Meet our Staff: Andrei Bazzul (Ontario)

I was born in Cambridge, Ontario in 1974 but was raised in St. Thomas, Ontario (near London). In 1997 I moved with my family to Guelph, where I live presently.

How did I get into drafting? Well, it started in high school at the end of Grade Nine when I made my course selections for Grade 10. My mom was not too happy about the fact that I selected percussion(drumming). So she kindly and gently (she told me to say this) told me to see the guidance office and change my courses. So I selected drafting and woodworking instead. It was at this time that I was introduced to AutoCAD and I enjoyed drafting enough that I decided to make it my profession.

In 1994, I began the Mechanical Engineering Technology (Design and Drafting) Program at Sheridan College (now Sheridan Tech) in Brampton, where I was introduced to other fields of drafting, including structural. But when I left college, I wanted to work for an automotive company or parts manufacturer.

In 1998, an opportunity opened up to work for TSD (Total Structural Detailing), the company founded by Eric Lee. I got an overview of the kind of work they did and found it interesting so I decided to give it a go and have never looked back. In 2001 I began working with X-Steel (now Tekla Structures) and I’ve really enjoyed working in 3D and seeing how everything in a structure fits together.

In 2004, I joined Dowco as part of the TSD/Dowco merger and I continue to enjoy what I do. I’ve learned so much more about 3D modeling and connecting and it’s good to work with software that’s progressive. It’s amazing how far drafting has progressed.

In my spare time, I enjoy playing and watching sports such as football, hockey, basketball, baseball and soccer. I also like to take in the odd Guelph Storm (Ontario Hockey League) game and I especially enjoy when they beat the Kitchener Rangers, who just hosted the Memorial Cup last spring. I also like to cook and entertain friends to a good meal, especially on Super Bowl Sunday and other nights.