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KEN GIGUDTTI/ WINNIPEG FREE PRESSDon Phillips says the construction was ‘short-term pain for long-term gain... The whole interior was gutted right down to the bare walls/Cambrian puts new face on branch_By Geoff Kirbyson_FACED with an outdated interior design and members calling for a change, it didn’t take long for Cambrian Credit Union to allocate nearly $400,000 to renovate its only rural branch.The new private offices, modern teller counter and softer colour scheme that members in the 3,500-square-foot Selkirk location see today are a far cry from the construction site they had to endure a few months ago.“The whole interior was gutted right down to the bare walls,” Don Phillips, manager of the branch, said in an interview yesterday. “We didn’t close, we were open through the renovations. The construction workers worked evenings and weekends and we worked during the day.”“It was an easy decision to make. The branch was not conducive to servCredit union spends nearly $400,000 to renovate outdated interior designing our membership any longer, it had served its purpose. The construction was short-term pain for long-term gain.”Phillips said the biggest need was to replace the old open office concept with private offices.“Our members want to sit down in private to discuss their wealth management and investments. They want to talk to someone about their dreams and goals and they needed privacy, so that’s what we gave them,” he said.Not all of the changes are apparent to the naked eye, according to Jim Grapentine, chief operating officer of Cambrian. The Selkirk branch is the first non-government building in town to receive a high-speed data line, which has sped up in-branch serviceby a “considerable margin” because employees now have an immediate link to Cambrian’s systems in Winnipeg.Members are also benefiting from a pair of new automated teller machines, both of which are able to serve more customers faster because of the highspeed data line, Grapentine said.Another key in the new design was the capacity to handle Cambrian’s growth projections at the branch, he noted. Its assets across its 11-branch network, including 10 in Winnipeg, have grown from $680 million a year ago to more than $786 million today.John Hamilton, communications manager for the Credit Union Central of Manitoba, said Cambrian isn’t alone in its capital expenditures. The entiresystem of 56 credit unions and 175 branches in the province spent $11.8 million on bricks and mortar last year after spending $14.1 million in 2001, Major renovations were completed or new buildings built in eight Manitoba communities in the last 18 months, including Gretna, White-mouth, Riverton, Holland, Lac du Bonnet, Birtle, The Pas and Brandon.“Credit unions recognize that inbranch services is an important element in providing excellent service to their members,” he said in an interview yesterday.Grapentine said it was important for Cambrian to show its support to Selkirk, where its roots run more than 60 years deep and include previous incarnations such as Selkirk Credit Union, Rolling Mills Credit Union and the immediate precursor to Cambrian, Co-operators Credit Union.3 geof1.kirbyson@tfeepress.mb.ca
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