After a lengthy and thorough search, the TIAC Board of Directors is proud to announce its new Technical Initiatives and Strategic Relationship Coordinator, Tristan Bertram. Bertram grew up in the insulation industry mentored by his parents, Tammy and Rob Bertram, at their family business—Ideal Products.
The Early Days
“I remember a lot of days as children where my brothers and I would play at Ideal’s office while my parents worked,” Bertram says. “As we got older, the playing turned into working and making sure orders got done on time. My first job was working for Ideal during the summer break, and once I graduated high school, I went straight to working full time for Ideal.”
Some of his favourite travel memories as a family were attending TIAC conferences. Famous for being fun, welcoming, and positive learning opportunities, the conferences taught Bertram many important life skills and eventually led to him applying for and accepting his new position with TIAC.
“I care a lot about TIAC because the association and industry were a huge part of my childhood and continue to be a major part of my life today,” he says. “When I saw the job posting, I felt it was a great opportunity for me to be creative, to learn, and to give back to a community that gave me so many good memories and provided a wonderful life for my family. How could I not want to take the opportunity to help make TIAC the best organization it can be?”
A Rewarding Career
Coming from the manufacturing industry, Bertram has enjoyed learning how to provide more value for customers. This concept has been the most rewarding part of his career—knowing his family’s business has made a real difference and helped customers be as efficient and profitable as they can be.
“I take pride in my work, and it was always nice to hear that our customers appreciated us going the extra mile,” he says. “Representing Ideal at the TIAC conferences always gave me a sense of pride, as I knew it was our time to develop better relationships and show appreciation to our customers.”
This is the inspiration he brings to the postition, which starts immediately with connecting with the memebership to establish a contractor-driven way forward.
Developing Initiatives
“My initial focus is on providing more value for TIAC’s members,” Bertram says. “I think TIAC has done a great job in the past promoting and advancing the industry, but I think there is a wonderful opportunity ahead to rally our members to achieve more.”
He believes TIAC has a great responsibility being the voice of the mechanical insulation industry, and that the voice comes from the membership. “The more value we can provide for our members, the further along we advance the industry as a whole,” he says. “I believe we have the ability to play a vital role in creating a greener, more efficient world.”
Reaching Out to Members
Bertram feels confident in the skills and abilities he brings to the postion but also recognizes the opportunity to learn. “I will need to rely on the membership and the board for their knowledge and expertise,” he says. “After all, the members are the ones doing the legwork advancing this industry. I am just the one ensuring that TIAC provides as much value for them as possible.”
In his first weeks and months in the position, Bertram will be reaching out to the membership to introduce himself and get to know TIAC contractor members across Canada. He brings enthusiasm and a strong work ethic to the job of making the association and industry the best it can be, recognizing TIAC for what it is—a a community of great people.
“I believe that being part of a community means you support each other, push each other to be better, and rally around a common goal,” he says. “In a broader perspective, that is what I aim to do for this association. I look forward to interacting with the membership and working with them to make our community stronger.”
Members can reach out to Tristan Bertram at tristan.bertram@tiac.ca to say hello or share your ideas about TIAC’s future. He will also be reaching out to connect over the next serveral
months. ■