Our story is what makes us who we are.
In 1949, Fred & Frieda Wahl emigrated to Canada along with many other family members. While Frieda & others started working at Redcliff Greenhouses, Fred ventured into his chosen field of carpentry. In 1957, Fred decided it was time to start his own company. He started with very little but the support of his family, a goal, and the work ethic to achieve the goal. At the time, he had 2 sons and a daughter on the way.
His last son, Rick, was born a year later. Starting out with residential construction, including their family home which also occupied the home office, Fred built many houses in Medicine Hat. In the beginning, Fred’s wife, Frieda helped right alongside him while raising their four children. Gradually, F.Wahl Construction started expanding into commercial construction. Fred Wahl was greatly respected by sub-trades, co-workers, employees and clients in Medicine Hat.
This is a family business; Rick Wahl worked closely with his father throughout the years until finally taking over the business in 1977.
Rick Wahl knew early on that he would enter into the construction business just like his father. From listening to his father’s business calls at the kitchen table as a young boy to working as a labourer in his early teens, to stepping into management straight out of university - it was in his blood. When his father passed, the team that Fred had created played a significant role in welcoming Rick to his new position and helping him learn the foundation of the business. He learned at a young age to appreciate, learn and be inspired by what his dad had started. Wahl Construction has always meant family. If you grew up in Medicine Hat, chances are you are familiar with something that has been built by either F. Wahl Construction, Wahl Builders, or the current Wahl Construction Ltd. Whether it be the home you grew up in, your first apartment when you moved out, a restaurant you’ve eaten at, the stampede grandstand where you saw your first rodeo 50 years ago or the newer one you‘ve sat in for the past 40 years; maybe it’s the senior’s facility where you visit your grandparents, or the school you graduated from, or the school you’ll be enrolling your child in this coming year. These are just a few of the projects that show the lasting and significant presence that Wahl Construction has had in Medicine Hat.
Without question, Wahl Construction has had hundreds of employees over the years who have made unequivocal contributions to the success of the company. Some of these employees have stayed with the company 20, 30, or even 40 years. Several employees have started straight out of high school, trained, and apprenticed and stayed with Wahl Construction to help make it a success. Wahl Construction works with the RAP program and Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training to try and help young men and women find a role in our company. With the continuity of the workforce, along with excellent craftsmanship and dedication to quality, it allows for a good product to be produced with minimal issues.
Westview Apartments was the tallest building in Medicine Hat when it was built.
Rick and the team at WAHL Construction value their relationship with their clients. We strive to put our best foot forward and have our clients pleased with their choice in WAHL Construction. Being present, communicative, and working hard to create an outcome and product our clients are happy with are the qualities that we stand beside. WAHL Construction takes the time to listen to our client's objectives and set out ways to achieve them. The sense of accomplishment and being able to show hard work and dedication from start to finish is something that holds significant value at WAHL Construction. No matter what, our mission is to finish a project knowing that we've done the best job possible, and work hard for our clients to create quality work in what they are looking for.
Management Team
Rick Wahl
Rick Wahl is a humble, hard-working family man with strong values. He’s never one to talk about himself, but will very easily tell you about the pride and awe he feels towards his father’s accomplishments or that of his family. Rick has made it his mission to do his father proud by continuing the family business that has invoked respect amongst his colleagues as well as the Medicine Hat community since 1957. “You are only as good as your word” is a phrase Rick believes in whole-heartedly.
Cody Wahl
As the grandson of the company’s founder, Cody’s life has been built around the construction business, just like his dad, Rick. With Rick’s guidance and the assistance of Wahl Construction’s close-knit team environment, Cody has been able to study all the stages of construction, from administration through to project management. He is well on his way to becoming an industry expert and is excited to proudly carry on the legacy that his father and grandfather worked so hard to create through Wahl Construction.
Dawna Schuler
Dawna has been involved in the construction industry for 28 years and with WAHL Construction for most of it, bringing with her an education in Engineering Design and Drafting Technologies. She has built positive working relationships with subcontractors, homeowners, consultants, and employees. Over her career she has been actively involved with the ACSA and CHBA, sitting with board member and president positions on both. Along with the many other duties Dawna has at WAHL Construction, she is our primary home consultant.
Certifications & Associations
Wahl Construction Ltd. has always made safety a company priority. Wahl Construction has been awarded the "Trail Blazer" award by the Alberta Construction Safety Association. This award is for Dedication and Outstanding Contribution to the Enhancement of Safety and Health in the Workplace.
Throughout the years, Wahl Construction Ltd. has conducted Safety Audits for numerous construction companies in the Medicine Hat area to help them with their own safety programs.
Wahl Construction Ltd. has developed a 3-stage process to improve our Safety Performance.
Identify Critical Activities — understand the sources of Risk at the site and work to eliminate the potential for an accident.
Control the Risks to our Workers — we identify the most effective control of the Risk.
Educate Workforce — we ensure all our workers have received formal construction Safety Education and site-specific training.
We make it a policy to ensure the sub-contractors coming to site have similar safety protocols in place and we review these with our sub-contractors prior to them starting work at our site.
Wahl Construction Ltd. is committed to performing every job in a safe and healthy manner. Work-related injury or illness is unacceptable, and we are committed to identifying and controlling or eliminating workplace hazards to protect our workers, our sub-contractors and all people at our sites.
Reliability Personnel Clearance for Suffield Base
Awards we are proud of at WAHL Construction
1979 1st Place “Home of Your Choice” Parade of Homes
1980 ANHW Quality & Service Award
1981 ANHW Service Award
1999 Rick WAHL – Medicine Hat Construction Association President
2002 Apprenticeship Fund Gold Donator
2010 ANHW Golden Hammer (10th year as a Service Award Recipient)
2010 Trailblazer Award recognizing dedication and outstanding contribution to the enhancement of safety and health in the workplace, presented by the Alberta Construction Safety Association
2014 15 yr. member award for commitment to your customers and the highest standards in homebuilding, presented by The Alberta New Home Warranty Program
2015 50 yr. dedication award, presented by the Medicine Hat Construction Association for 1965 – 2015
2019 ANHW 20 year member recognition award
2020 Wahl Construction takes great pride in being a long-time member of the Medicine Hat Construction Association. This year, along with only 3 other companies, we received our 55 year award! We look forward to many, many years to come.
One of our original ads from March 7, 1958. Over 40 years later, we still build homes that are wonderful to live in, beautiful to look at and provide truly outstanding value - Building Excellence.
