Aval Engineering Brochure by North American Constructors Journal

AVAL Engineering Inc. | 2

AVAL Engineering Inc. :

Innovative and growing power solutions provider AVAL Engineering of Calgary, AB offers an array of services in the utility, oil & gas, municipal, commercial and industrial sectors Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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n the aftermath of the precipitous drop in oil prices that sent Alberta’s economy into a prolonged downward spiral and left many seasoned industry professionals out of work, AVAL Engineering’s founders saw an opportunity. “I took a group of guys and told them I would love to put something together and, with our expertise, approach the market at a lower cost. I thought we could be very effective like the larger companies. We are very experienced and all of us listen to the market and what they’re asking us to do,” explains Alain Guerard, an industry veteran of more than 40 years and one of AVAL’s founders. Established in 2013, AVAL Engineering is based in Calgary, AB. The company runs lean with a staff of approximately 20, anchored by a core management team that boasts more than 150 years of combined industry experience. AVAL provides an array of services in the utility, oil & gas, municipal, commercial and industrial sectors. In 2015 the company incorporated a subsidiary, CANIMEX INGENIERIA S.A. DE C.V, to provide services for energy projects in Mexico. The company has quickly earned a sterling reputation as a deadlinedriven, innovative leader. “We try to focus on power and the oil and gas component, so those are the

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AVAL Engineering Inc. | 4 two main markets. There are a lot of companies looking for the same work and there is extreme competition, so building relationships with our vendors and our clients is very important,” Guerard stresses. “We had one client who was six months late with a project. When they asked what we could do to bring it back on schedule we answered ‘ Absolutely no – but we can work with you to get it back on the rails.’ Within eight months, we had brought it back to a two-month delay,” he adds.

Key Projects Medicine Hat Power Plant: AVAL oversaw the construction of a $55M Owners of AVAL - Alain and Shane simple cycle, 45MW natural gas power plant for the city of Medicine Hat that came online in November 2017. The company worked closely with the City of Medicine Hat to assemble and manage a large force of subcontractors and several engineering consultants. “We put in a bid and, because we were local, got the job. We brought it in 10 million below the original budget and on time and there were 200 people working there at any given time. We shined managing the project. We got the right subs because it was expertise that’s not available in the city. We were very integrated with the city – they were the decision-makers and we were the facilitators,” says Guerard,

AVAL Engineering Inc. | 5 LM6000 Gas Turbine Engine

a resident of Medicine Hat. “We made sure everybody performed and that we represented the city to the best of our ability.” General Electric provided the LM6000 package and Worley Parsons were the prime consultants for the balance of plant engineering. Escobedo Project: Located in El Carmen in Monterrey, this project was handled by AVAL subsidiary CANIMEX INGENIERIA S.A. DE C.V. The project consisted of three single-phase transformers 125 MVA and the construction of 20 feeders in 115 kV. The work included procurement, project management and construction of the facility. “This project came from a friend of

mine in Utah. We were introduced to and partnered with exceptional people. The Mexico market is huge and their power system is excellent. This was a big substation. We’ve just completed the work and we’re shutting down the project now,” says Guerard.

Safety First AVAL is committed to providing its clients quality services on time and in the safest manner by promoting a strong safety program that protects employees, property, contractors, and the general public from accidents. AVAL employees and management are responsible and accountable for observing company safety rules and industrial and

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AVAL Engineering Inc. | 6 government safety regulations. Management consistently promotes “Safety First” in its daily business operations and ensures all employees are properly trained. In conformity with environmental regulations and clients’ environmental guidelines and requirements, AVAL is committed to protecting the environment and communities by minimizing environmental impacts of its daily business operation. “As an example of “Safety First”, for the Medicine Hat Project, the scope of Site Safety Management was added to our role, and we took this very seriously and achieved zero lost-time injuries after more than 120,000 man hours on site. We care deeply about safety of not only our employees but also all contractors on site,” says Guerard.

Game Changer?

“

There are a lot of companies

looking for the same work and there is extreme competition, so building relationships with our vendors and

- Alain Guerard, Owner www.avaleng.com

“

our clients is very important.

AFTE

The company is also involved in a joint initiative examining how to develop a method of storing and using compressed air in conjunction with wind power to replace diesel generators in remote regions such as the Arctic. AVAL is working with a Montreal company and First Nations Power Authority of Saskatchewan. Guerard estimates generators in remote communities have consumed 90 million litres of diesel in the past 20 years. “Basically it is a new technology installed in only one location. For the Arctic and for Canada, the consumption of diesel and pollution-related events is huge. If you

AVAL Engineering Inc. | 7 Since we are all senior (level) our Project Managers don’t need to be hand held. We have great loyalty and we back each other. We run lean but when there is a major project we can ramp up to 200 as we did in Medicine Hat,” Guerard says. AVAL provides concept-tocompletion management for projects of all sizes and has shown itself to be skilled at nurturing and maintaining relationships with both vendors and clients.

ER - Switches and Breakers - 115kV substation

replace these generators you would cut the pollution and eliminate the need and cost to transport the diesel when you could be transporting food instead,” he explains.

Day to Day Guerard’s military background is central to AVAL’s efficient operations. “It’s about command and control and establishing proper lines of communications,” he says. “We study, analyze and arrive at a solution.” Achieving financial stability has been central to the company’s success. “The financial part is the toughest part, becoming cash flow positive.

“Our vendors help us tremendously. We know the prices, we know what they can do, we can negotiate with them and we know they will deliver on time. On a $20 million job there could be $16 million in materials. So materials management, physical management, and the relationship with sales and engineers is an area where we shine. You can’t have a product be late and 30 guys sitting around waiting – the client won’t pay for that,” Guerard says. “Clear communications need to be established with the client as well – we are the sole point of contact for the client so there is no passing the buck. We speak with them and we take total responsibility. Our schedulers tell us if there is a delay and we’re up front with our clients because any change in schedule has an impact on the bottom line for them,” he continues.

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AVAL is certainly not averse to embracing international opportunities. Business Development Manager Kyle Hein has been involved with a project in Eastern Europe where AVAL is fabricating a unit for a Canadian company with operations overseas. During a vacation in China, Guerard visited a number of manufacturing plants, including one that made turbo expanders that generate power from compressed air. “I said ‘We need one of those.’ I came back to Canada and started looking up the requirements and we’ve already bought one,” he says. The company has also worked in

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Turkey. That military training helps in the procurement of local contractors that enable smooth operations in foreign countries. “That’s the military mind-set. We are trained to go somewhere else and take action. We define the need and get it done,” Guerard says. While the company has no formal training and development programs in place at this time it has brought on a student from Mexico in the Calgary office in a co-op arrangement.

Looking Forward This company is just powering up. The management team’s deep experience and expertise in EPC and EPCM

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Alain Guerard - President of Aval Engineering

Shane Gross- General Counsel of Aval Engineering

environments provides immediate stability. AVAL’s involvement with cutting edge research and development and willingness to take on difficult projects should lead to long-term growth.