Company Report: Montorio Homes
Mediterranean flair, environmental conscience Construction Digital learns how this Edmonton firm has become the region’s largest custom homebuilder and premier Built Green™ contractor

Written by Kevin Doyle & Produced by Joe D’Ambrosio

Established in 1992, family-owned custom homebuilder Montorio Homes of Edmonton, Alberta, stands apart from its competition on many fronts ranging from its long-standing adherence to Built Green™ Alberta standards to its superior Mediterranean-style workmanship.

General Manager Martino Di Luigi returned home seven years ago to join the company founded by his father Vincenzo in 1992. A 1989 Electrical Engineering graduate of the University of Alberta, Di Luigi had 15 years of heavy industrial experience in the petro-chemical field. However, residential construction was also part of his DNA.

“Dad was a bricklayer by trade and I remember going around to job sites with him during the summer and helping out,” says Di Luigi, who was between assignments with his former company when his father proposed he come home. “I had just come off a project and accumulated a massive amount of overtime, so my company wanted me to stay home until they figured out where the next assignment was. Then there was no more work. My father called and said, ‘Since you’re not doing anything, why don’t you come give me a hand restructuring the company?’”

Di Luigi recalls the restructuring process took close to five months. Once involved, he says, “I wanted to make the turnaround progress smoothly so I stayed longer than I had originally anticipated. Afterwards, I saw a lot of potential and decided to stay and make it a career.”

Today, Montorio Homes stands as both Edmonton’s largest custom homebuilder and one of the largest Built Green™contractors, averaging approximately 80 new homes annually. The company currently employs 25 people, generated annual revenue of CAD $30 million in 2009, has added a Renovations Division and anticipates a solid 2010. “I’m starting to see that, after 18 years, we’ve entered our maturity phase as a builder,” says Di Luigi.

“We pride ourselves in having an experienced and professional sales staff,” explains Sales Marketing Manager Steven Curtis. “When a customer first makes contact, they are greeted by someone with lots of experience who know how to take care of their needs. Throughout the process, the customer will have access to many different individuals in the company. We have a group of mortgage specialists to assist clients with their financing and if the customer has to sell a home, our realtor can help them with that. Our sales people are their first point of contact but we’re all just a phone call away.”

A DISTINCTIVE PRODUCT

The distinctive Mediterranean style of Montorio Homes sets the company apart. “With my father’s heritage being Italian, our signature is a little bit of a Mediterranean touch if you like it. Brickwork is standard as well as granite and ceramic tile in kitchens, and arches/pillars throughout the house,” Di Luigi says.

While the company is involved in the upcoming development of a 60-home project, single-family homes are where it shines. Montorio Homes offers Premier, Casa Verde and Signature specification models ranging from $300,000 and below for first-time buyers to exclusive executive mansions of $1m plus. Models range in size from 1,300 to 3,000 square feet and well-designed floor plans provide customers the flexibility to customize according to their desires.

“In general, two-story homes in the 2,000-square foot range are always the most popular,” Curtis notes. “We touch every price point but the focus and majority of the business is in the $400,000 to $600,000 range.”

The company is also adept at tailoring homes to meet specific neighborhood requirements. “If a new home doesn’t fit the community, it won’t sell. It has to be architecturally pleasing not only for the client’s enjoyment but for the benefit of the community as a whole, ” he adds.

THE BUILT GREEN™ APPROACH

Built Green™ is a voluntary program currently available in both Alberta and British Columbia that promotes “green” building practices to reduce the impact construction has on the environment. It benefits the homebuyer, the community and the environment.

“When I came back here the movement was at its infancy. About a year later they were looking to bring builders on board and train and I wanted to make that jump. I saw it as a need in the market and I wanted to be environmentally responsible,” Di Luigi says.

There are two components to achieving Built Green™ certification. Homes must meet a minimum-choice level of approximately 80 environmentally friendly items from a checklist of more than 300. They also have to meet minimum EnerGuide thermal heat loss requirements with 72 being the lowest qualifying number. If that score or higher is attained, an independent third party performs a blower door test to determine air leakage and heat loss. Only then is certification approved.

“That said, the market at this time doesn’t want to pay for it, although it’s not that expensive. There is a lot of long-term value for that additional $10,000 and we use all of our show homes to demonstrate that we can do this. The government is being very aggressive in supporting it, but people have been slow to accept it,” Di Luigi notes.

DAILY OPERATIONS

Montorio Homes oversees construction, subbing out all of its work with one notable exception. “We have our own framing crew. We’re very well-known for good framing. It’s important to us and we’re proud of it,” Di Luigi says.

The company maintains long-term relationships with a core group of preferred vendors, whose pricing must remain competitive, whose work has to meet Montorio’s exacting standards, and who are required by the company to provide follow-up service as needed.

The company uses a proprietary patented Built Green™ sealing system for its homes. “The rim joists come gasketed; that actually helps keep the house air-tight and helps to make it more efficient,” Di Luigi says. “When we make houses more air-tight we also recommend that the customer put in a heat recovery air ventilator to help combat sick building syndrome.”

The company maintains a small fleet of Bobcats used for site grading along with trailers, tools and forklifts for use by the framing crews. Safety is a top priority as regular inspections are conducted at every job site, staff meetings are held monthly, and annual meetings with sub-contractors are conducted to review rules and responsibilities.

Since restructuring, Martino says the employee retention level has been good with an average tenure of four to five years. Montorio Homes currently occupies half a building and, in anticipation of future growth, will take over the first floor when the current tenant moves out.

IN THE FUTURE

Diversification is key to the company’s plans moving forward. At the height of the recession Montorio Homes took the bold step of establishing Renovations by Montorio as an add-on to existing services. “We really want to grow that division and get Renovations by Montorio established so there’s a good balance between the two business divisions,” Di Luigi says.

Additionally, the company has a companion garbage removal service it established in recent years. “My father is an entrepreneur,” Martino says with a laugh. “We’re specific to residential and service Montorio homes exclusively.”

“In regards to home building, I would say in the short term we get back to the point to what we’ve structured the company to build, about 80 homes a year. We’re comfortable with what we have for this year and next – after that, it depends on the market,” Di Luigi concludes.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

COMPANANY: Montorio Homes Ltd.

PRESIDENT: Vincenzo Di Luigi

OPERATIONS: Montorio Homes is Edmonton’s largest custom homebuilder and largest Built Green™ contractor

ESTABLISHED: 1992

EMPLOYEES: 25

REVENUE: CAD $30 million

www.montorio.ca

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