“TLD’s reliable and has a proven history with me, I don’t have to look anywhere else. I started with a couple of other suppliers years ago, but the service was nowhere near what I get from TLD.”
-Derek Emery,
President, Emery Electric
As the leader of one of Victoria’s largest electrical contractors for almost 30 years, Derek Emery has learned a lot about what he’s good at, and what he’s best off delegating to others.
In the case of Emery Electric and the 50+ employees they employ, he’s clear his team can design and deliver just about any leading-edge electrical solution that his industrial, commercial or marine industry clients might need.
He has the same clarity in his choice of IT service providers, having hired TLD in 2008 to conduct a server replacement, and eventually transitioning into a TLDConnect Managed Service client not long after that.
For Derek, peace of mind is only one of the benefits of his decision to hand off responsibility for his essential business systems to his TLD team. Whether it’s the rigorous firewall and anti-virus solutions protecting his proprietary data or the timely responses from the TLD Help Desk that he and his office staff receive, he’s confident his company is getting exactly what it needs.
Derek sees a lot of advantages for a medium-sized organization like his own, in terms of having access to a level of network expertise that he couldn’t afford if he hired his own IT staff directly.
“I like the managed services approach rather than relying on one or two IT professionals that I could hire,” he explains. “I’ve worked with plenty of IT folks on different job sites and I really prefer the team approach that TLD offers me. “Employees get sick and take holidays, but I always get the support I need from my TLD team, regardless of who is doing the work.”
After his grandfather started the business more than 95 years ago, Derek took over the reins in the late 1990s from his father. Derek has continued the family-run aspect, with his daughter serving as the Office Manager, while his two sons serve as an electrical engineer and a senior foreman at Emery
On top of being highly skilled at handling urgent IT issues when they arise and supporting the technical side of his business, Derek is confident about TLD team’s understanding of his ongoing, regular business needs and how the technology they’re planning and implementing helps support his company’s success.
“I get the feeling they truly care about what’s going on at our company,” he adds. “After working with TLD for close to 20 years, they know what I like and will take the extra step to make that happen.”
That extra step also includes offering expert advice and support when Derek needs to purchase new or replacement equipment. He values the seamless experience that comes from TLD’s ability to source technology through a wide network of trusted procurement partners.
“Whether it’s computers for the office or rugged devices for our skilled trades in the field, we get all our equipment through TLD—and the delivery is always on point,” he says. “They let me know what’s in stock and when it can be delivered before I even place the order. That kind of insight really streamlines my decision-making.”
“Without TLD I’d be worrying
more about my network.”
“They’re reliable, and they’re great at explaining things—whether it’s server replacements or helping us shift from in-house systems to cloud-based tools like OneDrive, we’ve offloaded quite a bit,” Derek says.
From securing his environment to standardizing the overall technology his team relies on, Derek values the expert advice and hands-on support he receives from the TLD team. “We’ve even upgraded our switches so TLD’s Service team can handle remote tuning—it’s made a big difference.”
“If the network goes down, everyone heads out and I’m left on my own—but thanks to our many redundant systems, including two site offices and the Pt. Hope Shipyard, that rarely happens,” Derek says. “Uptime has been very strong—we just resolved the last lingering issue, and now everything hums.”
“We’ve gone through two server upgrades over the years, and they’ve all gone very smoothly,” he adds. “The team is excellent at explaining things, and it’s incredibly reassuring to know they fully understand my environment.”
For Derek and the more than 50 employees at Esquimalt-based Emery Electric, having a trusted team to lean on whenever needed is essential. It allows his own team to stay focused on what they do best: designing and delivering reliable electrical solutions for industrial, commercial, and marine applications.
