www.businessreviewcanada.ca | January 2011
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BY John T. Connelly
Number’s Game
Happy New Year! Now that the ball has dropped
Canadians from Vancouver to Toronto are looking forward to see what 2011 has in store. We know predicting what kind of business climate lies ahead is a prickly proposition, but we figured we’d at least give you a barometer. Our cover story reveals three Canadian economic hot spots and, of conversely, three chilly provinces. The Technology feature provides a window into the big three telecom companies while also pulling back the curtain on rising stars in the ultra-competitive wireless carrier industry. It’s probably comes as no surprise, but rounding out our list of Canada’s top five billionaires, in the Business Leader section, is Deputy Chairman of Rogers Communications Edward Rogers III. Finally, the Marketing 2.0 feature highlights Canada’s top internet marketing firms. 2011 is sure to put even more emphasis on digital branding as smartphone advancements become the norm. Cheers,
John T. Connelly Editor
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QUOTE OF THE ISSUE The surprising list does have a reclusive media tycoon and a headline-grabbing entrepreneur. Canadian Billionaires and the Conglomerates They Lead
www.utoronto.ca
january
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Business Celebs
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Technology
Social Media
16 FEATURES 10 News The latest news and analysis from the past month 14 Business Travel TSA Body Scanners Get Flagged 16 Social Media Facebook Messages a Trap Game 18 Business Celebrities Leslie Nielsen: Comedic Gold 20 Innovation Internet Search Predictions for 2011 22 Business Leaders Canadian Billionaires and the Conglomerates They Lead 26 Money Matters Canada’s Economic Hotspots: Who’s Up and Who’s Down 32 Technology Canada’s Top 6 Telecom Companies Dial in on 2011 38 Marketing Four Internet Marketing Firms Configure Digital Value 42 Events & Tradeshows Up and coming events for your diary
ASSOCIATION profiles 44 ECAA Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Hush
120
january
90
Air Georgian
Canem
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Energy 48 Resource Energy Solutions Calgary high-tech company gets top Marx 56 Arthon Construction Comes Up With The Building Blocks For Success 62 Stacey Electric Wires Toronto Traffic Lights Day and Night 68 Canem Canem Systems is at the center of 窶話uilding performance 84 Independent Electric & Controls An Innovative Energy & Instrumentation...
supply chain 90 Air Georgian Innovators in Aviation Operations
construction 100 Hardwoods Inc LEEDing Distributors of Sustainable Hardwood 106 City of Spruce Grove Makes Community Sustainability a Top Priority 112 City of Grande Prairie City of Grand Prairie Multiplex Reflects Pioneer Spirit 120 HUSH builds the ultimate dream home 130 RL Turner Turning the tide of the American Construction Business
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238 Ottawa Hospital
Dependable Truck & Tank
210
FOOD & DRINK 136 Sodexo Canada Is Taking Care To Create A Better Quality of Life 144 Shah Trading Shah Trading Company keeps it in the family
MANUFACTURING 150 AP Plasman One of Canada’s Leading Manufacturing Companies Serving the... 166 Durabuilt Windows & Doors Family Plus Sound Business Equals Success for... 174 Campion Marine carving a better world by going Green in the rough seas 180 Polyform Foam Plastics Polyform Foam Plastics Insulates It’s Future with Nudura 192 Ultra Electronics Has a Firm Idea on the Pulse of the Aerospace Industry 200 Mecachrome Integrating Technology, Lean, Six Sigma & Strategic Relationships 210 Dependable Truck & Tank Putting customers first is Dependable’s main objective 216 Denison Industries Aluminum Foundry Specialists
healthcare 226 Providence Healthcare Faith-based Health Care, World-Class Service 232 Fraser Health Fraser Health Authority Is Enriching The Lives Of B.C. Citizens 238 Ottawa Hospital The Ottawa Hospital Offers An Optimal Outlook For Ontario’s www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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FOR THE LATEST canada NEWS Visit Website
Non Browning Apples from British Columbia Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF), a privately-held agriculture biotechnology company focusing on developing new tree fruit varieties based in Summerland, BC, has developed a genetically modified apple that won’t brown after being cut. The company is currently lobbying for the US government to approve its Frankenstein-like creation. The biotech hopes to reinvent the apple’s appeal to consumers as a viable, healthy snack option. Okanagan Specialty Fruits has developed apple varieties that do not go brown by silencing the enzyme that drives the browning reaction in apples. This enzyme, Polyphenol oxidase has been switched off, and the apple does not turn brown.
Purolator Delivers HEV Fleet
Purolater, Canada’s largest logistics company and one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, announced the addition of 200 hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) to its fleet throughout the country, nearly doubling the company’s hybrid electric vehicle fleet, which is the largest fleet of hybrid electric vehicles for a logistics company in North America. “As our company turns 50, Purolator is proud to continue to lead the industry towards green alternatives,” said Tom Schmitt, President and CEO of Purolator. 10
Electric Car Program a Bright Idea
Mercedes-Benz Canada is joining Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited for the Toronto Hydro smart Experience, Canada’s first electric vehicle program designed specifically for automotive
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
retail customers. A total of 15 vehicles will be made available to Toronto Hydro customers who meet all of the eligibility requirements. The program is to study the driving patterns, charging habits and the impact on the electricity grid of the Toronto-area ‘lead ambassadors’ who will participate in this unique and informative pilot program.
canada
BUSINESS NEWS
Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan Residential and small business electricity bills are forecasted to increase by 3.5 per cent annually over the next 20 years. Industrial rates are forecasted to increase by 2.7 per cent annually over the same timeframe. The plan calls for closing all coal units by 2014, creating 50,000 jobs in Ontario’s growing clean energy economy, building the largest expansion in hydroelectric
NEWS IN BRIEF Sayonara Penny
power in almost 40 years, incre a sing O nt ario’s power supply coming from renewable sources to 13 per cent by 2018 and securing clean and reliable nuclear power as a baseload for half of Ontario’s power supply.
Say goodbye to the penny, Canadians. That’s right; the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance recommended the removal of the onecent coin as a net benefit to Canadian taxpayers and the overall Canadian economy. Considering it costs 1.5 cents to produce the one-cent piece, the move makes fiscal sense.
Electrolux Shutters Quebec Factory
World’s Largest Titanium Reserve
Roughly 1,300 workers at the Electrolux factory in l’Assomption, Quebec will be seeking new jobs come the fourth quarter of 2013 as the Swedish company announced plans to relocate the facility’s operation to Tennessee in the US.
Toyota Recalls Sienna
David Powell, Chairman of CIC Resources Canada, claims that he has found the world’s largest titanium reserve located in Paraguay. The ore mining project would require an investment of U.S. $ 500 million for 5 million tons per year of metal. “We are currently the subject of pilot plants, and as everything is ready, perhaps in February or March, will make room for larger plants,” said Powell. “We have invested several million dollars in the metalwork and explorations in the field.”
Toyota Canada is recalling more than 10,000 model year 2011 Sienna cars. Other Toyota or Lexus vehicles are not involved in this recall, and Toyota said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the defect.
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FOR THE LATEST canada NEWS Visit Website
NEWS IN BRIEF
Nissan Leaf to Cover GTA Streets
For What It’s Worth
Nissan has committed 500 Nissan LEAFs to The Toronto Atmospheric Fund partners with deliveries beginning in the second half of 2011. TAF, Toronto’s climate-action agency, aims for at least 300 electric vehicles on the road in the Greater Toronto Area by 2012 through FleetWise’s EV300 initiative, which is helping to prepare the region for fullscale electric mobility. “The FleetWise EV300 program enables fleets to pool their purchasing power and share information about best practices when it comes to electric vehicles and we’re pleased to have this significant commitment from Nissan Canada,” said Julia Langer, Executive Director for TAF.
PayScale, Inc., the world’s largest real-time salary data provider, today announced a partnership with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, that allows LinkedIn users to tap PayScale. com’s 23 million+ dataset of salary intelligence. LinkedIn will include salary ranges for jobs listed in the US, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Canada’s Highest Female Achievers The Women’s Executive Network announced the recipients of the prestigious 2010 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, which is Canada’s most recognizable award for the country’s highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
Connect with beansTalk Sponsored by CCH Canadian, beansTalk is a new online networking site exclusively for Canadian tax, accounting and financial planning professionals. “Unlike LinkedIn and Facebook, beansTalk is a custom-designed network for Canada’s tax, accounting, financial planning and bookkeeping professionals,” said Jennifer Allan, Director Marketing, Tax, Accounting & Financial Planning, CCH Canadian.
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Major Transformation of IT Industry
IDC forecasts worldwide IT spending at $1.6 trillion in 2011, a 5.7% increase over 2010, with more than half in emerging markets. Spending on public IT cloud services will grow at more than five
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
times the rate of the IT industry in 2011, up 30% from 2010. IDC expects shipments of app-capable, non-PC mobile devices (smartphones, media tablets, etc.) will outnumber PC shipments within the next 18 months. IDC is expecting nearly 25 billion mobile apps to be downloaded in 2011, up from just over 10 billion in 2010.
canada
BUSINESS NEWS
Pratt & Whitney $1B Investment Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation announced it will invest $1-billion in research and development (R&D) over the next five years to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines. The investment is expected to create and maintain an average of more than 700 highly skilled jobs during the project work phase and more than 2,000 jobs during the 15-year benefits phase. “This major investment will enable us to sustain our engineering centres of excellence in Ontario and Quebec and reinforce our position as a leader in the global aerospace industry,” said John Saabas, President, P&WC.
