Steve Schouten started out in construction in 2007 building decks and fences, and as his business grew, he brought on more crews and equipment to help him meet the demand and tackle larger projects. Before long, he added framing and building construction to his corporate résumé. After about seven years, he reached a crossroads and had to decide what his future would look like.
“I asked myself if I wanted to make a business out of framing and building homes, or if I would go into the post-frame world,” says Steve Schouten, owner and CEO of Remuda. “I come from a rural, agriculture background so building for farmers and acreage owners was a great fit.”
With the decision made, Schouten rebranded his construction business in 2014 to focus on post-frame building, and the result was Remuda Building. Unlike home building where there is a plethora of competitors vying for a foothold in the industry, the post-frame space was more niche and consisted of fewer players in the market. This unique building method uses large supporting wooden columns or posts that act as the foundation or main frame of the building. With thicker walls providing more room for insulation, post-frame buildings are more energy efficient than traditionally constructed ones, and they are about 30 per cent less expensive to build due to materials used and quickness of the build; a 16,000 square foot building can be completed in five to 10 days.
Word about Remuda got around, and the company quickly earned a reputation for delivering high quality products, unique design and finishings, and unbeatable customer service, making it a first-choice builder for farmers, acreage owners and rural business proprietors across Alberta. Part of its appeal is that it brings the spirit of Western living together with everything modern home and business owners want. Its name says it all; just as a remuda is a herd of the best saddle-broken horses that ranch hands choose to ride for the day, Remuda Building is a superior builder that customers choose to help make their dreams come true.
Remuda excels in building not only structures but also relationships, getting to know customers well so they can identify their needs and expectations. That way, Remuda can be sure to not only meet but exceed them. This collaboration results in incredible post-frame buildings that check all the boxes on their customers’ wish lists.
“It’s all about attention to detail,” he says. “Customers come to us with a sketch or an idea or pictures and then it’s up to us to help them through what that will look like for them,” he says.
What that looks like depends on the client, their property and how they plan to use their space. Many customers are looking to build out acreages with garages, riding arenas, workshops and hobby shops or to make their farm spaces more functional and comfortable with purpose-built facilities like custom barns, animal shelters, and hay or equipment storage spaces.
Remuda Building also helps rural businesses get to work, whether that is with a custom commercial workshop, a warehouse for materials, a place to store equipment or showcase goods for sale or an office customized to their needs. Its post-frame commercial facilities have housed everything from a mechanic shop to a quilt store to Remuda’s own head office in Rocky View County east of Chestermere. Then as customers grow, Remuda offers renovation services on existing post-frame buildings to address their need for a bigger shop, the addition of a mezzanine to maximize usable space or to create a divided work and living space in a building.
While Remuda builds amazing outbuildings for customers, the company also delivers custom post-frame homes as well.
“Barndominiums are becoming pretty popular,” Schouten says. “They are great for people who want to live in a rural setting and have their home and workshop or storage space under one roof.”
This mash-up of ‘condominium’ and ‘barn’ offers vaulted ceilings and open floor plans inside as well as large verandas or porches outside. Barndominiums allow people on a farm or acreage to bring their living, working and recreation spaces into one building that reflects their lifestyle and tastes, be it simple and rustic or modern and sophisticated.
Remuda has expanded its footprint as well as its offerings over the past decade. Post-frame building requires a lot of materials so in 2019, the company joined the Castle Building Centres Group, a Canadian lumber, building materials and hardware purchasing group, and expanded into lumber supply. In 2020, the company purchased Strathmore Building Supplies and grew it over the next two years before integrating it into the home yard as Remuda Supplies.
“We have the building side, the supply side and now we’re going to back that up with manufacturing. Our buildings all have wood posts so we’ve started manufacturing our own posts at a facility 10 minutes from here; there’s a laminate machine that glues, nails and squeezes these boards together to make them into posts. It’s pretty cool,” he says.
Remuda is also in the process of building a plant to create trusses for internal use as well as for sale to contractors, homebuilders and commercial construction customers, and a plant to manufacture pre-fabricated wall panels for the home building industry. Schouten has big plans for the future and acknowledges that they couldn’t be achieved without the incredible team he has behind him.
“My people give 110 per cent and really care about what we do,” he says. “My ‘why,’ which has been adopted as the company’s ‘why’, is building dreams and opportunities. It’s something I live by.”
For 10 years, the company’s team of 88 engineers, designers, field crews and office professionals have brought the ‘why’ to the forefront as it supports the communities around them through various build events and charitable donations, provides opportunities for staff to grow in their careers and builds relationships with customers as they build their dream spaces. Remuda has become a valued partner for customers as it continues to build dreams and opportunities across Alberta.
272179 TWP RD 241B
Rocky View County, AB T1X 2E2
403.651.4304
www.remuda.ca
