25 Innovators in Construction winners revealed
It’s official. SiteNews has unveiled the winners of the inaugural 25 Innovators in Canadian Construction awards.
SiteNews competition showcases construction trailblazers
The list of winners, which can be found here, cast a wide net over many different fields. They include some of the largest general contractors in the country, tech startups, materials manufacturers, homebuilders, environmental champions and more.
When the competition was envisioned, the SiteNews team sought to create a way to highlight and encourage companies that are blazing a trail for others.
“The 25 Innovators in Construction award serves as a platform to celebrate trailblazers in a sector often perceived as slow-moving,” said Brett Rutledge, SiteNews co-founder. “The truth is, there’s a surge of innovation happening, and we’re delighted to showcase these companies and their achievements.”
The winners were chosen by a panel of five judges who assessed applicants based on five criteria:
- Technological innovation
- Trailblazing
- Workforce development
- Sustainability and environmental impact
- Collaboration and partnerships
SiteNews Editor Russell Hixson, who has been covering Canada’s construction sector for nearly a decade, was part of the judging staff. He noted that the submissions showed significant breakthroughs in environmentalism, material development, worker health, digitization, training and other areas.
“This isn’t just about our industry,” said Hixson. “Many of these companies are doing things that are addressing the biggest issues our country and our planet faces: CO2 emissions, housing supply, workforce training, safety and more. These leaders are not only elevating construction, they are making society better.”
RAM Consulting co-founder and CEO Joe Di Placito, who also assisted in the judging, was equally impressed by the applicants.
“I was blown away by the innovation that’s occurring across our industry,” he said. “There were some interesting themes when reviewing the submissions from well known general contractors implementing new technologies to new products being created that reduce carbon footprint. My biggest take away was that now is probably the most exciting time to be in engineering and construction as we see innovation disrupt so many aspects of what was previously accepted practices or products.”
Dom Costantini, a 19-year veteran of Bird Construction who now has his own consulting firm, found it challenging to narrow down the submissions to 25.
“The variety in the businesses, the services, products, and technologies were much broader than I expected,” he said. “I am very excited to see the list of 25 Innovators and to meet them in person at the celebration event later this month. Thank you to SiteNews for giving me this opportunity to learn more about the construction industry.”
See the full list of 2023’s winners.