Scotiabank Fifth Largest Mutual Fund Provider Scotiabank will buy out all of the remaining common shares of DundeeWealth for about $ 3.2 billion. As a result of this acquisition, Scotiabank will become the fifth largest mutual fund provider in Canada and the third largest among the country’s leading banks based on figures reported by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC). “The acquisition of DundeeWealth demonstrates our strong commitment to build our wealth management presence in Canada and aligns to our global wealth management strategy,” said Rick Waugh, Scotiabank President and CEO.
$2 Billion Oil Sands Splash
PTTEP, Thailand’s sole petroleum exploration and production company, has made a $2.28 billion entrance into Alberta’s oil sands. PTTEP will buy 40 % interest in Norwegian-headquartered Statoil’s oil sands project Kai Kos Dehseh. Statoil will retain 60% ownership and will act as the Managing Partner and operator of
the project. Production vo l u m e s from the partnership will continue to be handled and marketed by Statoil Canada Ltd. “This transaction underlines the quality of our Canadian resources and demonstrates our ability to create value as an oil sands operator,” says Statoil’s Chief Executive Officer, Helge Lund.
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John T. Connelly
TSA Body Scanners Get Flagged Executives now can guard their um…jewels… Inside every good controversy a good business opportunity can be found. Business travelers concerned about the United States Transportation Security Administration’s new security measures that subject people to X-ray full-body scanners in airports to see through clothes and detect nonmetallic explosives can cover (excuse the pun) themselves from embarrassment. Rocky Flats Gear is the US manufacturer of revolutionary radiation shielding garments for individuals. The Company’s emphasis is on protecting the traveling public, airline, medical, and security professionals from radiation generated by security and medical imaging equipment. The traveling Executive doesn’t have to be worried about anyone ‘touching their junk.’ The garments come in both men’s and 14
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
women’s styles. The Patriot 3 pack Men’s Trunk Boxer Fig Radiation Blocker promises to diminish Alpha and Beta radiation, diminish T-Wave/ Tera hertz radiation from remote strip cameras and diminish X-ray/gamma radiation from back scatter x-ray machines among insuring privacy of medical and body scanner images. The X-ray ARMOR Vest Tank Tee Shirt is advertised to use every day to block natural and man-made radiation, use for extended air travel to protect from ATI /whole body scanners and protect from increased radiation while flying at high altitudes. And for the ladies, the Woman’s Brief Blocker (Clasp Hands) is advertised to do the same as the its male garment counterpart: wear every day to block natural and manmade radiation, protect dignity and privacy
Business Travel
from intrusive airport scanners and protect from increased radiation while flying at high altitudes. The makers at Rocky Flats Gear weren’t only endowed with an opportunistic business sense, but a sense of humour as well. All of its garments feature funny artwork of a fig leaf. Finally, bashful Executives now have an answer to invasive and pushy operating procedures. Now if only there was a garment to block Human READ MY BLOGS Resource’s invasive and Visit pushy operating procedures, Website life would be great.
All Rocky Flats Gear garments feature funny artwork of a fig leaf.
John T. Connelly, Editor-in-Chief, Business Review Canada > j.connelly@whitedm.com
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John T. Connelly
Facebook Messages a Trap Game In its quest to socialize life, Facebook is light lipped I recently read Facebook announced the next evolution of its Messages service and will provide an @facebook.com email address to every person on Facebook who wants one. But Facebook is quick to point out that… Messages is not email. There are no subject lines, no cc, no bcc, and you can send a message by hitting the Enter key. We modeled it more closely to chat and reduced the number of things you need to do to send a message. We wanted to make this more like a conversation. Alright people…It’s time to realize what Facebook is doing and seriously ask whether the convergence of the social world with the professional world and the public world with 16
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
the private world is a good thing. I can’t personally trust Facebook anymore. (No, I haven’t seen the Social Network.) As Facebook continues to offer more services that don’t particularly have much value other than consolidation, the boundaries of our lives are erased. Traditionally, we have compartmentalized our worlds by choice, not necessity. As Facebook leads us to believe its services will make life easier, its services come at a cost. The services are free, but that’s because the social media networking relies upon the information of its users, which will prove taxing on our personal lives. The real value of Facebook is solely
Social Media
delivered to Facebook. The bigger the community, the more ad dollars the Company sees. Sure, businesses now have a new platform for marketing and branding. But is this platform more valuable than the information Facebook gathers on your company, much like it is doing to individuals? It’s a cat and mouse game. Every step the mouse makes, an electronic footprint is left. Facebook will eventually m a p th e s e e l e c tr o ni c fo otp r i nts . The cheese is usually a trap.
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John T. Connelly, Editor-in-Chief, Business Review Canada > j.connelly@whitedm.com
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John T. Connelly
Leslie Nielsen: Comedic Gold Nielsen built a successful acting career before Airplane! Wildly successful Canadian Captain Oveur: Well, not for another two American actor and comedian Leslie Nielsen hours. passed away recently. Rumack: You can’t take a guess for another two hours? Ted Striker: Surely you can’t be serious. Rumack: I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley. Nielsen’s career began with a television role in 1948; he quickly expanded to over Funnyman Nielsen was born in Regina, 50 television appearances two years later. Saskatchewan and at the age of seventeen, Nielsen appeared in his first films in 1956 and following his graduation from Victoria began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and Composite High School in Edmonton, enlisted romance films. in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Like many business and brands that have experienced successful longevity, Rumack: Captain, how soon can you land? Nielsen reinvented himself as a comedic actor, Captain Oveur: I can’t tell. most memorably in Airplane! (1980) and the Rumack: You can tell me. I’m a doctor. Naked Gun film series. Nielsen’s deadpan Captain Oveur: No. I mean I’m just not sure. humor was a hit with audiences and Rumack: Well, can’t you take a guess? he breathed new life into his career. 18
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
BUSINESS CELEBS
Mayor: Now, Drebin, I don’t want any trouble like you had on the South Side last year. That’s my policy. Frank Drebin: Well, when I see five weirdos dressed in togas stabbing a man in the middle of the park in full view of a hundred people, I shoot the bastards. That’s my policy. Mayor: That was a Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, you moron. You killed five actors! Good ones! For his contributions to acting and show business, he was inducted into both the Canada and Hollywood Walk of Fame. Lt. Frank Drebin: Looks like the cows have come home to roost.
A young Nielsen
John T. Connelly, Editor-in-Chief, Business Review Canada > j.connelly@whitedm.com
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John T. CONNELLY
Internet Search Predictions for 2011 The first edition of BRC Internet Search Nostradamus gets juicy For Yahoo! Canada’s Year in Review, their team of editors pored over more than one billion queries to offer a look at the people, stories and trends that dominated the year. The mere fact that we can quantitatively track the topics that people are most interested is so 21st century. Just 10 years ago, year in review lists were completely subjective. Now year in review lists are fact. Not surprisingly, the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games was the most searched topic of 2010. The World Cup in South Africa took second. As for people, Lady Gaga surpassed Hollywood bombshell Megan Fox as the most searched person. Not to be left out was Stratford, Ont.-born pop star Justin Bieber, who landed eighth on the list. I guess Bieber fever extended beyond 20
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
preteen girls to include some housewives. The complete list is as follows: Top Searches 1. Winter Games 2. World Cup 3. American Idol 4. Lady Gaga 5. Dancing With the Stars 6. Megan Fox 7. Tiger Woods 8. Justin Bieber 9. Sandra Bullock 10. Lindsay Lohan Why does this all matter? Well, as important as search engine marketing is becoming (or is), this list provides valuable insight into internet
innovation
h
behaviours. As 2010 is in the books and so too are the year Read in review lists, now seems like a great what you want into the list. time to predict 2011’s most searched people, Mark my words‌Google will stories and trends. Without further anticipation, know everything about everyone and I give you the first edition of BRC Internet Search China will own the world. Nostradamus. Top Searches 1. Montreal Canadiens 2. Justin Bieber 3. China 4. World War III 5. Google 6. iPhone 98 7. Sidney Crosby 8. Tiger Woods 9. Toronto Maple Leafs 10. Asteroid
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John T. Connelly, Editor-in-Chief, Business Review Canada > j.connelly@whitedm.com
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Galen Weston
Business Leaders
Canadian Billionaire$ and the Conglomerates They Lead Canada’s five richest billionaires oversee a few of Canada’s largest private companies and enjoy relative public anonymity By John T. Connelly Canada’s richest control what you eat, the information you process and the energy needed for modern society. Do you know who wields the most influence over your daily life? We have profiled Canada’s top-five billionaires, and believe it or not, the list doesn’t include RIM’s Jim Balsillie or Mike Lazaridis or even Joseph-Armand Bombardier. The surprising list does have a reclusive media tycoon and a headline-grabbing entrepreneur, though. David Kenneth Roy Thomson, 3rd Baron Thomson of Fleet Source: Thomson Reuters Age: 53 Net worth: $19 billion Home: Toronto Thomson tops the list of Canada’s richest and is the 20th richest in the world, according to Forbes. Thomson is the chairman of Thomson Rueters, the world’s leading source of information for businesses and professionals, which resulted from the merger of The Thomson Corporation and Rueters in 2007. The new entity, Thomson
Rueters, operates in 100 countries, has over 55,000 employees and a nearly $13 billion in annual revenue. Predetermined, Thomson assumed control of the information powerhouse when his father died in 2006 and his son is the designated successor. He is currently connected to actress Kelly Rowan, whom he has a daughter with. Thomson is intensely private and detests many people in the business sphere. James (J.K.) Irving, Arthur and John (Jack) Irving Age: J.K. (82), Arthur (79), Jack (deceased at 78) Source: Irving Group of Companies Net worth: $7.28 billion Home: Saint John, New Brunswick Irving patriarch Kenneth Colin (K.C.) established Irving Oil Limited in 1924, which essentially financed the multitude of endeavors over the decades. K.C. eventually took over his father’s sawmill company J.D. Irving Limited in Bouctouche. Today, the Irving Group of Companies is owned by K.C.’s two sons. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Jim Pattison
