Yellowknife (Nov 10/04) - Igloo Building Supplies owner Barry Stewart won an Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award in the real estate and construction category.

The company has operations in Hay River, Yellowknife and Edmonton, along with a packaging facility in Montreal and offices in Warsaw, Poland, and Shanghai, China.

Stewart first won in the Northern Alberta real estate category and then claimed the Prairie category. Out of 10 award recipients, Ernst and Young chose one entrepreneur as the countrywide winner, which Brick Furniture owner Bill Comrie won.

"I felt privileged to be in that circle," said Stewart.

Close to 700 people attended the ceremony at the Calgary Convention Centre on Oct. 14.

Igloo Building Supplies had its start in Hay River in the late 1950s.

"I was born and raised in Hay River and moved to Edmonton in 1984. I was only supposed to be here six weeks and I'm still here," said Stewart.

Stewart's brother and partner Brian Stewart still lives in Hay River.

When Stewart took over the family-run business in 1978, sales were less than $1.3 million a year. Today, sales range between $80 and $100 million annually.

Stewart expanded the business through dedicating the company to customer needs and through a series of business buyouts.

One of those buyouts came about in 1994 courtesy the Guinness family of Irish beer-making fame.

Ravi Kumar, vice-president of finance with Igloo, said the Guinness family own a Canadian investment arm, which in turn owned Northern Eauclaire, which sells building supplies to home builders in Alberta.

"They've been in the Calgary market since the late 19th century," said Kumar.

One year later a truss-making plant, operating under the same name, was started by Igloo in Edmonton.

In Warsaw, the company is looking at an apartment complex. In Shanghai, the company built a gated residential community involving 35 homes. "We are scouting (Shanghai) for opportunities, probably residential units, and we will soon decide which way to go," said Kumar.