Kreator CEO Keith Miles aims to leave his mark on the industry for years to become an entrepreneur
Q: What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
I am president and CEO of Kreator Equipment & Services Inc. and Kreator Logistics Inc. My responsibilities are to recruit the best of the best and allow them to do their job running the operation. I focus on growing relationships that build my business, suppliers and customers alike, to ensure we continue to stay relevant with creative, out-of the-box thinking. I motivate my team and give them a vision for tomorrow worth believing in.
Q: What is it about your job that other people wish they got to do?
I‘ve been building things my whole life – from mechanical objects and fabrications, to cabins in the woods as a child. I’m now creating a team that’s responsible for designing and building some of the largest and most impressive processing plants in the industry today. The one thing we all crave, in any career, is the feeling of accomplishment we get after a job well done, along with the overwhelming respect that goes with it. My team and I get to do that every day on a grand scale, leaving our mark on the industry for years to come. This is something that people wish they could do – experience the euphoric feeling of accomplishment that only comes from doing what you were meant to do.
Q: What do you find most challenging in your work?
The most challenging thing about the industry today is finding quality people who are genuinely interested in a field with stigma attached to it. This is a business that is dirty at times, and from the outside does not look as challenging and as rewarding as it truly is. There are so many variations of design that need to be taken into account when designing and building a new piece of equipment or a plant. You have to look at mechanical, structural, civil, serviceability, safety, functionality, location, climate, just to name a few factors. Attracting new young people to this line of work and keeping them interested and involved is the most challenging thing this industry faces as a whole. To combat this, we offer co-op programs, apprenticeship programs, internal welding lessons, support the local high schools and colleges, offer sponsorships and get involved in the community.
Q: Describe a typical day on the job and how your work contributes to your company.
A typical day for me would be to go and visit a new or existing customer. When I visit the site, it is often to look at a new job opportunity or to help solve an existing problem. This gives me a chance to apply my 25 years of design and building experience to help resolve the problem. If I’m in the office, I bounce from office to office all day: sales, engineering and design, fabrication, assembly, logistics, finance, service, operations, projects and repeat. Office days can be very busy, but the team is great so it makes for productive days. I travel a great deal and have done projects in countries all over the world in several different sectors.
Q: How did you get interested in this this field?
I was working as a pressure vessel fabricator as a teenager when we took on a large project for the tar sands in Alberta, working for Suncor and Syncrude via Svedala Industries. I was given an opportunity to manage the project [when I was just] 20 years old. One of the Svedala contacts was Victor Breedon, who was an engineer, a professor, a master of metallurgy, and so much more. Vic became an amazing teacher. He saw something in me and, after exploring some other options, I eventually called Svedala. I was hired and travelled extensively, honing my craft. The rest, as they say, is history.
Q: Detail your past or ongoing education and how it is relevant to your job.
Interestingly enough, I took the vocational route to get where I am today. I’ve been welding and wrenching my whole life as I grew up amongst a large family of mechanics. After graduating from high school I received a certified cabinet maker diploma. After that, I took my apprenticeship as a fitter/welder in pressure vessel and structural fabrication. From then on, it was all based on extensive application, applied courses and on-the-job training. Working with some of the top engineers and applications experts in our field, day in and day out, coupled with exposure to a vast variety of ever-changing applications and solutions from all over the world, gave me an education that money can’t buy.
Q: Where do you see the industry going in the next few years?
The industry is forever evolving and we are headed for a very consolidated industry. This will lead to tough times for the aggregate companies that don’t follow suit. As for the O.E.M. side of the business, it will continue in this pattern. This will make it harder and harder for the customers to get competitive pricing. That said, I believe this leaves great opportunities for companies like Kreator to step up and fill in some of these voids. I have nothing but respect for the giants in our industry. They do a great job and have great people. But the bigger you become, the harder it becomes to keep your finger on the pulse. As for Kreator, we will continue to stay in the trenches.
Q: What advice would you give to others looking for a career in the aggregate industry?
The most successful people in our industry are the ones that understand multiple facets of the industry. Find out which side of the industry you’ll be most comfortable with, the O.E.M. side of the business or the aggregate production side – they both offer worlds of opportunity. Apply yourself in everything you do and ask questions. Trust in your peers and never underestimate the knowledge of your suppliers. Use the people around you to market yourself because, knowingly or not, you are always selling yourself. As for working in general, be positive and keep your dirty laundry in-house. And always treat even the most meaningless task as though it is important. I got my first promotion from sweeping a floor – true story. The power went out in the fabrication shop I was working in and I couldn’t weld so I grabbed a broom and started cleaning up while everyone else sat down and waited for the power to return. Just as this happened, the owner walked onto the floor and noticed I was sweeping. He asked his partner about me and requested a meeting. In that meeting he told me he was impressed by the fact that I took the initiative to sweep the floor and looked like I was happy to do it. I was promoted that day!