David Thomson
Edward Rodgers Irving Brothers
Business Leaders J.K. owns J.D. Irving, the conglomerate which has interests in forestry, pulp and paper, tissue, newsprint, building supplies, frozen food, transportation, shipping lines, and ship building. J.D. Irving is the largest single landowner in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine. Arthur owns Irving Oil, its retail stores, oil refinery, oil tankers and distribution terminals and facilities. The Irving family, possibly one of the richest in the world as their exact net worth is impossible to determine because the companies are privately owned, are often the source of ire. They have an almost complete monopoly in print media in New Brunswick. Galen Weston Age: 70 Source: George Weston Limited/ Loblaws Net worth: $6.47 billion Home: Toronto Galen’s grandfather George Weston pursued various business ventures, which included supermarket chains in North America and Europe. Today, Galen is Chairman and President of George Weston Limited, which owns Weston Foods Limited as well as controlling interest in Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food retailer. He is also Chairman of Holt Renfrew in Canada, Selfridges in the United Kingdom, and Brown Thomas of Ireland. Galen made his mark by turning around the once-prominent but headed for bankruptcy Ontario-based Loblaws supermarket chain in 1971. By slashing stores and a revised marketing/advertising campaign, Galen was able to right the sinking ship. Galen was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of George Weston Limited in 1974, where he presides over one of Canada’s most recognizable companies. James Allen ‘Jim’ Pattison Age: 81
Source: Jim Pattison Group Net worth: $5.07 billion Home: Vancouver Pattison owns the third largest company in Canada, which has holdings in numerous car dealerships, Overwaitea Foods and Save-OnFoods, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and radio and TV stations in British Columbia and Alberta. He also owned the Vancouver Blazers of the World Hockey Association. The Jim Pattison Group bought GWR, the company that owns Guinness World Records, in 2008. The Jim Pattison Group also has holdings in four broadcast television stations and more than 25 radio stations. Most notably, Pattison paid a $200,000 ransom for one of his daughters who was famously kidnapped in 1990. Edward Rogers III Age: 41 Source: Rogers Communications Net worth: $4.7 billion Home: Toronto By far the youngest of the top-five richest Canadians, Edward was appointed Deputy Chairman of Rogers Communications on September 15, 2009, Canada’s largest cable company offering cable television, high-speed Internet access and residential telephone services. Rogers Retail is one of the largest retail chains in Canada with more than 475 stores. Edward isn’t just an heir to a fortune; he’s helped create the wealth. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Cable Inc. and its three business units from 2003 to 2009, Edward doubled Rogers www.businessreCable’s EBITDA. In 2008 the Company generated viewcanada.ca $3.8 billion in revenue, over $1.2 billion in EBITDA and had over 14,000 employees.
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Canada’s Economic Hotspots: Who’s Up and Who’s Down From coast to coast, the economic outlook varies greatly for the coming fiscal year. Is your province seeing red or black? Written by John T. Connelly
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Money matters
What Canadian provinces are looking forward to a positive 2011? Where are business owners the most confident and where are they not? The Canadian Federation of Independent Business and its 107,000 small business owners
from BC to St. John ’s have a sense of guarded optimism for the new year. The CFIB’s Business Barometer Index gauges expectations. Index levels normally range between 65 and 75 when the economy is growing. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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money Matters
UP Alberta 71.6
UP British Columbia 70.0
Sitting on the second-largest proven crude oil reserve in the world next to Saudi Arabia with an estimated 171.3 billion barrels—enough to meet Canada’s current oil demand for almost 400 year—is an obvious cause for economic optimism. And the news that PTTEP, Thailand’s sole petroleum exploration and production company, has made a $2.28 billion entrance into Alberta’s oil sands, serves to backup that optimism. Look for legislative action concerning the oil sands to clear up uncertainty in the coming year.
Fresh off a year that saw Vancouver play host to the Olympic Games, British Columbia has shown tempered optimism for the coming year. While its neighbor to the East lays claim to a massive oil reserve, the BC economy will continue to ebb and flow with the world’s resource commodity markets, as its principle industries are mining and logging. Vancouver is a leading technology hub, but as stimulus funds start to dry up, many start-ups will be left scrambling to find capital. A bigger www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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question in 2011: Who will lead the Provincial Government? Premier Gordon Campbell announced his resignation on November 3, 2010. When the next leader is selected in February, the business climate in BC will be much clearer. Not to be forgot; Vancouver will host the 98th Grey Cup at year’s end, and businesses are already making plans.
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UP: Newfoundland & Labrador 69.2 Back over on the Atlantic side, Newfoundland & Labrador has its fiscal house in order. The Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, announced at the end of last year that the Provincial Government is projecting a surplus for the 2010-11 fiscal year of approximately $12.3 million, an improvement from the $194.3 million deficit forecast in Budget 2010. And talk of surplus is sure to buoy spirits. Much of the surplus will result from higher corporate taxes and in particular from global mining giant Vale. In Long Harbour, Vale has capital expenditures of approximately $2.8 billion being made to build new, state-of-the-art processing facilities to process nickel concentrate.
money Matters Down: Manitoba 58.0
Down: Prince Edward Island 59.0
Some numbers just don’t add up. Manitoba has the most pessimistic economic outlook for 2011, yet the Province became the first with a zero per cent small business tax rate on December 1, 2010. Like the personal income tax system, all businesses pay a reduced provincial corporate income tax rate up to the current provincial threshold of $400,000. After that, the higher general corporate tax rate applies. Even so, business owners identified the shortage of labour both skilled and unskilled (51 per cent) and management skills and ti me constraints (39 per cent) as primary constraints and, oddly, tax/regulatory costs ( 69 per cent) and wage costs (65 per cent).
Business in PEI is just as depressed as Manitoba and, largely, for the same reasons—taxes and bureaucratic red tape. The economy is dominated by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism and fishing. However, aerospace now accounts for over 25 per cent of the province’s international exports and is the island’s fourth largest industry at $355 million in annual sales. Business owners, though, cite insufficient demand (42 per cent) and shortage of skilled labour (37 per cent) as constraints and energy costs (72 per cent) and taxes (61 per cent) as major concerns. Many business owners are blaming the harmonized sales tax and labour laws as primary culprits.
Down: Quebec 62.9 The majority of Quebec business owners view the overall state of business as good (53 per cent), but the numbers suggest the French speaking Province is bottom feeding on the optimism scale. There is a significant concentration of high-tech industries around Montreal, including aerospace companies such as aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, the jet engine company Pratt and Whitney and defence contractor Lockheed Martin Canada. But until manufacturing picks up by virtue of credit facilities resuming lending, many are taking a wait-and-see-approach. Business owners again cited a shortage more of skilled labour (36 per cent) articles and insufficient domestic Visit demand (30 percent) as the Website main constraints.
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Canada’s Top 6 Teleco Companies Dial In on After an acrimonious 2010, Canada’s big three telecom companies defend their market share from the industry’s rising stars
Written by John T. Connelly 2011 promises to be an even bigger year for the mobile device market. As such, Canada’s leading telecom companies will battle for subscribers and tout their wireless networks as superior to their competitors. But who are Canada’s leading telecom companies and who are the up-and-coming ISPs waiting to disconnect the big three from their thrones?
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Rogers Wireless Subscribers: 8.9 million Headquarters: Toronto, ON The undisputed king of Canadian telecommunications, Rogers leapfrogged Bell in 2004 with the purchase of the wireless network Fido. Rogers also owns the Chatr wireless network in addition to its proprietary network. Rogers Wireless carries phones made by Apple Inc., Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, HTC, HP, ZTE, Firefly, Palm and RIM. Rogers was the first Canadian carrier to carry the Apple iPhone. Rogers Communications was recently levied with a $10 million fine by the Competition Bureau. Rogers’ Canada-wide advertising campaign claimed that consumers subscribing to Rogers’ Chatr brand would experience “fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers” and have “no worries about dropped calls.” WIND Mobile led the fight for ISPs.
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
Technology
om 2011
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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2
Technology
Bell Mobility Subscribers: 7.1 million Headquarters: Mississauga, ON Bell and Bell-owned Virgin Mobile Canada, Solo Mobile and Loblaw’s PC Mobile operate within the same wireless network. The Bell network features a handset lineup that includes cell phones from LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sanyo. The lineup also includes smartphones from Motorola, Palm, RIM, Samsung, HTC, UTStarcom and Apple Inc. Of the big three service providers, Bell topped the list with 1,428 complaints, which was more than double second-worst Telus Communications at 657 complaints, according to the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services’ 2009-2010 annual report. Rogers landed third on the list at 540 complaints.
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Telus Mobility Subscribers: 6.9 million Headquarters: Burnaby, BC Telus originally served as a vehicle to privatize the Alberta Government Telephones Commission in 1990. Telus then acquired Edmonton Telephones (Ed Tel) from the City of Edmonton in 1995 before becoming a consumer brand in 1996. Telus offers a number of devices such as HTC, Huawei, LG, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, and Sierra Wireless on its network. An industry leader, Telus once boasted the largest 3G network in Canada when the Company rolled out an HSPA+ network that provides download speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s and roaming in over 200 countries. The Company has continued broadening its network, most recently becoming the first wireless operator in North America to deploy HSPA+ Dual Cell technology, which doubled maximum download speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s last August.
