. Mr. Griff- en says without building devel- opment, there is no need for the supplies. the pinch as well. John McDou- gall, a local contractor, says he is "just getting by," adding that the building activity is approxi- mately 10 per cent of what it was before the recession. In good times he has approxi- mately a year's worth of pro- jects, but not this year. It's down to approximately four months. Mr. McDougall says he is managing to stay busy with a couple of good custom building projects, but says the new home work is not available. Although he says things are not serious at this point, he is starting to get concerned. "You can't maintain this rate forever," he says. "If it doesn't swing back, we're all in trou- ble." It's not looking good for Rick Larocque, either. Mr. Larocque says he usually has enough electrical work for him to have to hire two or three other em- ployees, but not recently. He says it is just himself working right now. After a boom during the peri- od of January to March of 1991, things have slowed to a trickle. "I've never spent so many weeks doing nothing," he said. "They say it's picking up. I hope SO. He says in the past there were usually about six to 10 houses to be wired during a summer, he has only done one this year. Mr. Larocque also blames the housing industry. He says peo- ple are sitting on their property and refusing to build until they can get a decent price for the land. Mr. Larocque says they have lost approximately $40,000 due to other companies going bank- rupt. This money he will never see again. As a result of the slump in ac- tivity, there are many skilled tradesmen looking for work. This demand has chopped wag- es down to a third of what they could usually get. "People are willing to work for anything," he says, adding that "the phones are ringing off the wall." Unfortunately, one of the things he will have to do is cut back on the number of staff he retains, and take the jobs on himself. This will not only save him money in wages, but also in benefits. Despite the frustrating times Mr. Larocque says he is not go- ing to give up, or be lured up north where there are more jobs. Inevitably with the develop- ment of new houses put on hold, the need for the initial road work and grading is non- existant. Bill Van Camp, of Van Camp Contracting, says this year has "been devastating." He says with the state of the - economy there are no calls for his company to preservice any construction. Van Camp Con- tracting specializes in road building, and sand and supply. Mr. Van Camp says they have been forced to take day-to- day jobs that they wouldn't have normally taken. Despite many companies lay- ing off their employees, his company has not done so. There are many long-term employees working at Van Camp's, and he felt a certain obligation to keep them on. He says perhaps he should have done so, but just didn't feel right doing it. "We've been in business for a long time, and we intend to stay in business." As for the future of the indus- try, Mr. Van Camp says things don't look too encouraging. He blames events in the past for what they are experiencing to- day. He says things went too fast for a number of years, and sooner or later things had to break. But nobody was expect- ing this. "I think we're in for a long tough winter," he says. ADVERTISING DEADLINES REAL ESTATE 5:00 P.M. Thursday DISPLAY ADVERTISING 12 NOON MONDAY = Rh Bill van Camp of Van Camp Contracting stands beside some of his idle equipment. This year has been the worst ever experienced by the family business. MEDICAL ASSOCIATES, 462 PAXTON ST. 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