ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2017 - 15

Upon graduation from the U of A in 1989, Dave
embarked on a three-year Air Force stint to pay back the
Canadian Forces' support of his schooling. Technology
Alberta readers will be familiar with his military role, as he
was posted to Cold Lake's Aerospace Engineering Test
Establishment (AETE), whose technicians have been
eligible for an annual ASET award since 1979. While at
AETE, he worked on ground testing for flight evaluation
of air-to-air refueling of the five Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Canada had recently purchased.
After leaving the Air Force, Dave went into industry,
though he kept his sights set on teaching, completing
a Masters in Science degree along the way. Ultimately,
he deemed instructing at college to be more to his liking
than being a university professor, so from 2003 to 2007,
he taught manufacturing and mechanical engineering
technology at NAIT. It was there he met the young South
African immigrant who was to become his business
partner.
Darryl Short's story is a little more eclectic. He and his
family moved from Durban, South Africa, to Vancouver in
the fall of 1993. Three months later, Shorty's dad decided
Edmonton's prospects were more appealing so all four of
them spent the first days of January 1994 crossing the
Rockies in a small car with no heater. All the way across
the Crowsnest Pass, Mr. Short kept muttering, "What
does 'chain up' mean and how are we going to make it
up this mountain with all the snow?" How's that for an
introduction to the Great White North?
Darryl, like Dave, chose the vocational path in school,
studying machining in his native South Africa, then opting

for design, drafting, and shop at J. Percy Page High
when he settled in Edmonton. A presentation delivered
to students by a Government of Alberta Apprenticeship
Program advisor convinced him that a career in the trades
would be more to his liking than pure engineering. He
began apprenticing straight out of grade 12, spending time
in several different machine shops to master a range of
equipment.
In 2003, having been laid off, Shorty made an important
decision, enrolling in NAIT's Mechanical Engineering Technology Program, where he particularly enjoyed the Manufacturing options. Because he and Dave got along so well,
they stayed in touch after he graduated and went to work
for Alberta Oil Tool | Dover Artificial Lift, where he remained
until 2011, when the DeJong-Short partnership was born
with the purchase of Karma Machining & Manufacturing.
Founded in in 1998 by Natwaral Zilka, Karma had been
one of Dave's clients when he ran his own engineering
consultancy. Mr. Zilka was ready to retire and Dave
was intrigued by the offer to take over the business; so
interested, in fact, that he talked to Darryl about it and,
after discussing the matter with their respective wives,
they decided to plunge in. Karma is a family business,
with Dave and Darryl sharing a 50 percent stake and their
wives having equal ownership of the remaining half.
The firm has since prospered, due in large part to an
approach predicated on growth and strong relationships
across numerous sectors. Then there's Dave and Shorty's
belief in the Richard Branson credo:

Train people well enough so they can leave,
treat them well enough so they don't want to.
Karma's owners are strong advocates of continued
professional development and treating your staff better
than you do yourself. The results are clearly visible.
Consider the following stats:
THEN

NOW

10 customers

80 customers

2 full time employees

11 fulltime employees

4,000 sq. ft

10,000 sq. ft.

0 resident clients

4 resident clients

Double the number of
machines and now include:
* 3D printer
* Manual machining;
* Multi-axis CNC; and,
* Full engineering & design services

TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA | SPRING 2017 | 15

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Spring 2017