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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4 6
SaskTel Subscribers: 550,000 Headquarters: Regina, SK Saskatchewan Telecommunications owns the distinction of being the only remaining Crown Corporation in the Canadian telecommunications industry. While SaskTel is the fourth largest telecom company in Canada, its growth prospects are limited and won’t surpass the big three anytime soon. The Company is late to the HSPA+ game having only begun construction of a new $172 million HSPA+ wireless network in 2009. SaskTel activated the network in 2010 but won’t finish the roll out until the end of 2011. When it does, SaskTel will hold 98% of Saskatchewan under its coverage.
WIND Mobile Subscribers: 100,000 Headquarters: Toronto, ON
WIND looks most likely to join the ranks of the current big three. The Company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary. WIND then expanded its network to include Edmonton on February 26, 2010, Ottawa on March 27, 2010 and Metro Vancouver on June 3, 2010. WIND Mobile is the first Canadian wireless service provider to make use of the Advanced Wireless Services spectrum for its network (except in Quebec), which requires customers to use an AWS-capable handset—Alcatel, Blackberry, Garmin, HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson. As visible as WIND has become, its management has been even more vocal. WIND Mobile Chairman Anthony Lacavera chastised Rogers’ recent Chatr advertising as misleading and anti-competitive, which led to the Canadian Competition Bureau’s investigation. You can bet that this victory will only embolden WIND, and other independent service providers for that matter.
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January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
5
Technology MTS Allstream Subscribers: 470,000 Headquarters: Winnipeg, MB Up until 2004, MTS was formerly Manitoba Telephone System, the primary telecommunications carrier in the province. The Company, once a Crown corporation as well, acquired Allstream seven years ago and is known as “MTS Allstream Inc,” today. MTS Allstream’s Enterprise Solutions division operates nationally under the Allstream brand. The Company boasts an extensive national broadband and fibre optic network that more articles spans almost 30,000 kilometres. MTS Allstream customers Visit include more than 65,000 businesses such as BMO Financial Website Group, Stella Jones, Transat and WestJet.
For feedback and comments please get in touch.
> feedback@whitedm.com
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Four Internet Marketing Firms Configure Digital Value Turnkey solutions are like a janitor’s keychain; countless, similarly-looking solutions, but each opens a separate door Written by John T. Connelly Canada’ s le adi n g i nte r n e t marketing firms all tout various ways to improve businesses’ internet placement. Four leading firms generate digital value through four, albeit similar, different methods.
than 50 SEO factors to identify opportunities to improve rankings and correct issues that could negatively impact a website.
3. Conversion Rate Optimization: Pitstop Media conceptualizes, designs, tests and measures the Pitstop Media outcome of different variations of web pages to improve client’s website’s goal completion rates. Vancouver, BC Pitstop Media professionals have extensive The Company uses Google Website Optimizer experience in direct marketing, Internet to statistically validate the tests. marketing and sales. The Company works with various types of businesses, ranging from small 4. Analytic Services: The web analytics team businesses with a $500 monthly budget to large helps companies identify what visitors are doing corporations that spend roughly $1 million dollars on their websites and, based on the findings, advises how to improve conversion rates on annually on search marketing. the website. Common things analyzed include Specialties: landing page performance, navigation details or 1. Pay Per Click: Pitstop Media’s PPC campaigns bottlenecks in the registration process. are characterized by years of experience in planning and implementing, statistical analysis of Vickers Media Group marketing campaign data. Pitstop is classified as Burlington, Ontario Yahoo Ambassadors Google Adwords certified Vickers Media Group was founded in 1996 and account managers. its clients range from small businesses, such as horse farms, to large corporations, such as 2. SEO: Pitstop engages business in a banks. Vickers specialists are formally trained by multiphase audit and assesses websites for more leading educational institutions, such as Sheridan 38
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
Marketing 2.0
College, Ryerson University, The University of than the look and feel is the message. Vickers works to understand clients, their business, Toronto and York University. their customers and their target demographic to capture a business’s image correctly on the Specialties: 1. Website Design: Web site design is step one Internet. for every internet marketing campaign. Each and every project is reviewed and a strategy is Anduro Marketing created, based on the needs of the company, the Calgary, Alberta image they wish to convey and what will appeal Anduro Marketing performs consultation and to their customers. development via tailored products and services to maximize Online Marketing potential. The 2. Web Marketing: Vickers Media Group has Company has assisted over 300 local and experience listing and positioning, Internet long distance clients in creating and executing advertising campaigns, and coordination successful Online Marketing strategies. with conventional means of advertising (brochures, newspaper and magazine ads, etc.) Specialties: to generate traffic. 1. 10 Point Internet Marketing Inspection: The data produced includes results from testing 3. Website Management & Maintenance: Vickers for Search Engine Benchmarks and Blocks to services include the day-to-day maintenance (or Search Engines and is used to determine the headache) of website management, so business effectiveness of a company’s current website can focus on, well, business. The Company is and its ability to market the company’s products quick to fix misspelled words, broken links and and services online. out-of-date email addresses. 2. Focus Content Pages: An alternative for 4. Web Content Creation: More important websites that are not search engine friendly www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Marketing 2.0 and incorporate technology such as some eCommerce shopping carts, dynamic page generation, Flash, or Frames, Focus Pages are static HTML pages that look very similar to websites and generate qualified, targeted traffic. 3. Link Building: The Company researches potential link source websites and use a proprietary assessment process to determine if the in-bound link is appropriate. Building backlinks is one of the best ways to ensure that keywords are placed in the “anchor text,� which is the visible text for a link on a Web page.
Specialties:
1. Content Management System: SIP offers a powerful enterprise content management system on a scalable, extensible highperformance platform that can be customized. 2. Applications: The Company develops newto-the-scene touch-based applications for Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry and social networking websites to harness the mobile world.
3. Video Marketing: SIP has the capabilities to create quality videos that can be tagged, optimized and distributed across the web via 4. Social Media Marketing: Fosters user- a database of the top distribution sites for generated content creation in a rich media maximum exposure. environment to enhance exposure by word-ofmouth, increases in traffic, and an exponential 4. Email Marketing: SIP utilizes permissionamount of incoming links. based email marketing as a powerful advertising medium for clients. more The company has over seven SIP Marketing articles years of developing and Winnipeg, Manitoba Visit SIP Marketing has been the forefront of Winnipeg managing email campaigns for Website Web Design and business optimization since a diverse range of clients. 2002 and uses a unique combination of products and services focused around developing online For feedback and comments please get in touch. presence and custom new media solutions for > feedback@whitedm.com clients.
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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January
www.businessreviewcanada. ca/events-tradeshows
Jan
Homexpo Calgary
Stampede Park BMO Centre, Calgary, Alberta Jan Homexpo Calgary attracts buyers from all over The Auto Show Montreal Canada. Calgary Homexpo gives the small and 14-23 Palais des Congres de Montreal, Montreal, medium sized company their own marketing Quebec advantage in an increasingly competitive The Auto Show Montreal will be showcasing business environment, intersecting the the vehicles from the past accompanied by buying public and the fast-paced residential futuristic concepts to demonstrate the evolution construction industry. in Automotive industry throughout the past > Visit Website decades. The Auto Show is being organized by http://showswork.com/CHE.html Montreal Automobile Dealers Corporation. 14-16
http://www.montrealautoshow.com/en/index > Visit Website
Jan
2011 BC Foodservice Expo
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia BC Food Service Expo is an exhibition of food and catering equipment aimed at hotels, restaurants, bakers, butchers and caterers. It provides you with the perfect opportunity to connect with a diverse group of buyers in BC’s $10 billion dollar foodservice industry. 30-31
http://www.crfa.ca/tradeshows/bcfse/default.asp > Visit Website
http://www.canwestshows.com/Health---Victoria
Jan
Victoria Total Health Show
22-23 Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, British Columbia Victoria Total Health Show is an entrusted place for Medical and Pharmaceutical industry. For 2 days, the show will be an eminent platform that will display the latest trends in Medical and Pharmaceutical sector. > Visit Website
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January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
canadian
feb
CIO Canada Summit
27-3/2 Montreal, QC, Canada The CIO Canada Summit is an opportunity for senior IT executives to meet and Jan Oil Sands Water network with analysts, association representatives, Management Initiative and solution providers in order to collaborate 26-27 Calgary, Alberta, Canada on key issues. The summit will include, but is The Oil Sands Water Management Initiative not limited to, representatives from healthcare, 2011 is the only event where leading oil sands telecom, finance, education, insurance, producers, themselves, provide solutions to government, retail, and transportation. the specific water management challenges > Visit Website www.ciosummit.ca in situ oil sands producers are facing. They will be breaking down water management solutions at every stage of production, including sourcing, treating, recycling and disposing of water resources. > Visit Website
http://www.oil-sands-water-management.com/
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Bob Maslanko, President ECAA
Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta ECAA
electrical contractors association
of alberta
Written by Bob Maslanko
Bob Maslanko President, ECAA mailto: bmaslanko@ > E-mail Me lockerbiehole.com
On November 29th, 1962 the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta was incorporated and registered with the Registrar of Companies for the Province of Alberta. At the beginning of its development, the ECAA was basically an amalgamation of a number of local associations who recognized the need for a provincial agency uniting all contactors operating in Alberta. The early years were spent developing directions and goals of the Association. Many lengthy meetings were held discussing the problems of the electrical contracting industry and how the Association could best come to grips with the problems that the industry and
membership could properly enhance. Many individual firms and businessmen gave their time and finances to ensure that ECAA would develop into a responsible organization. On May 22, 1992 the ECAA members at their Annual General Meeting unanimously passed a Resolution stating that “the Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta proceed forthwith with the application for professionalism and instruct the Past Presidents’ Council to prepare the necessary By-law and other structure changes as required by the Alberta Government.” On May 12, 1993 the ECAA received professional status under the Professional www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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and Occupational Associations Registration Act as Professional Electrical Contractors (PEC), making them the first trade Association in North America to grant professional status to electrical contractors. Today, with a membership of over 600 members (contractors, associates and PEC’s) from all areas of the Province, ECAA is a strong tribute to the electrical contractors who gave it birth and nurtured it through difficult times. There is little doubt 46
October 2010 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
that the respect and reputation of ECAA as a truly representative organization of electrical contractors is held high by its members and the construction industry in general. Its voice is sought and heard in all arenas of activity affecting electrical contractors. A completely central office facility located in Edmonton serves as the focal point of all activities and provides the members continuous access to information and services so necessary to their individual businesses.
