Round trip: ETRO Construction returns to its Bahamian roots

History has a way of repeating itself. 

In 2009, Mike Maierle, then a Construction Manager for a major general contractor in BC, packed up his bags and left Vancouver for the Bahamas to lead the nation’s largest infrastructure project ever—the Lynden Pindling International Airport Expansion for Nassau Airport Development and Vantage Group. It was a monumental responsibility. He had rapidly climbed the ranks and was on track to be a critical part of the company’s leadership.

But he dreamed of starting his own company, nimble enough to tackle the most interesting, complex projects imaginable.

“The construction industry has been stuck doing things the same way for decades and I was tired of the status quo. I wanted to start a company that would be disruptive and change the building game. I wanted a speed boat, not a cruise ship.”

Fifteen years later, Maierle is once again heading to the Bahamas for another massive project. But this time, as the Founder and President of ETRO Construction, with his own team.

Smooth landing

Maierle’s previous employer, in Joint Venture with local Bahamian General Contractor Woslee Construction, was tasked with expanding the airport to accommodate service for 2 million more travellers annually. While Maierle was already a veteran of large complex commercial projects, he was thrown into the deep end on an island in the Caribbean 5000 kilometres away from home.

“When I first landed in Nassau, we were learning on the fly,” said Maierle, recalling the airport project. “There was one trailer on-site. No desks. No chairs. No internet. And I was the first full-time team member to mobilize. We built a team of roughly 35 people with me leading the project as a 27 year old Construction Manager.”

Among them was Hrvoje Pavic and Dan Chyzowski who would go on to be some of ETRO’s first employees and remain part of its leadership team today. Pavic is a General Superintendent and Chyzowski is ETRO’s Vice President of Construction.

The project included a new International Arrivals and International Departures/Domestic Terminal, and a fully renovated and expanded US Departures Terminal. 

While he already had been making plans to launch his own construction company well before heading to the Bahamas, Maierle believes the experience he gleaned was invaluable. 

“I had a lot of autonomy to run the things out there, and I learned a lot about the business that I wasn’t exposed to before,” he said. 

The project was a huge success and foreshadowed some of the advanced construction methods ETRO now uses daily. His team worked with the owner and design consultant to develop new ways to pre-fabricate and revise standard construction sequencing so work could be accelerated. They utilised Building Information Modeling (BIM) and 3D scanning in its infancy and when others questioned its value to complete the 50 month project almost three months early under an accelerated schedule that accommodated a continuous flow of arriving and departing passengers throughout the three complex phases.

Coming full circle

Maierle is going back to the Bahamas, this time with his own company, ETRO, to build the 486,000 square foot Four Seasons Ocean Club Resort Residences, a curated collection of 67 turnkey private residences managed by Four Seasons, located in close proximity to The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort.

The project includes four towers (three are six stories tall and one nine stories tall). It will be built on a two level podium, one for parking and back-of-house space, the other for restaurants, a spa, fitness facilities, and other luxury amenities. The entire project is expected to take roughly 40 months, wrapping up in 2028.

“It’s high-end finishes, everything is imported—whether it’s Italian stone, custom millwork, you name it. It’s a very unique project,” said Lee Cavazzi, Senior Project Manager with ETRO with vast experience managing large and complex out-of-town projects. “It’s a branded resort, so you have high standards you must comply with.”

But the biggest challenge is obvious. Located on Paradise Island near the Bahamian capital of Nassau in the Caribbean, it’s a long way from ETRO’s headquarters in Burnaby, BC. If you are missing an element of the project, it will take at least three weeks to have it shipped over, so coordinating the project and managing procurement before shovels get in the ground will be key to success.

“Everything has to be shipped in via container, so it’s a logistics challenge,” said Cavazzi. “We’ve spent a lot of time pre-planning, and we still are. There are a number of design-assist trade contractors on board, many of which will be formally awarded in the coming weeks so we are planning installation processes and sequence of deliveries with them. We will kickstart 3D  modelling of all the mechanical and electrical systems shortly as design is finalized so any conflicts can be resolved. ETRO is on the forefront of this kind of technology.”

Building with friends

ETRO is not going at it alone. 

In addition to working with Florida-based client Two Roads Development and New York-based Access Industries, ETRO has Joint Ventured with the same Bahamian company that contributed to the success of the airport project, Woslee Construction. Woslee’s experience, reputation and deep knowledge of the local industry, large fleet of equipment, and self perform capabilities pair well with ETRO’s cutting-edge pre-construction, project management, and VDC expertise. The partnership between Maierle and Woslee, forged during the airport project, has grown stronger over the years, built on mutual respect and shared successes.

“I’ve maintained a great relationship with Ashley Glinton, President, and Marc Hewison, Vice President, of Woslee since the airport project,” said Maierle. “Their expertise and local knowledge are invaluable, and combining that with our advanced construction process really creates an incredible partnership.”

This relationship has been immensely beneficial. When Woslee was looking for a JV Partner on its complex Four Seasons project, they reached out to a team with a proven record of success and sophisticated construction skills. 

“Projects of this size and scope only happen every so often in the Bahamas,” said Maierle. “Marc called me in late 2022 and asked if we would be interested and the rest is history.” 

Since then, ETRO has been engaged on the project for the past 18 months leading the  preconstruction services, budgeting, scheduling, logistics planning and trade engagement. . ETRO will deploy 10-12 management and supervisory staff to the Bahamas over the next two years and the JV are committed to ensuring at least 75% of the workforce on the project are local Bahamians. They expect to have 500-600 construction workers onsite at the peak of the project.

“We are talking to trades from all over the world: Europe, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America. It’s a global project,” said Cavazzi.   

ETRO doesn’t plan for this to be a one-time opportunity. Maierle explained that the close bond he’s formed with Woslee’s team could lead to more opportunities in the future.

“We will hopefully be there for the long term and continue to grow the market with our JV Partner,” said Maierle. “The staff we have sent there think it’s awesome. They can often walk to work. They are on the beach. Paradise Island is a beautiful place to be. It’s a cool opportunity. And we have always just wanted to build cool projects with great people.”