You never know what you’ll find when you walk onto the shop floor at John Duff Ltd. The Petrolia custom metal fabricator’s 10 employees have worked on everything from aluminum rails and decks for water pollution control plants to rocket ships.
Yes, rocket ships.
While John Duff started the company 45 years ago, one of his daughters, Tara Duff-Cloes is now president. ”
Originally a company that did work for a nearby desk manufacturer as well as support for the local oil and agriculture industries, today the firm holds special certifications from the Canadian Welding Bureau and tackles projects such as pollution and water treatment plants, aluminum platforms, stairs, railings, and duct work as well as customized pieces for local industry.
About that rocket ship project: John Duff Ltd. helped build an entry for the Ansari X Prize competition, a project designed to spur commercial space innovation.
Other projects that have found their way into the John Duff shop include a wind tunnel to create a cyclone for power generation, towers to hold gas pipelines in northern Ontario and a waterfall bridge over a pool for a home in Oakville.
Even now the company continues to evolve to provide unique services for its customers, using a Hi-Def Plasma Table capable of cutting up to 2½” stainless, aluminum and mild steel materials. With this capability custom designs for just about any metal project, including ductwork, become routine.
Duff-Cloes loves the diversity of the job. “Everything is completely different, all the time,” she quips with her trademark laugh. “And, we still service farmers, oil men and the guy who has an antique part they can’t get anymore.”
But Duff-Cloes is anything but complacent.
The firm’s membership in the Sarnia Lambton Industrial Alliance is part of a strategy to better meet new and interesting challenges while supporting local fabricators in expanding markets, incoluding Alberta.
“We are the custom metal supplier to the larger businesses who are building for the oil sands.”