Our Story
We’re a team of like-minded wood-enthusiasts with the common goal of offering premium traditional woodworking with modern day designs. Our builds simply stand out and display superior quality.
Over Two Decades of Custom Carpentry Expertise
We are a custom carpentry shop and take great pride in that fact we have put together a team with a diverse skill set. We offer traditional timber frame joinery, crafting mortises and tenons in the time honored manner. This means we cut everything “by hand” and take care in seeming it all together. The joinery plays a significant role in having a timber frame that will stand up to the test of time for generations.
Building on our humble beginnings, and through curating a team of likeminded wood enthusiasts, Timmerman has grown to expand our services to include custom mass timber fabrication, design development and installation. Offering a breadth of experience in all areas of mass timber construction, we are proud to maintain our humble roots of cutting elements by hand, while adopting additional skills to increase efficiency through both production and installation.
The Timmerman Team welcomes the challenge of unique design and/or construction considerations, strategizing to provide creative solutions to bring our clients ideas to a constructible design. Our team is focused on highlighting the benefits of mass timber construction and look forward to seeing what the future brings!
Getting Started
1999 - 2005
Timmerman Timberworks was formed by brothers; Henry Krans & Michael Krans who combined their building experience and the desire to produce superior quality timber frames.
Starting out in a small old barn in Simcoe County, the brothers took on many significant projects and steadily grew in the coming years and started hiring several employees, many of which are still with us today.
As the company gained its reputation, the work increased and the need for more space had them move to a larger facility in Minesing with a shop size of 3.600 ft2.
The quality and significance of their work produced carved out a reputation for quality workmanship and diversity. Demand for their work increased, as did staffing.
New Horizons
2006 - 2009
2006 saw a 6000 ft2 coverall built and would house the newly purchased 4-sided planer.
Aligning themselves with several residential builders in cottage country increased their workload and allowed them to build very impressive timber structures that were featured in Cottage Life and Our Homes magazines.
The commercial buildings projects involving other mass timber products started to come in and although they are of larger scale, the connection technology was similar and Timmerman was eager to pursue new challenges. In 2009 Timmerman received its first large commercial pool project in Wilmot, ON, which saw the team working with glulam for the first time and installation was successful.
During this time period Timmerman grows to 16 – 19 employees.
Growth & Expansion
2010 - 2017
Residential projects remain steady and continued growth in commercial projects in Ontario and other provinces (Newfoundland, PEI, New Brunswick, Winnipeg) fueled the motivation for continued growth.
Staffing increases to 22 employees as we were involved in projects such as the G8/Huntsville & Markham Pan Am Pool.
In 2016-2018 we were successful in the Design/Assist & build of 80 Atlantic in Toronto and ended up building the first mass timber office building in Ontario in 100 years.
Two days before Christmas in 2017 we unfortunately experienced a fire and lost the shop and everything in it.
Rebuilding & Reinventing
2018 - 2021
10 days after the fire, Timmerman fortunately found a larger vacant facility in New Lowell.
Rebuilding what they had took the whole team and replacement of the primary tools was done swiftly and our Carpenters were back to work in no time.
Mass Timber Leaders – Timmerman designed and engineered the first automated NLT machine which can produce a significant more panels per-day then when built by hand.
Staffing increases to 26 – 35 employing union carpenters on union job sites.
Looking Forward
The Future
We continue to secure our position as industry leaders in timber framing, providing superior service, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.
We look forward to adding to our robust commercial portfolio in the years to come. We encourage you to browse some highlights of our most recent work to get a better picture of what our future has in store, and what we can do for you.
OUR STORY
Our Leadership
Michael Krans
B.A., M.A., BCIN; President
Michael is co-founder of Timmerman Timberworks and has been an integral part of the company since inception in 1999. In Timmerman’s early years, Michael worked tirelessly both in the office and onsite to bring our clients design dreams to fruition. His passion for aesthetically pleasing design coupled with appreciation for the strength and beauty of timber provided a firm foundation to set Timmerman on a trajectory for success. As President of Timmerman Timberworks, Michael oversees day-to-day business operations and works closely with the design team to review drawing sets for efficiencies and constructability.
Michael, a registered designer, has a deep understanding as to the guiding principles of design and enjoys mentoring our team of designers and fostering a team that is committed to pushing the boundaries of design innovation. Under Michael’s purview, Timmerman has taken on some of the most intricate and innovative design projects in Eastern Canada and continue to welcome projects that challenge the capabilities of timber.
Henry Krans
Red Seal Carpenter; Vice President
Henry has spent most of his life in construction with a specialized focus in timber framing. His high standards in wood working came at an early age with timber framing catching his attention because of the pure simplicity of joining wood using traditional tools.
The diversity of working with mass timber and the variety of projects on an on-going basis maintains Henry’s interest and ingenuity. He looks forward to what the next project will bring.
Kevin Lankin
Head Designer
Kevin has been with Timmerman since 2007, and over the course of that time his role has grown from being our sole Designer to now managing a team of five and collaborating with wide group of Subcontractor’s, Engineers and Consultants.
He’s known for developing an ongoing stream of solutions and strategies that facilitates the most complicated build.
Courtney Verral
B.a., Residential Designer
Courtney graduated with Honours from Laurentian University and Georgian College, joining Timmerman in 2013 as our Residential Designer. She enjoys working directly with clients to help them plan their ideal space, often times starting from a sketch, idea, or collection of inspiration photos.
With her passion for interior design and love of space planning, she is able to help her clients achieve a functional and aesthetic environment and can seamlessly incorporate timber elements into any residential design. Courtney’s experience working with 3d programs, allows her to create renderings and walkthroughs that enable the client to visualize their future home. She enjoys the challenge of taking an idea and making it a reality.
Janet Jacobson
Office Manager
Janet joined the Timmerman team in 2009 and has been an integral part in Timmerman’s growth through the years. Janet enjoys the diversity and growth that the wood industry offers, and has mirrored that growth during her time with Timmerman.
Supporting the team by wearing a variety of hats, Janet’s role as Office Manager encompasses many facets of the business and she thrives on bringing connectiveness to the Timmerman team and clients. As an avid baker, Janet likes to spoil the team with home baked goodies.