Snapshot

• Name and role: Gurpreet Sandhu, Key Account Manager for Canadian sales with Trelleborg Sealings and Profiles.
• Location: Greater Toronto area
• With Trelleborg since: 2023
• Area of expertise: Advising on polymer-based sealing and profile solutions for construction and facade systems.

The journey

I’ve worked in the construction industry for nearly two decades and joined Trelleborg in November 2023 – it was actually my birthday. I started in the role of Key Account Manager for Canadian sales.

My primary responsibility when I started was managing existing architectural façade accounts. Over the first year, I started developing new prospects. I sought new opportunities in other industries to diversify our customer base. The company later provided me with the unique opportunity to work with customers in the automotive segment to provide sealing solutions.

I take great pride in finding solutions for our customers to achieve their objectives.  It’s extremely rewarding to follow the process from development to manufacturing, and ultimately to the completion of a project.

Behind the expertise

I function as an intermediate liaison between a customer’s design and purchasing team and our experts in polymer extrusions. We work to find the best solution for our customers’ needs, using my industry experience. I have a passion for construction and building, so I strive to provide the best solution for our customers.

The construction industry is under a lot of economic pressure, and the old way of constructing high-rise buildings simply doesn’t work anymore. The market is changing rapidly and is looking for more efficient processes to construct window systems. The push for modular designs and integrated assemblies is increasing. This has led to the development of new systems with many customers, and I see this growing further as the construction industry continues to evolve. The design of gaskets and seals is becoming more crucial, and the profiles must meet stricter criteria. Trelleborg’s innovative way of working with customers at the design stage distinguishes us from our competitors.

The market is moving rapidly toward highly energy-efficient systems. More than 25% of energy loss occurs through windows, and that figure is higher in old buildings. Emissions from energy loss in buildings account for over 55% of total emissions, which in many large cities is higher than emissions from vehicles. Legislation is changing in many jurisdictions, requiring façade systems to comply with stricter energy efficiency requirements in the future. Gaskets and seals are crucial components for the success of these new designs.

At Trelleborg, we are always preparing for “what’s next.” We lean on our expertise, we change and adapt with research and innovation and we are always learning and developing our knowledge to be ahead of where the industry is going. Expertise relies on the skills and knowledge we gain through our daily work and on our confidence in our ability to provide viable solutions for our customers. However, we must always be mindful of what we don’t know. No one has a perfect comprehension of everything; therefore, we are always learning to improve our knowledge.

Beyond work

Most of my personal time is devoted to being a husband to my wife and father to my three children. I enjoy embracing various cultures through food, music and traveling.  I have too many hobbies and interests to mention. However, I generally dedicate my free time to cooking, hiking, building and repairing things, and riding my motorcycle. I’ve also scuba dived on three different Caribbean reefs and once reached 272 km/h (169 mph) on a motorcycle, but my goal is to hit 300 km/h!

Quick facts

• Coffee or tea? Coffee in the morning; tea in the afternoon!
• Early bird or night owl? I try to be a night owl, but I’m destined to be an early bird.
• Best part of the job? Seeing a conceptual design come to life. It still makes me happy to see a building go through its various stages of construction until one day it’s finally complete. It’s satisfying to know that Trelleborg contributed to the customers’ vision, and that many people will work or live in spaces we helped develop. A perk of my role is being able to explore Canada’s beautiful cities and natural landscape.