Electrical Contractors Association of Alberta ECAA
ECAA Board 2009
Statistics Type: Electrical Contractors Location: Edmonton, Alberta Founded: November 29, 1962 Owner: xxxxx
Read more association profiles > Visit Website For feedback and comments please get in touch.
Key people: Executive Director: Sheri McLean Bob Maslanko, PEC Currency: Canadian Dollars No. of listings: 600 www.ecaa.ab.ca
> feedback@whitedm.com
www.businessreviewcanada.ca October 2010
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Resource Energy Solutions
Compa
CEO Trent Marx
shines light
on his company Resource Energy Solutions
Calgary high-tech Company gets top Marx Written by Laura Canter & Produced by Milan Sonegra THE JOURNEY BEGINS
include some of the world’s largest mining and Trent Marx, President and CEO of Resource energy groups. With Marx at the helm, RES has developed Energy Solutions (RES) joined the Company in 1993 with a solid background in procurement, and increased its software product range. The supply chain management, as well as extensive Company’s systems are now used to track and hands-on experience with customer service, IT manage thousands of field reports monthly from and software utilization. hundreds of supervisors, managing projects worth “I took a substantial salary cut to join RES hundreds of millions of dollars. but looked on it as earning my reality MBA,” “It’s not about doing things on the cheap, says Marx. “It turned out that I learned it’s all about being cost-effective. Wellmore on the job than you could at a man has become a flagship product university. I could see the potential within the industry and our clients in the company. They had a good report tremendous savings in audit product, satisfied clients and I knew costs. Others are experiencing better I could build on that. ” fiscal accountability by using our Three years later, he seized the software and a cost management opportunity to buy the small company system.” Trent Marx, and since then has increased the RES has developed software President number of RES clients five-fold, that systems that are streamlining project and CEO of RES 48
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
any group photo, Trent at center
management throughout North America and beyond. Specifically, RES products are reducing sleepless nights for their customers by tracking all activities, monitoring costs, improving field reporting and enhancing accountability and efficiencies. “It takes determination and passion says Marx, to build a world class company. Our mandate is to create a network of loyal clients and employees around the globe.”
THE EVOLUTION OF RES PRODUCTS
Fifteen years ago RES was approached by the industry for an efficient, cost-effective daily reporting and data management solution that could store and synchronize data for field workers and office staff. “We decided to do something about the
frustration resonating throughout the marketplace regarding reporting systems that lacked ease, integration, quality and consistency,” says Marx. Wellman turned out to be the right product at the right time because its comprehensive functionality meets the growing market needs of oil & gas. RES has also developed other products designed to work with Wellman, such as Authorization for Expenditure (AFE Manager), and RTD (recommendation to Drill). Similarly, other RES products EMPACT (Exploration and Mining Project Activity Cost Tracking) and COMS (Cost Management Solutions) fill the void in the mining industry. RES’s COMS and AFE advanced capital tracking software enables increased efficiency and accountability by providing budgeting and internal controls over capital spending. “With COMS and AFE, mining and oil and gas managers can track, document, approve www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.powerdraw.net
and compare every actual or estimated project expense. The system automatically alerts decision makers to the status of any outstanding authorizations for expenditures and identifies the location of bottlenecks,” says Marx. Marx says this aspect of COMS and AFE has become increasingly in demand as our customer’s accountability and compliance requirements increase. “I had a call the other day from a client who said our products had saved him a million dollars in compliance fees, because he could quickly access all the relevant documents in one central location. He also said that with Excel the spreadsheets would have been all over the place and he would have been unable to find the information in time.”
ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY
Marx believes this is indicative of what’s happening with new technology. He has spoken 50
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
and written to the resource industry about data management advancements which he describes as a double-edged sword. RES prides itself by reinvesting in product development thereby improving and developing leading edge software that aim at alleviating the continuous pressures put on oil, gas and mining companies to increase cost control and operational efficiencies. One of the key benefits that mining and oil & gas companies receive is the daily synchronization of vast amounts of field cost data involving different aspects of each project. The reporting information allows management to focus on critical decision making as events unfold. The software also offers cost control, project and accountability management, as well as aiding SOX, CSOX and IFRS “International Financial Reporting Standards” compliance. Marx believes having a software application that technically integrates easily with other
Resource Energy Solutions
applications is a key advancement in technology. “The other great part about it is it only takes an hour to train someone because it’s well laid out, intuitive, easy to use and looks familiar.” Most companies are still using Excel and other complicated solutions causing frustration from operations to accounting. As miners and explorers grow in size, RES’s products prepare these industries to handle the explosion of data. Information technology continues to grow and transform at an accelerated rate. As data volume increases so too does the need for IT solutions. “Quick decisions are continually required on projects as controlling parameters change,” says Gerry Boyer of Sword Energy Inc., “Besides day to day operations on ‘budgeted’ projects, decisions are required on producing properties. Companies are seeking solutions through new and innovative IT technologies. The results include lowering operating costs and streamlining systems, operations and business processes – a welcome
benefit from investment in technology.” There is a direct correlation between hardware technology advancements, data and cost management improvements. It’s at this juncture where RES’ software delivers, by bridging the control and data management gap.
RES AWARDS FOR INNOVATION
Marx claims his company products have been supported by external, independent organizations. In March, 2010 Tech Rev, an initiative supported by the Government of Alberta, the City of Calgary and Calgary Technologies Inc., recognized RES as a technology company that represents “one of the most forward looking, viable tech ventures underway in Calgary.” According to the Ziff survey, RES stood above its competitors and ranked #1 by providing “the cleanest data, best drilling records, operational processes and most efficient time and costs”. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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RES DIFFERENTIATES ITSELF FROM OTHER SOFTWARE COMPANIES
“It’s nice to get awards but they don’t pay the rent,” says Marx. RES offers hosting the customer’s data and maintains a service for ongoing clients with whom they forge a close, long term relationship. “Our clients don’t have to hire an IT manager or buy new hardware or software to run our applications. These cost savings are a strong selling point that has attracted companies to us from other services.” “Our experts are available 24/7 to promptly answer questions or resolve any problems to ensure our clients are completely satisfied,” says Marx. “We’ve been told time and again that our level of support is better than other companies. Our aim is not just to save our clients time and money, we also want to improve their quality of life.”
highly competitive market, RES plows its profits into R&D. “Reinvestment is a major part of what we do, says Marx. In excess of 50 percent of our salary expenses are dedicated to R&D and product development.” “Such commitment also motivates employees. The year 2008 saw many cutbacks in economic activity but we managed to maintain our revenue with no salary cuts – or salary increases either. However, we found that when management invests in product development, employees see future promise and benefits that support the company.” Ironically, the global financial meltdown is providing RES with a golden opportunity as slimmer profit margins force many companies to pay more detailed attention to cost and resource management.
STANDING OUT
“RES receives testimonial after testimonial that speak to the outstanding performance of our customer service department, of which I am very proud.” In response to rapid technology changes and a says Marx.
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Resource Energy Solutions
THE RES APPROACH TO STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND HR
The three main reasons why RES attracts the best employees are: culture; investment in training and development; and generous bonuses for exceeding customer expectations. Finding the right employee cultural fit sometimes is difficult but our mandate is to honor all employees. “I am very proud to say we have many employees who have been with us since I joined the company”, says Marx. He also creates an office environment that encourages and challenges employees to continue to learn and develop. Employees are set up at RES to be challenged through learning and developing new technologies which encourages them to want to come to work and perform. Employees are given an opportunity to work on their own and are given authority to develop. Marx has built an environment where employees
feel comfortable where they learn from mistakes. “That is how I have grown: in learning through my mistakes.” Marx believes that valuable employees want to be part of something great. “We’re planning to add about 50 percent more staff in the next year, adds Marx. We’re making a lot of strategic choices to position ourselves for growth.” Marx’ vision is to build a global company that achieves outstanding results “One of my biggest learning experiences has been the power of systems, says Marx. Systems grow companies. A system means consistency www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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in the way you document and deliver to your clients, the way you develop the software, write up quotations and deliver presentations. Systems enable you to calculate the actual cost of delivering a service to a client. If you can’t work that out properly, you won’t survive.” The aim is to streamline workflow and reduce time spent on routine tasks so that more energy can be devoted to strategic and creative issues. “We want our employees to enjoy coming to work. It not only makes life better all around and it increases productivity and creativity. We enjoy getting together every few weeks for lunch or breakfast and I try to keep people informed about what’s going on.” Like many successful entrepreneurs the head of RES has found it necessary to change his management and leadership style as the company has grown.
we will not be able to sustain the success we work so hard to achieve.” “I learned that the best approach was to ask the customer what wasn’t working, what could be done better and what we could do to help.” “In North America alone, our research suggests there are over 2,000 companies that would currently benefit from our products,” says Marx.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Marx and RES are very involved in the community. RES provides support to a range of groups involved in cancer research, education and conservation. “We’re very fortunate in Canada. I try to give back whenever I can. As our success grows, I plan to give back even more.”
