Geransky Brothers Construction has been a staple within the community of Martensville since the business first opened in 1975. Initially, the company was started by Ed & Irvin Geransky, and in 1977, Dennis Geransky joined his brothers. In more recent years, Dennis has begun handing the reins of the business down to his two sons Ryan and Corey, who have been working in the industry since they were both teenagers. Having worked their way up from the bottom, and learning the ropes in many different aspects of the industry, both Ryan and Corey feel as though their experience throughout the years has played a big part in preparing them to lead the company.
Both Ryan and Corey grew up in Martensville, and take great pride in running a family business within the community. A large part of that pride comes from providing a wide variety of jobs for residents of Martensville and surrounding areas, with many of their employees having worked at the company for ten or more years. “We have a really big core group of employees that have been here a long time, and with it being a smaller business, everyone is multi-faceted. We all work together really hard as a family and as a team unit,” Crystal Regier, the Office Manager at Geransky Brothers Construction, stated.
Each year, the company takes a look at the goals they wish to focus on, and for this year, one of the main areas of focus was on safety. Since the company’s inception, rules and regulations within the construction industry have seen many changes, and both Ryan and Corey feel as though it is important to ensure that both their employees, and the sub trades that they have working for them are educated and safe when on the jobsite. Through this, Regier came up with a fun way to encourage safety throughout the company in a fun and educational way and created a 21-Day Safety Challenge.
The 21-Day Safety Challenge includes a variety of educational opportunities, challenges and presentations and by partnerships created with various suppliers, there is a variety of prizes that can be won.
Five years ago, the company hired Safety Officer Geoff Brand, who has seen the benefits of this challenge firsthand. “It has been a really good way to convey the message and get points across. It helps encourage everyone to come together as a team instead of me coming to the site and telling them what to do,” Brand explained. Having worked as a police officer for 25 years, Brand noted that, “I could write up 15 tickets to someone and they were not going to stop speeding; however, by educating them on the subject, they tended not to speed as much.”
Geransky Brothers Construction has always taken big steps to ensure the safety of their workers and seven years ago became COR certified through the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association. “With several different generations of people working here, the expectation of safety within the workplace is different for every generation. Although we are core certified, trying to get everyone on the same page can prove to be a challenge. It was our goal for 2019 to really nail the safety aspect and this challenge was a unique approach to unify the generations, the sub-trades, employees and even our suppliers,” co-owner and Vice President, Ryan Geransky said.
Through the 21 day period, there have been on-site “toolbox talks”, numerous games, fun challenges, educational presentations from industry professionals, the fire department, representatives from safety associations and more. “We know safety is going to get stricter and there will be more enforcement on the jobsites as time goes on. For us, it is getting ahead of what we know is coming. It is tough though because you will often see competing companies not obeying the laws out there and our guys, who are working on the same developments, would ask why they have to do something if others don’t have to. Our goal is to have them stop focusing on what others are doing, and focus on our goal, which is to get the job done, do it safely, efficiently and smart and to ensure that everyone gets home safe at the end of each day,” Corey Geransky, co-owner and Operations Manager, said.
Being a leader within the industry is important for both Ryan and Corey, and they are constantly working on new and innovative ideas. “If there are no progressions within a company, things can become stagnant and someone can come in and outdo you. Since I started, the way things get done then to now is almost night and day. There has been a lot of evolution within the industry and we try to stay ahead as much as we can,” explained Ryan.
Taking their ambition to be leaders within their industry, the company offers options to their customers that other companies are unable to provide. Most recently, Geransky Brothers Construction began using spray foam in residential foundations. “We always want to work towards using our products and our workers to the full potential. We work to do things to get ahead in the industry and instead of being a follower, be a trailblazer. Our customers are the main priority and we want to be able to offer them the best option available, so it is our responsibility to do the research and stay ahead of the curve when it comes to all aspects; products, safety, efficiency; you name it,” Corey added.
Pictured Above: From L to R – Ryan Geransky (Co-Owner and Vice President), Crystal Regier (Office Manager), Corey Geransky (Co-Owner and Operations Manager) and Geoff Brand (Safety Officer).
