February 3, 2012

BML Multi Trades president Jim DiNovo takes helm of Hamilton-Halton Construction Association

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Incoming Hamilton-Halton Construction Association (HHCA) president Jim DiNovo, president of Brantford’s BML Multi Trades Group Ltd., has put a commerce degree to good use in a career that has spanned several industries.

“I can’t honestly say that I enrolled in a business program to get an accounting degree but my scholastic success in high school in math and humanities provided the best prerequisites for a business degree,” says DiNovo, who graduated from McMaster University in 1988.

“I didn’t decide on obtaining an accounting designation until my graduating year. Even then, while I was recruited by a small public accounting firm, I spent my time pursuing a certified management accountant designation instead of a chartered accountant designation.”

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He achieved that CMA designation in 1991.

DiNovo, who takes over the HHCA helm at the association’s annual general meeting Feb. 9, has found that his training has “immeasurably” benefited his career in the manufacturing, distribution, transportation and contracting industries.

Jim DiNovo, HHCA’s incoming president, is also president of BML Multi Trades Group Ltd.

“Performing audits and providing accounting and financial reporting services for small businesses allowed me an intimate view of hundreds of businesses and access to hundreds of business owners at a very early stage in my career,” he says.

“I have seen both well operated and poorly operated businesses and have drawn on those experiences throughout my career. I have usually held financial leadership roles but I believe my true strength has been as a generalist, contributing to all areas of a business’s operations.”<0x000A>DiNovo, who was born and raised in Burlington but now lives in Oakville, held progressively senior management positions in industry prior to joining BML in 2003 as the company’s general manager. He and partner Doug Cormier now own the business.

“I had always wanted to get away from the craziness and constant restructuring of a publicly owned business and own and operate my own business,” he says. “I was fortunate to have this opportunity with BML.”

BML is a multi-trade contractor, active in the industrial and commercial sectors. It employs 80 tradespeople in plumbing, electrical, sheet metal, fire protection, millwright, and HVAC /refrigeration.

“It’s really like having six different companies under one roof,” DiNovo says.

BML has the largest commercial and industrial service department in the Brantford area, with a fleet of more than 40 vehicles. It also has a full-service fire protection department.

In 2007, the company was the recipient of a business excellence award for company of the year from the Brantford Brant Chamber of Commerce. He now is the chamber’s vice-president.

Because of the mix of in-house trades at BML, DiNovo has had an opportunity to become active in a number of trade associations. The current treasurer of the Ontario Sheet Metal Contractors Association, DiNovo also is a past president of the Brantford Hamilton Niagara Sheet Metal Contractors Ltd.

He is active as well in the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association.

A director of HHCA since 2006 and its former treasurer, DiNovo has served on the operations committee for six years. As vice-president, he chaired the strategic planning committee which produced a new plan two years ago. He also serves on the education committee.

He considers membership in the association “an essential tool in aiding businesses to navigate the challenges of an increasingly complex industry while fostering the relationships that make this industry so rewarding.”

The HHCA represents 390 companies engaged in the industrial, commercial and institutional sector within the Hamilton and Halton area.

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