Meet The Team!

Genevieve Joyal

Genevieve Joyal

Senior Architectural Designer

Meet Geneviève Joyal, our Senior Architectural and Interior Designer— a true powerhouse in the field. Geneviève brings a wealth of experience and creativity to transforming homes into comfortable, well-designed spaces.

Amy Soloway

Amy Soloway

Interior Designer

Meet Amy Soloway, whose creativity knows no bounds. With a background steeped in problem-solving and critical thinking, Amy brings a unique perspective to every project she undertakes.

Cory Kloos

Cory Kloos

Operations Manager

Cory Kloos brings a lifetime of dedication to the construction industry, evolving from his roots as a high school laborer into a seasoned craftsman, project manager, and now a proud co-owner of Macanta Design Build. With over two decades of experience, Cory's journey in construction has been marked by a passion for precision and a commitment to excellence.

Nick Basarowich

Nick Basarowich

Construction Manager

Introducing Nick Basarowich, with a wealth of experience and a knack for turning ideas into reality. With over 20 years in the industry, Nick's expertise spans across all trades, making him a versatile leader admired by both colleagues and clients alike.

Shane Ramsey

Shane Ramsey

Lead Carpenter

Meet Shane Ramsey,whose skills are as solid as his craftsmanship. With a knack for carpentry that's been honed through years of hands-on experience and formal training, Shane brings a wealth of expertise to every project.

Desmond Sweeney

Desmond Sweeney

Controller

Meet Desmond Sweeney, whose analytical prowess and commitment to fairness make him a cornerstone of our team. Desmond is renowned for his analytical genius, often likened to a human computer with a knack for making electronics cooperate effortlessly. His logical approach to challenging situations ensures impartial assessments, free from emotional bias—a trait that sets him apart in both business and personal interactions.

We aspire to be Winnipeg's best residential design build firm in the eyes of or employees, clients, and trade partners, known for our organized approach, exceptioonal designs, high standards, and amazing finished projects.

We will achieve this by at all times respecting our core values:

  • We are safe
  • We are positive, upbeat, and happy
  • We put people first & treat everyone fairly
  • We respect the rules
  • We are financially responsible
  • We do what we say & we do not deceive
  • We pay attention to the details & we check our work
  • We are proactive
  • We strive to constantly improve
  • We protect the interests of ourselves, clients, and trade partners

Macanta's History

2000

Cory starts his career in construction. He began work for a local renovator.

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2001

Upon learning that his boss was the type of contractor you hear about on Holmes on Homes, Cory decided he wanted to work differently and went out on his own, operating as a sole proprietor. He took on small projects and, once the quality of his work and attention to detail became known, began to take on larger and more complex projects.

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2007

Cory changed his focus. He didn’t want to be self-employed just to have a job renovating; he wanted to start a real business, something larger than himself. And he wanted to do it in a proper, efficient way. Through experience in renovations he had worked on homes that had been updated with a focus exclusively on the cosmetics that ignored air quality issues, structural issues, and longevity issues. He worked in bathrooms where previous work just covered up mold. He saw finished basements with mold and water problems because core issues weren’t properly addressed. Wanting to offer his clients a healthier way to build, Cory re-branded himself as Healthy Homes Construction. He hired his first full-time employee, and continued to focus on larger projects.

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2009

As time went on, Cory realized he wasn’t only interested in the construction aspect of kitchen and bathroom renovations, but rather in major whole-home renovations, home additions, and new builds. He wanted to become a winnipeg-based builder, and he felt his experience and ethics would make him a GREAT builder. So, in late-2009 he retired the Healthy Homes Construction brand and began operating under the Red Seal Builders banner. He chose this name both because it has ‘Builders’ in it, and also to differentiate himself from truck-and-ladder companies. He would use only Red Seal trades to complete jobs at a higher level of quality than his competition offered. His customers would know, without doubt, that their builds would be done properly.