THE FUTURE
There is a serious problem of TMI “too much information”, Marx says. “We are living in a world where Our sales philosophy is “Without loyal customers expectations are higher, data acquisition increases
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Resource Energy Solutions RES plows its profits into R&D to stay ahead
Trent Marx (R)
and what we do with it becomes more important. We are forced to do more with less in order to compete and this brings both challenges and opportunities. RES’ strength is knowing how to leverage this�. Three goals: To continue to expand software sales globally; to manage growth while continuing to offer outstanding customer service and support; to become a leading edge world-class software company specializing in improving the profitability of the mining and oil & gas industries through the use of highly efficient, user-friendly, and easy-tolearn technology. RES is up for the challenge.
There are more company reports available to read > Visit Website For feedback and comments please get in touch.
Statistics Name: Resource Energy Solutions Country: Canada Est: 1995 Employees: 18 Industry: Energy Premiere Service: Mining and Aggregate URL: www.resourceenergysolutions.com
Management President: Trent Marx
> feedback@whitedm.com
www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Arthon’s sand classifying operation in Kitimat, B.C. An inventory of over 100 Million tonnes of high grade sand is found on the 700 acre property - an inventory that will ensure shipments reach coastal customers for many years to come.
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Arthon Construction Ltd.
Arthon Construction Comes Up With The
Building Blocks for Success
Road builder and aggregates processor & supplier is also a forerunner in the emerging market for ocean transport of aggregates Written by Poulomi Chakravarty & Produced by Milan Sonegra Evolution
An important work of construction can inspire an entire nation to build better buildings. After being in the news for groundbreaking construction projects — like Cranbrook Highway Realignment, the Okanagan’s Highway 97 four laning, and Banff National Park Highway Improvements (four laning) — Arthon Construction Ltd is now working towards completing a host of projects in Canada. It is a Canadian-owned company, whose principals are Kerry Leong, Guy Ferrari, and Steve Dimond, each of whom are active in the day-to-day operations of the company. Project work in the early years consisted mainly of underground servicing, bulk and detailed excavation, and road building. Since 1991, Arthon has expanded into the processing and supply of aggregate products. This operation has also encompassed the reprocessing of asphalt and concrete waste for reuse in various gravel products. Since expanding into quarry and crushing operations, they have actively, and successfully,
pursued ownership and development of several deep sea, coastal aggregate export projects. Research-and-development of new products and markets has been an integral part of this process. “Due to Arthon’s success in quarry operations, recycling, and general contracting, our financial history has remained solid with steady growth. Arthon is a fully bondable company, whose financial and credit abilities can be easily verified,” says Steve Dimond, a partner in Arthon’s ownership.
Expertise
Arthon Construction is a full-service general contracting company with a high level of expertise in bulk excavation work, infrastructure and utilities installations, paving, and aggregates production. Arthon operates granite rock quarries, and other sand pits throughout British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. The largest of these is found in Kitimat, B.C., with an inventory of over 100,000,000 tonnes. Arthon Construction is actively engaged in www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.konkast.com drill/blast operations as a contractor, and also with subcontractors, for various projects. The company was incorporated in 1991 and growth since has been strong, Arthon has successfully completed large projects up to $60,000,000 and beyond. In October, 2010, Arthon Construction congratulated Grant Thornton LLP for winning the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce’s 23rd Annual Business Excellence Award for Large Business. Arthon and Disney Online Studios rounded out the set of three finalists for this prestigious award. Arthon declared itself grateful for and humbled by the recognition in the company of such stellar firms from the Okanagan. In June 2010, IDL Projects Inc. awarded Arthon Contractors Inc. a contract to complete 58
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
These cat wagons were purchased in 2008 to go along with 5 other terex 40 tonne rock trucks
haul road construction from Western Coal Corp.’s mine southwest of Chetwynd, B.C. to Rail line. The project involves construction of new forest haul roads, totalling some 25 kilometres. At the same time, two other contractors are engaged to complete the entire length of haul road. The full route consists of roughly 22.1 kilometres of new construction and upgrades to 38 kilometres of existing roads, for a total length of about 60 kilometres. Prior to the Chetwynd project, Arthon was engaged in building 7 km of four-lane highway along B.C.’s Lake Okanagan. In a two-year timeframe, over 2.2 million cubic metres of rock and dirt were moved. All road base materials were crushed on-site and a massive 200,000 m3 rock slide was blasted and stabilized.
Arthon Construction Ltd.
Staff & Safety
Arthon’s management style can be characterized as progressive and innovative. A range of qualified personnel are employed by Arthon to ensure integrity in operations and to maintain company growth. Dimond explains, “We believe strongly in the concept of employee development. All employees are provided the opportunity for advancement based on skills, attitude, and the desire to learn and achieve. Employees are provided opportunity and are encouraged, through operator training and safety programs, and monthly shop meetings, to advance and contribute to the on-going expansion and innovation being developed by Arthon.” The importance of safety is beyond
measure. There is no amount of money that can compensate for a disabling injury or take the place of a father, mother, or other family member killed in the workplace. “We, consider the personal health and safety of each of our employees to be of primary importance. Our objective is to conduct our business in the safest possible manner consistent with good construction practices,” explains Dimond. A few of the initiatives taken by Arthon Construction to ensure that its employees receive the proper health & safety resources would include the issue of personal protective equipment of all personnel, installation of physical safeguards for workers’ protection, and company-wide education programs, and training in good health and safety practices. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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projects underway in Bella Coola, B.C. and Kitimat, B.C. Each of these projects include plans for deep-water access for large handimax- and panimax-class bulk carrier ships to transport sand and crushed aggregate materials to the North American west coast, Hawaii, and points west. Planning and the establishment of longterm objectives are the keys to Arthon’s success and growth. Proper job scheduling and “work in progress” tracking are two elements of delivering timely and quality completion of its projects. Scheduling software is used, and production values are assigned to a project based upon a critical path concept for completion. Priorities are established based on customer requirements Up Ahead and production is monitored during the project. Arthon will soon be entering the international Contingency planning is also factored into their aggregates shipping marketplace, with large projects. Should unforeseen circumstances Other measures include: the establishment and enforcement of rules and regulations, which must be adhered to by all employees as a condition of employment; regular health and safety inspections conducted for every project, to identify and eliminate unsafe work conditions or practices; a recorded investigation of every accident in a prompt, thorough manner, so as to avoid any future occurrence. By practicing good work ethics, implementing all safe work procedures, and applying good environmental standards, each employee can enjoy a healthy, safe and prosperous way of life.
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Arthon Construction Ltd. large projects up to
$60,000,000
Statistics Name: Arthon Construction Ltd. Here a few crew members pose for a photo with the then Minister of Transportation, Kevin Falcon (far left). Steve Dimond is seen with the blue hard hat
arise that may affect production values, field personnel will have the resources available to rectify the situation. According to Dimond, “Our long-term objective is to be a leader and innovator in the area’s of quarry and sand & gravel operations and shipping, bulk and detailed excavation, infrastructure installation, and highway construction.”
There are more company reports available to read > Visit Website For feedback and comments please get in touch.
Country: Canada Est: 1991 Employees: 80 Industry: Energy Premiere Service: Aggregate Materials Revenue: $20+ Million URL: www.arthon.com
Management Co-owner: Steve Dimond Co-owner: Kerry Leong Co-owner: Guy Ferrari General Manager: Dennis Connolly Equipment Manager: Doug Stevens
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www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Current Truck from Workforce 62
January 2011 www.businessreviewcanada.ca
Stacey Electric Company
Stacey Electric Wires Toronto Traffic Lights
Day & Night
Stacey Electric hardwires itself as an industry leader in the Ontario traffic signal installation and maintenance sector Written by John T. Connelly & Produced by Ali Siddiqui Much like traffic signals and street lights its services, Stacey Electric Company has been a fixture in Ontario since 1907. Founder Harry C. Stacey started selling and installing washing machines, lighting fixtures and appliances for residential commercial & industrial customers. Harry’s son Jack took the reins in the early 1950s. As president, Jack strategically shifted the focus of the Company to traffic signals and roadway lighting, recognizing a burgeoning market as cars and trucks took to the city streets in record numbers. Stacey Electric’s first contracts for traffic signal maintenance came from the Townships of East York, North York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, Forrest Hill, Leaside, Swansea, Brantford and York Region. When Jack decided he wanted out he had no heir to pass the torch to, as he and his wife had no children. An employee named www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.its-traffic.com
Frank Hudson and Jack eventually reached an agreement and Frank purchased the Company in 1961 to become the third owner. Frank eventually brought in his brother. Towards the end of the 1970s, Stacey Electric acquired Structural Electric, which doubled the Company’s size and played a major role in how the Company is composed today. Stacey Electric has accumulated an extensive staff of highly skilled trades people dedicated to providing the high level of service that would make founder Harry Stacey proud.
