All Systems Mechanical

Adrian Williams' confidence and expertise were the perfect combination to go from working for others to owning his own company, Petrolia's All Systems Mechanical. "I have done heating-cooling throughout my whole career," Adrian says. "I was dealing with largely commercial and industrial HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), but I was doing that for other companies until 2018 when I decided I could do this as well as anyone else, so I started All Systems Mechanical."

When it comes to starting your own business, there is a certain amount of risk, but Adrian felt confident he could make a success of his new business. "Besides, I always have my licenses to fall back on. I am a licensed gasfitter and licensed commercial refrigeration technician and when it comes to the trades, they are always screaming for people. If things didn't work out, I could always go back to working for someone else. Hopefully, that doesn't happen because I enjoy the flexibility of being a business owner."

Looking back to when he branched out on his own, Adrian admits he didn't exactly have a blueprint for success. "I didn't have much of a vision for the business," Adrian says. "I was flying by the seat of my pants. I was confident that I knew how to do the work and that people enjoyed my work. As a bonus, I also have the proper licenses to do the work." Ultimately, Adrian's goal was to provide excellent service. "I always wanted to be that person that people could count on. When something breaks, I want people to know I can be there in 20 minutes to fix it. Being local helps. The company I worked for previously was purchased by a larger company and when that happened, the feeling of being part of a local small business was gone."

Though based in Petrolia, All Systems Mechanical regularly does business in Sarnia and Lambton County as well as Chatham-Kent. Adrian has grown from being on his own to leading a team of four. "The manpower has probably been the biggest challenge for me," says Adrian, 40. "Finding people to work in the trades that are a good fit hasn't been easy, especially in Sarnia which is a real union town. I am a non-union outfit. Getting our name out there, in the beginning, was also a challenge. Over time, people have seen that this company is here for the long haul. The fact that we are established now makes it easier for somebody to leave another company to join us."

All Systems Mechanical offers a variety of services, including installation, maintenance, and service for residential furnaces, ventilation, cooling, water heaters, and commercial refrigeration and restaurant equipment. "Also, we bring a different type of service to people with no pressure and no obligations," Adrian says. "I like to boast about our same-day service and often when we are leaving a job, the customers will tell us we are awesome. Hearing those words and knowing we solved a problem that was going to affect their bottom line is a great feeling."