Elizabeth, 26, says she learns something new and faces stimulating challenges every day on the job. "I'm not just punching in orders. I spend a lot of time thinking about what customers need and consulting with different people - both inside and outside of the company."

The company credo is "Managing air quality to help create a better environment." Racan Carrier serves the commercial, marine, industrial, and institutional heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning markets. Sheet metal ductwork - the original product when Racan was founded in 1971 - has since been joined by a wide range of products, including sound and vibration equipment, and the core business, customized air-handling units. In addition to the Laval head office, Racan operates an American plant in Nevada. Both are large facilities measuring over 16,000 square metres.

Elizabeth's job involves reading clients' specifications, preparing quotes and submissions, releasing orders for production, and co-ordinating shipments with customers - basically, every step in the customer service process. "I filter files to make sure everything is entered correctly, so the production people know what to build and how to build it. Our specialty is custom building to customers' needs. Everything is individually designed and produced." Handling "problem" files and preparing manuals are among her specialties.

A typical client would be an agent or consulting engineer who sends in specifications and designates a critical path for the particular project. Lenard and her colleagues in Product Support take it from there. "If no design is specified, we design a unit." From start to finish, through various approval processes, a project may take a year or longer. Racan products can be found everywhere - from hydroelectric power plants to car manufacturing plants, in office buildings, arenas, concert halls, schools, hospitals, research centres and laboratories, and even at sea, in naval vessels.