Stacey Electric Current
Stacey Electric has written a long and rich history over the decades, but January 1997 particularly stands out. After cementing itself as an industry leader and expert in the traffic signal installations and maintenance sector in 1970s and 1980s, Stacey Electric became the service 64
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contractor to provide 24-hour maintenance to Toronto Transportation’s traffic signals, maintaining over 2000 signalized intersections. “We have a very good relationship with the City of Toronto,” says Gary Bergeron, President. “We do good work for them and they are good to us. It’s definitely a two-way street.” Today, Stacey Electric is under contract with Toronto Hydro for the maintenance of expressway lighting. The Company has installed freeway, roadway and parking lot lighting for over 50 years, including “High mast Lighting” installations on highway #417 and portions of highway 401. Additionally, Stacey Electric is under contract for the maintenance of highway lighting within the jurisdiction of the City of Toronto, street lighting in the Town of Richmond Hill, the City of London and Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
Stacey Electric Company supplier profile: innovative traffic solutions, inc. Country: Canada Est’d Partnership: 1999 Employees: 16 Industry: Traffic,
Transportation & Data
Provided Services: >S olutions for traffic
control, data collection and traffic safety
Completed Projects: >L ED vehicular traffic
signals in Ontario and the Maritimes
Ongoing Projects: > $10M contract for traffic controller cabinets c/w traffic signal priority
> Visit our Website www.its-traffic.com
Installing a overhead highway sign for the Ministry of Transportation
In London, Stacey Electric owns and operates an outdoor lighting service named Dusk to Dawn Lighting, which caters to rural & industrial clientele. The Company also maintains traffic signals and streetlight lighting for several municipalities and the Ministry of Transportation throughout the Province of Ontario. Along with maintenance, Stacey Electric also has a large construction division more than capable of tackling a large variety of jobs in the transportation sector. From its origins as a one man business to a multimillion dollar industry leader that employs 150 people and operates a fleet of more than 100 trucks, Stacey Electric Company still adheres to Harry’s belief of providing customers the best value for their dollar is the only way to do business. By doing so, Stacey Electric is wired for another 100 years of success.
Strategic Advantage
Stacey Electric’s longevity and profile in the community isn’t just a point of pride; it’s also a competitive advantage. In the 1990s, when the Hudson brothers were looking to exit the business, they preferred not sell the Company on the open market. The brothers knew Stacey Electric’s value to the community and want to protect its future they best they could. Eventually, shares were sold to choice employees, who had a vested interest in seeing the Company remain viable. Today, the Company is owned by eight partners, including Bergeron, who has been with Stacey Electric for nearly 30 years. With owners working both inside the office and on the street, Stacey Electric has a unique advantage: ownership can monitor service in real-time because they are at the scene. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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“We have eyes all over the place,” says market, Stacey Electric becomes a force. Bergeron. “We have owners turning the “When it comes to these maintenance screwdrivers in the field. In that sense, we have contracts, it’s quite strict about who is doing the guys with an ownership stake on the ground.” work, particularly Toronto,” says Bergeron. “There are only so many contracts to be had and it’s specialized work. We are very Stacey Electric Brand Along with longevity comes brand recognition. respected by our customers. Anybody in Stacey Electric has won maintenance contracts Ontario will know who Stacey Electric is or at for decades and is currently entering the second least recognize our trucks.” half of a four-year deal with Toronto. As such, A requirement of Toronto traffic signal Ontario knows Stacey Electric and the ideals it maintenance contracts is that a company is stands for. Couple familiarity with the fact that domiciled in Toronto and Stacey Electric has the traffic signal maintenance sector is a niche been at its current location in Toronto for the 66
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Stacey Electric Company Fact Nine words about what the fact is all about
Statistics Name: Stacey Electric Company Country: Canada Est: 1907 Employees: 180 Industry: Energy Premiere Service: Traffic Signal Maintenance Stacey Electric Company Directors as of 2008 Left to right: Bob Plant, Leif Hudson, Peter Melnyk, Gary Bergeron, Bent Hudson, Les Gibbs, Francis Tong, and Louis Melo
last 10 years. However, Stacey Electric has been a fixture in Ontario for longer than most can remember.
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Revenue: $50M URL: www.staceyelectric.com
Management President/Director: Gary Bergeron Vice President/Director: Les Gibbs Senior Estimator/Director: Francis Tong Project Manager/Director: Leif Hudson Foremen/Directors: Bob Plant, Cy Flores, Louis Melo, Peter Melnyk
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Canem Edm Concert Hall
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Canem Systems
Canem Systems is at the center of
‘building performance’ A contractor in electrical and data communication systems, Canem Systems is Western Canada’s leading company for data solutions in building performance Written by Brett Booen
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Canem Systems
Canem Katz Centre
“ Succession planning is very important in our company.”
When asked what the focus of his company is, Clint Undseth, Vice President of Corporate Development at Canem Systems said: “We’re at the center of building performance.” You can look at his answer one of two ways, and both would be right. If you view this as corporatespeak for how a technology-based company ‘builds’ solutions to improve the efficiency of its clients, then you would be right. Canem is Western Canada’s leading contractor in electrical and data communication systems. But Canem is also involved in ‘building performance’ in a much more literal sense. That is to say, Canem also focuses on the overall performance of a building, i.e. how that workspace operates from a technological standpoint.
It’s not really important how you view Undseth’s somewhat ambiguous answer. What’s important, rather, is that Canem has created electrical and data solutions for some of the most prestigious buildings and companies in British Columbia and Alberta and has the means to continue to do so well into the future. Canem employs around 1,000 people in Canada and works across all sectors of construction including commercial, hospitality, industrial, institutional, recreational, residential and retail. Locations in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Victoria make up Canem’s British www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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supplier profile:
Electrical Wholesalers (Calgary) Ltd. Country: Canada Established Partnership: 1981 Industry: Electrical Supply Provided Services: > Electrical Supplier to the Commercial, Industrial and Residential market in Southern Alberta featuring an interactive Lighting and Control Systems Training Centre. Completed Projects: > Bow Valley College – Phase I > Millennium Tower > Canada Olympic Park Bobsleigh and Luge Track > Livingstone Towers > Foothills Hospital > Peter Lougheed Hospital > Co-op Refinery > Ongoing Projects: > Eighth Avenue Place Towers > Bow Tower > U of C Downtown Campus > South Calgary Hospital > Bankers Hall Towers Management: > Rudy Van Es - President
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Canem Remand Centre
Six
Canem invested over 60,000 man hours in training in 2006
locations in Western Canada
Canem Systems
Columbia operations, with Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton as its Alberta locations. What started out as an electrical contracting company 50 years ago, Canem has evolved into a full-blown electrical solution provider with three primary service areas: electrical construction services, communications and maintenance and emergency response. Services range from lighting project management and network design to VOIP installations and fire alarm verification. Undseth was proud to say that Canem, which will celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2010, now has roll-out services to offer “multi-geographic services” to meet the ever-growing demands of
its customers. The question that must be asked, Undseth said is, “How do we help bring financial justification to the solutions that we work with?” “That’s what we’re doing. It’s no longer just a core technical level,” said Undseth. “It’s helping clients with all of the financial justifications, business and technical accidents.” “We’re bridging all of those areas,” he said.
CUSTOMER RELEVENCE
To be successful, Canem has to stay relevant and up to date with the “rapidly-evolving” needs of its customers. For Canem, relevance is especially www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Canem Systems
Canem U of A ECN Building
important considering it’s a world where business decisions are seen primarily out of a cost-effective lens. However, there are more important aspects to consider than price, Undseth said. “How do we bring business-oriented information from automated systems and more importantly how do we make it relevant to executives,” he said. He cited building security as one example. Today, he said, it’s all too often that building security is nothing more than a call center. Canem can work with those clients, however, to bring business documents that will increase their range of capabilities. That’s just one example, but Undseth
said, generally it’s all about providing “financial justifications through technology.” “You also have to provide consistent, repeatable deliveries,” he said. “We do that very well.” Undseth also said that with the state of the economy and businesses trying to survive in that economy now is as important time as any for service providers to come up with solutions. He said he wished competitors would realize that there were other ways of doing business than just selling on price. “Others are about selling on price,” said Undseth. “What we’re trying to do is help those www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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supplier profile:
COMMSCOPE INC
Country: Multinational, based in USA Established Partnership: 1993 Employees: 15,000+ Industry: Telecommunications Equipment Provided Services: > CommScope supports clients with infrastructure solutions that are engineered for optimal deployment of mission-critical data centers and secure, converged high-speed networks. Completed Projects: > Shaw towers and Data Centers, Calgary and Vancouver > BC Hydro, ICBC, Worksafe BC > Shell Canada, Calgary On-Going Projects: > Remand Center, Edmonton Management: > Sales Director, Enterprise Canada: Karen Pugliese
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Canem Systems
integrated systems create more value for customers.” It isn’t a job that comes without a challenge, or else everyone would have sustainable answers. Canem directs all new technology to its Center of Innovation, an area where Undseth said Canem is ahead of many of its competitors. Canem has made considerable investments into the Center of Innovation, which allows Canem “to work with the technologies, test them and anticipate any challenges that the
customers might have.” Because Canem works with the technologies before they are ever deployed in a working environment, there is little risk. In turn, this helps Canem earn a role as a “trusted advisor” for all of its clients. Undseth made a clear distinction from “having” that role and “earning” it. To earn a “trusted advisory role” Canem must provide solutions that again, help bring financial justifications to the business they are working with. From there, their role as advisors helps Canem “generate thoughts and facilitate healthy discourse or debate.” “It’s educating the market place, the customers www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.guillevin.com
www.panduit.com
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Canem Systems supplier profile: Guillevin International Co. Country: Canada Est’d Partnership: 1992 Employees: 53 Industry: Electrical Wholesale Provided Services: > Electrical Product Distribution and Supply Completed Projects: > Shell Centre, Peter Lougheed Hosp, TCPL Tower Ongoing Projects: > Edmonton Remand Centre, SAIT Trades and Technology Centre, U of A > Visit our Website
supplier profile: Panduit Corp. Country: USA Est’d Partnership: 1955 Employees: 4000+ Industry: All Verticals Provided Solutions: > Data Centre > Connected Buildings > Industrial Automation > Advisory Services > Physical Infrastructure Mgmt. Software > Visit our Website
www.panduit.com
www.guillevin.com
and the entire collaborative ecosystem,” he said. “It’s one step at a time, and then when we deliver, it must quantify financial results.” “It’s through delivery that you earn a trusted advisory role.”
