John and Ingrid Boys of Nicola LogWorks Ltd. recently returned from Ireland where once again, they left a customer thrilled with his new log home.

John Boys says that they had a wonderful time while they were in Ireland – but travelling and building homes all over the world is not a new experience for the couple. They have built homes for customers in Japan, Denmark, Germany, Belize and all over North America.

John Boys explains that the hand crafted log business is a tight-knit community and referrals are common. In fact, John Boys served as president of the International Log Builders Association for six years and has been actively involved with the organization for some time.

He says, “Early in my career, the association was a source of inspiration, information and camaraderie. I found both my friends and my teachers in the association. As I matured, the roles sometimes reversed.”

In the case of the home in Ireland, Boys was referred by a builder in Denmark and a Canadian log home builder near Calgary.

Boys got started building log homes in the late 1980s. He'd been teaching computer science in Ontario and then went to work in the Alberta oil field. When he had some time off, he decided to take a log home building course in Prince George. At the end of it, his teacher offered him a job. The money was considerably less but Boys never looked back.

“Every day I was dealing with something different. Every day I got out of bed looking forward to what I was going to be doing that day.”

In the 1980s most of the homes Nicola LogWorks built were shipped to Japan. In the mid 1990s, Boys decided to branch out and began not only building more homes for the North American market, particularly in the United States, but also a greater variety of homes including log post and beam and timber frame.

At the same time, he formed strategic alliances with other like-minded builders and companies that shared his passion for fine home building and operated with the same state-of-the-art techniques, tools and software.

Today Nicola LogWorks collaborates with Daizen who works in timber frame using highly sophisticated CNC equipment. Nicola LogWorks also works with Peter Sperlich, a log builder form Enderby and Structurlam from Penticton, a company that supplies glue laminated beams and works on some of the most prestigious projects in the country.

The company's diversification has helped it stay extraordinarily busy even in the recent downturn, Boys attributes the company's success partly to “unplugging the TV set” 15 years ago. “The present downturn has been as much psychological as anything,” he says. “I've chosen not to be discouraged by the recent news. We've been successful and a lot of it is because we can do almost anything.”

He says that he gets most of his business through referrals, through repeat business and also through his web site. The company also boasts a stellar reputation and has won numerous awards including Tommies and industry design and building awards.

In fact, Boys notes that he plans to enter one of his latest projects, a multi-million dollar log home on Stump Lake, into this year's Tommie Awards.

“We're niche marketers,” Boys says. “We have a hands-on approach with every project and customer. We want to know why a customer wants to build what they're building and we'll even ask if it's appropriate for their needs.”

The company has also developed advanced technology that allows it to do what other builders can't, particularly in post and beam building where the company uses CNC technology combined with talented hand crafters.

“We combine the two very effectively,” Boys says.

Nicola LogWorks is entering its 21st year in business and Boys says he is still passionate about what he does.

“I love what I do,” he says. “I like the constant challenges. I like the process of creating a special place for people. I'd been building log houses for 12 years before I built my own and it wasn't until I built my own that I really got an understanding of what I was doing. It wasn't stacking logs together to make a house – it was helping people create an environment that could be life altering.”

Some years ago, Boys and his employees sat down with a facilitator to plan the company's future.

When asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” they realized they didn't want to grow up. They wanted to keep the company, fresh and exciting and they wanted to continue to have fun doing what they do. Boys says they have managed to keep having fun.

“I see myself doing this for a while yet,” Boys says. “Do I know what the company will look like 10 years from now? No, but I know some things will change and I will meet some specific goals. If I knew exactly what I'd be doing, right away I'd be bored.”

Nicola LogWorks is at 2778 Pooley Ave. in Merritt.
www.logworks.ca