Occasionally you will hear of two generations of steel detailers, but you seldom hear of three. I, however, have had the distinct pleasure of working now with three generations of the MacKay family.

I first met Gordon MacKay when I left Dominion Bridge in 1964. Gordon was working at Coast Steel Fabricators in Burnaby, as was I. My board was situated right beside Gordon's, and we quickly became friends. At that time, Gordon was contemplating going into business with Nerino Corbella and Eddy Dorini and asked me if I would like to join them. I declined and in 1965, they formed GNE Engineering, a detailing company. I often wondered where they would have placed the "H" if I had joined them!

Although I only worked with Gordon for about five months at Coast Steel, we’ve remained friends over the years. In fact, I actually spent a short time with GNE as a freelance draftsman before I started Dowco. In the meantime, Gordon's son Scott joined him at GNE and remained there many years as GNE became NC Engineering. Scott joined Dowco in January 2008.

This year, Scott's son Sean, Gordon's grandson, joined Dowco's Burnaby office, completing the third generation of MacKay’s working in the steel detailing industry.

I have asked Gordon, Scott and Sean each to write a short bio of their time in the business. Although Gordon did not work for Dowco, I personally have had the distinct pleasure of working with all three generations.