JNE Welding celebrates 40 years of fabrication excellence Crystallizer crossing the South Saskatchewan river.
November 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of a landmark on the Saskatchewan fabrication scene – JNE Welding. Founded on November 1, 1980 by Jim Nowakowski with a mobile welding rig, as well as integrity and ambition, JNE has grown to more than 140 people delivering thousands of tons of fabrications large and small to industry in Western Canada today. After some field work in the late fall of 1980, Nowakowski started up a small shop at 1916 Saskatchewan Avenue in the north end of Saskatoon. He ended up adding five employees that first year, and by 1985 moved to the centre bay of 811, 56th Street East – a space still occupied by JNE 35 years later. Over the next few years, the business expanded to include the east and west bays, then additions of 960 square feet of shop space at the back and a temporary coverall space still in use today. By 2006, JNE had 75 employees and was a growing company in Saskatchewan’s potash industry and the Alberta oil sands – delivering pressure vessels, piping, ore bins, tank conveyors, ducting, transmission structures, and virtually any other fabrication that could be imagined. At the same time, JNE still delivered small projects and repair services, just like the first years on Saskatchewan Avenue. To take advantage of growing opportunities, the property at 3915 Thatcher Avenue was pur-
2021 PotashWorks 103
