How a 1990s Construction Company Became a Growth Platform

Commercial interiors subcontracting is an industry where practices can hold for decades. A company can build a reputation, keep a steady book of business, and change very little. Maxan Interior Systems followed that pattern for nearly 30 years after its founding in 1990.

That changed in 2019. Dane Flynn and his partners acquired the company through Birchwater Investments, the Flynn family office. They saw a solid business with a strong reputation. They also saw something the previous ownership had not pursued: scale.

Canada's construction labor market makes that scale harder to reach. The country's construction labor shortage is forecast to grow 13% annually between 2026 and 2045, according to the Government of Canada. Productivity is moving in the wrong direction. Construction labor productivity fell 1.3% in the first quarter of 2026, as reported by Yahoo Finance. The industry needs more people and better output. Maxan's answer has been to change how it works.

Flynn is president of the Toronto-based company. He describes the post-acquisition period in blunt terms. Virtually every major process has been redeveloped or reconsidered since 2019. That is a sharp break from the prior 29 years, when change was minimal. Flynn rejects the industry habit of defending a method because it is familiar.

"Saying 'This is the way we've always done it' is a limiting stance. It stifles growth and innovation. We've evolved from a traditional drywall contractor into a modern, multi-division interiors company with regional reach and national ambitions," Flynn says.

The results are measurable. Maxan has nearly tripled its sales since 2019. It now employs approximately 300 field and office staff. It has added divisions, technologies, and operational systems. Beyond drywall, the company now offers architectural and acoustic wall and ceiling systems, architectural wall systems, and specialty interiors. It has also built a service division focused on small, fast-turnaround projects larger contractors often overlook.

Technology has been part of that shift. Maxan uses point cloud scanning and robotic layout technology to achieve millimeter-level accuracy from layout through installation. Flynn calls the company an early adopter of layout robotics and scanning in its market. That matters because adoption across the industry remains thin. Only 16% of construction professionals say AI is part of their day-to-day work, according to ConstructConnect, referring to a DEWALT study of more than 3,400 tradespeople and decision-makers across six countries.

The harder change has been cultural. Flynn says the company's guiding principles are safety, quality, partnerships, people, continuous improvement, growth, and profit. He frames the first five as inputs. Growth and profitability follow. Safety is not treated as a compliance box. Flynn describes it as a leadership responsibility, alongside quality and long-term development for the people doing the work.

"We firmly believe that if we take care of our people, maintain strong partnerships, deliver best-in-class quality, execute projects safely, and stay committed to continuous improvement, growth and profitability will follow," Flynn says.

That philosophy shapes how Maxan describes its workforce. Flynn does not talk about headcount. He talks about families. "Great companies are built through people and culture first," he says. He points to apprentices becoming lead hands and coordinators becoming project managers as the clearest measure of whether the company is working. Maxan reports no turnover, attraction, or retention problems. Long-tenured staff carry institutional knowledge that a growing company cannot easily replace.

Flynn also sees a structural advantage in the age of Maxan's ownership group. He notes that the average construction company owner in Ontario is in their late 50s or early 60s. An owner close to retirement may not invest in technology or career paths that pay off in 15 or 20 years. Flynn and his four partners have a longer runway. That lets them think longer term about technology, innovation, and people.

The next stage is national. Flynn notes that the company expects acquisitions to drive expansion. He has spoken with roughly five or six potential targets. None have closed yet. He is careful to present national reach as an ambition, not a completed fact. The company is still Ontario-based and still building the systems and culture that a larger operation will require.

"We're not afraid to pursue out-of-town work, new scopes, or new customer relationships when local conditions shift," Flynn says.

That willingness to move is the through-line. A construction company founded in 1990 could have stayed the same. Maxan's bet is that the companies that grow will be the ones willing to change how they work before the market forces them to.