In 2008, the global financial collapse brought with it crashing oil prices and a recession; it was arguably the toughest time to start a new business. Despite these challenges, Dion Cullum set up shop on Vancouver Island and set out to find drywall services work in B.C. and Alberta. With little work in B.C., Cullum focused on growing the business in Alberta over the next two years, working and living in his cousin’s basement in Calgary as he built the company from the ground up. Cullum Drywall Systems was awarded its first contract for a CIBC bank project in Grande Prairie, and this paved the way for more clients to take a chance on the company, including Corey Crawford, a client who later joined the team as vice president of Cullum Group.
“We got our first contract in the downtown core from Corey and though it was quite small, that led to multiple other jobs that got bigger and bigger as we went along,” says Dion Cullum, owner of Cullum Group of Companies.
He and his staff of three developed a reputation for doing great work with an unwavering commitment to every project and delivering on their promises. Jobs got bigger, the team grew to 150 dedicated professionals and the basement was ultimately replaced by its current location in the industrial southeast. Purchasing and building out this location helped change the internal perception of the company, and for the eight years since moving in the company has enjoyed significant growth culminating in Cullum Drywall Systems doubling its volume in the last year alone.
Despite the growth and success of a company that went from earning $300,000 during that first year to easily doing over $2.5 million a month today, Cullum continues to run the business with the determination, passion and service focus that he brought out of the basement.
“Nothing has changed, in my mind, since the day I started,” he says. “I don’t feel that what we’ve done or created is complete. I think we still have a long way to go.”
That continual journey has created a company that provides top quality craftsmanship on the full scope of drywall projects ranging from multilevel residential towers to millions of square feet in commercial and industrial space. While many other companies specialize in one area of the business, Cullum Drywall Systems has vast experience in all of them, completing a variety of commercial, industrial, institutional, large residential and mixed-use projects. No matter the project, the knowledgeable team offers soup to nuts services, from preliminary budgets to project completion, to produce cost-effective solutions that meet all building codes and design standards. Cullum Drywall Systems excels in exterior structural metal framing, interior partitions, ceilings and bulkheads as well as a wide array of exterior envelope solutions. Along with that, the team offers high quality finishing work as well as the technical sophistication to complete T-bar suspension systems, acoustic baffles, sound shapes, wood slats and acoustic wall panels. There is little that the experienced team at Cullum can’t manage.
“I’m fortunate to work with a really great team of people who share the same values. Without them I wouldn’t be able to continue to pursue new opportunities for the organization. They are the key ingredient to the stock that comprises the Cullum Group of Companies,” Cullum says.
As a serial entrepreneur, Cullum has built up Cullum Drywall Systems while expanding his reach through separate but related companies dealing in demolition, painting and firestop, renovations and prefabricated panels. Prefabrication is a strong future growth area for the Group and Cullum is leading the way to replace the traditional exterior envelope with prefabricated panels (cullumprefab.ca).
While these diverse companies operate independently, there is some overlap in personnel within the Cullum Group of Companies. If it’s slow in drywall, those crews can temporarily join a demolition or a paint crew to avoid layoffs.
This is critical in labour-strapped construction businesses today. It’s a challenge to attract and retain good people who align with the company’s integral values, and Cullum Group strives to create a work environment that encourages key people to want to be here. It’s a collaborative, supportive workplace that allows everyone room to not only reach their professional goals but their personal ones as well.
“No one in this organization has worked for me but everyone here has worked with me. Together with a shared vision, we will continue to build this organization for generations to come,” he says. “We’re successful because of the people, from the guy who sweeps the floor, which is where I started, to the guy negotiating multi-million-dollar contracts.”
The core team has been instrumental to growth over the years and represents all aspects of the future moving forward. With a strong team in place and a reputation for unbeatable quality and service, the sky’s the limit for Cullum Drywall Systems and the Cullum Group of Companies.
2145, 6027 – 79th Ave SE
Calgary, Alberta, T2C 5P1
403.723.0695
info@cullumdrywallsystems.com
www.cullumdrywallsystems.com