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2010

He incorporated in 2010 on advice from his accountant, and continued to work on great projects — even including some commercial projects such as the new Cabela’s store, Stoney Mountain Penitentiary, and the Manitoba Youth Center.

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2013

Though he was working on some amazing projects, Cory was also starting to see the pains of growing too fast. As his jobs got larger and larger, the school of hard knocks quickly let him know what he was good at and what he wasn’t. Cory has a knack for quickly understanding the true needs of his clients and can tailor a plan to deliver maximum value. He can oversee renovations and builds with a high level of technical expertise. But, like so many in this industry, his technical skills didn’t make up for his lack of organization. He always finished what he started, always delivered a high level of quality to his clients, but he was starting to become the construction stereotype that he hated: delays on projects, late delivery without acceptable reasons, stressed out customers.

In early 2013 Cory’s stress levels were at an all-time high. He was experiencing success, but wasn’t enjoying the work. He had grown to a point where one person couldn’t properly handle management of the business, and his customers were paying for it through delays and stress. He was at a turning point; he either either needed to scale his business back, or make a significant business change. Cory didn’t want to scale back and take on less challenging projects, so in September of 2013 he partnered with a childhood friend Desmond Sweeney. Desmond  held a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Manitoba, had spent his career working in the software industry, and was at the time working as a Software Project Manager for a major Winnipeg-based international manufacturing company.  He brought the missing, critical skill set: organizational skills.

Over the next year Cory and Desmond changed Red Seal Builders. They put systems and processes into place, increased efficiency, and tailored everything to better serve client interests. But what they quickly realized is that they didn’t want to be builders, just building off other people’s plans. Not only was that risky to do, but in many cases the plans were horrendous! When issues would crop up the blame game would often start with whomever had designed the plans.  Cory and Desmond stood by and fought for their clients, but they couldn’t fully insulate their clients from stress and additional fees. They very quickly saw where the hole was in their new and needed processes; where they could drastically increase the value that they offered. They needed to become more than just a construction management company who builds; they needed to start working with clients before their idea was on paper. They needed to design what their clients wanted and then build what they designed. They needed to take ownership of the entire process from idea through to warranty.

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2014

In September of 2014, while continuing to build projects under the Red Seal Builders brand, Cory and Desmond created a new company: Macanta Design Build Inc. Fast forward to today, Macanta Design Build Inc. is a leader in Winnipeg Renovations, Home Additions, and custom building. Contact us today to learn how we can put our tried, tested, propitiatory design + build process to work for you!

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2016

Up until this point we were operating out of our homes, and meeting in coffee shops.   This was definitely cost-effective, but was not sustainable.  We didn't have space for clients to meet us, we couldn't accept deliveries that weren't shipped to our homes, and we didn't have any space to bring on employees. 

In 2016 Macanta moved into a small non-descript office space in a downtown office building.

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2017

Macanta hires it's first employee! Cory and Desmond were finding it difficult to deliver exceptional service to their clients, grow the business, and also balance their personal lives. So in 2017 Macanta brought on a dedicated Construction Project manager. This was a significant shift. Prior to this moment, a two-person co-owner team could work harmonously and in sync without the need of any defined process. Adding an employee changed this.  While Macanta started years prior and did have a focus on planning, out of necessity it was at this point in time where the Macanta process really started to take shape, in a more formal way.

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2018

Macanta has been a design build company since it's inception, however up until this point it worked exclusively with independant designers.  We saw the need to have in-house design abilities, and in 2018 brought on a full-time design staff member giving us the ability to service our clients with both in-house and independant designers to deliver the highest value for each and every project.

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2019

While driving to work one day, one of the founders saw a property on St. Mary's Road for sale.  A small residential house with commercial zoning potential, Macanta purchased the property and renovated it into gorgeous office space.

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2020

Something about covid, how we dealt with it, how it impacted us, etc.

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2024

Macanta's 10th anniversary!   Writeup here.

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