A ROAD MAP FOR SUCCESS
Canem is very much on the attraction and retention side of things when it comes to people management because fundamentally, it’s a business that’s about the people. Canem invests in its people through a series of initiatives and it also provides a road map for corporate growth. “Succession planning is very important in our company,” said Undseth. Canem laid out the recommended succession of jobs relating to estimator, project management and field management. It’s easy for employees to see a path that calls for them to rise from the www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Get on the record with...
Where industry leaders meet
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Canem Systems
“ How do we help bring financial justification to the solutions that we work with?”
base level, all the way to the top. Undseth said it’s also encouraging because the current President and CEO Al Miller started in the company 35 years ago as a field operator. Undseth estimated that the average tenure was in the 20-year range, and most of the senior management team has been with the company for more than 30 years. “It’s a culture based on trust and respect and integrity,” said Undseth. “It’s a very well-run business and it makes it easy to retain people, because you want to keep them.”
ambiguity associated with the word sustainability,” said Undseth. “There’s just a lot of ambiguity in that whole market and it’s a trend that we want to stop.” So naturally, we asked Undseth to define “sustainability” as it related to Canem. “We’re looking at the energy and environmental management in terms of a real estate portfolio,” SUSTAINABLE TRENDS he said. “It’s how to optimize the efficiencies in Sustainability is a word that’s thrown around a lot terms of environmental foot print.” in business, but by and large, ecological decisions Canem has defined policies around sustainare still always about one thing: cost. ability and as far as working with customers, a “You know what I see as a big trend, there’s core part of Canem’s innovation is around bringing www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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“ We think now more than ever is an opportunity to bring innovation to our customers.” financial justification to sustainability.
companies. People are out there trying to get jobs at a lower price. They’re cutting corners. THE FINAL SAY We think now more than ever is an opportunity “The economy puts more profit pressure on to bring innovation to our customers.” 82
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Canem Systems Average tenure is over
20 years
Statistics Name: Canem Systems Country: Canada Canem Office
Est: 1960 Employees: 1,000
There are more company reports available to read > Visit Website For feedback and comments please get in touch.
Industry: Energy Premiere Service: Electrical work Revenue: 200 million URL: www.canem.com
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Independent Electric & Controls, Ltd.
IEC Is An Innovative Energy & Instrumentation Systems Service Provider
IEC’s progressive construction & maintenance solutions are paving the way for operational improvements in the Oil & Gas Industry Written by Poulomi Chakravarty & Produced by Ali Siddiqui Founded in June of 2003, Independent Electric & Controls has come a long way in the oil-and-gas servicing industry. With 12 offices nationwide, IEC has emerged as one of the leading Canadian companies providing an array of services in the oil-and-gas and mining industries, as well as for commercial or residential construction. For the past seven years, Independent Electric & Controls (IEC) has provided quality electrical and instrumentation services for the oilfield industry, as well as large construction and maintenance projects. The company is the brainchild of three motivated professionals — Todd Guy, Brad Turnbull and Brent Erickson, industry veterans who decided to break out with routine and become niche service providers.
FROM START-UP TO INDUSTRY LEADER
When Todd Guy and Brent Erickson were laidoff from their jobs in 2003, they decided to make good use their decades of experience in the oil-and-gas industry. “Starting IEC was the perfect option for us, since we had in-depth knowledge of the industry, and that helped us to begin with a great researched business plan. The
irony of the situation was that, prior to starting the organization, Brent was one of my major competitors in the industry,” explains Guy. “The company was started with a workforce of around five to six people, and today our employment number has grown to 240 people and still counting,” says Brad Turnbull, IEC’s General Manager, who has over 27 years of experience in the oil-and-gas industry. Today, the company has steadily diversified to provide additional services. “IEC has two other sections, Independent Automation Services (IAS) and Independent Energy Solutions (IES), but the main revenue is generated from IEC. However, the diversification strategy has helped us to stay afloat during the economic slowdown,” adds Turnbull. The company has grown by leaps and bounds, thanks to the consistent, hard work of its highly-trained group of skilled professionals. Some of IEC’s primary offerings include: electrical systems maintenance & construction; instrumentation maintenance & construction; energy management; field &facilities optimization; PLC programming & design; installation and calibration of fire-and-gas-detection systems; liquids-andwww.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.texcan.com
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gas measurement systems and calibration; flame-arrest burner systems installation; a fullservice instrument shop; and CBM testing. IEC’s Drayton Valley head office space spans 12,000 square feet, and is fullyequipped with a meter-proving bench and in-house manufacturing facilities for electrical instrumentation. “We have also ventured into maintaining and building remote-well sites, and electrical instrumentation,” adds Guy. “We are now planning a capital management process, which will reduce operating costs and turn the company into an ever-growing organization,” adds Turnbull. Todd Guy attributes the success of his company to great working relationships with clients: “We maintain complete transparency in our dealings with our clients, and that one of the main reasons our customers value us,” he says. The company initially started by servicing
Independent Electric & Controls, Ltd.
mid-level oil and gas producers, and then moved up the ladder to work with companies like Spectra Energy, High Pine Oil and Gas, Bronco Energy, and more.
SUSTAINABILITY & SAFETY
IEC is a responsible organization that takes the environment and safety factors into consideration at all times. “Health and safety is an integral part of working in the oil industry. After attaining our certificate of recognition for Alberta and British Columbia in May 2004, we have further improved our environmental management and safety norms of the organization,” says Turnbull. The company has taken several initiatives to ensure the safety of the workers on-site, and conserve natural resources by optimizing use of fuel and other capital inventories. “We believe that the growth, and success,
of our business is dependent on the health and safety of our workers, and conservation of the environment. We will continue to put forth every effort to be a leader in our industry,” says Guy. IEC is a member of both Canada HSE and ISNetworld, which are Internet data providers that supply safety figures for the oil and gas industries. “Companies can access our website to see the health, safety, and environmental norms followed by our company, to ensure that we match up to their mandatory safety requirements,” says Guy. IEC supports a wide variety of foundations, charities, sporting organizations, and activity clubs in and around the communities where its offices are located. “We need to constantly help our communities, monetarily and through moral support. We believe in creating a better world by contributing and fulfilling our corporate responsibility,” adds Turnbull. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
years because it offers economic advantages and is a time-saving option. “We are new focusing on E-business. We have implemented real-time data for customers for invoicing and project management, as well as real-time reporting,” adds Guy. At its facilities’ management building, IEC has come up with an innovative, low-cost, energysaving method for providing heat to meet its on-site temperature energy needs. The company uses a generator to energize its production furnace, which simultaneously charges a INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY IEC plans to use energy-saving, low-cost and heat-storage cell, used as an in-house source time-saving machinery in the future, and they have whenever the building requires heating. already started using horizontal drilling methods to construct non-vertical wells. IEC’s executives FUTURE PROSPECTS say that the use of horizontal-drilling machinery As the company expands its facilities, resources in oil exploration has increased over the past five and its number of employees, IEC plans to IEC maintains a clientele base of distinguished gas and oil producers, including Devon Corporation, Petro-Canada, EnCana Corporation, and more. IEC worked very closely with Arc Resources on its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) project. Now that it’s in-place, the SCADA system helps IEC to set up its research-anddevelopment surveys before taking on new projects.
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Independent Electric & Controls, Ltd.
Statistics Name: Independent Electric & Controls, Ltd. Country: Canada Est: 2003 Employees: 240 Industry: Energy Premiere Service: Construction/ Maintenance of Instrumentation & Electrical Systems URL: www.iecgroup.ca adopt lean practices. The main reason for their fast-paced growth has been their excellent reputation in the market and client references. “Most of our clients return to us to repeat contracts and maintenance programs. We leave no room for complaints or lack of services, and our customers rely on our abilities,� concludes Guy.
There are more company reports available to read > Visit Website For feedback and comments please get in touch.
Management Owner & President: Todd Guy Owner & General Manager: Brad Turnbull Owner & VP of Technical Services: Brad Turner Owner & Safety and Projects Manager: Brent Erickson Business Development Manager: Terry McDowell
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Air Georgian
Innovators in
Aviation Operations
Building on its affiliation with Air Canada, Air Georgian provides comprehensive tiered services to its clients Written by Laura Clapper & Produced by Rahmuhl Nurse
Air Georgians B1900 parked beside a Cessna Caravan receiving third party maintenance
A subsidiary of Georgian International, Air Georgian was established in 1985 as an Ontario airport developer and flight school operator. In 1994, the company expanded to include commercial operations and became a code share partner of Canadian Airlines in 1997. When Air Canada acquired Canadian Airlines in 1999, Air Georgian became a Tier III partner of Air Canada, operating as Air Alliance under a capacity purchase agreement. Today Air Georgian conducts close to 100 flights per day carrying more than 320,000 passengers annually under the brand Air Canada Alliance as a partner of Air Canada, focusing on transborder and domestic operations with its fleet of 15 Beechcraft 1900D twin-engine turboprop airplanes from their main base at Toronto Pearson International Airport where they are the fourth largest user of Toronto Pearson by frequency, they also have active and growing bases in Montreal, Quebec and Halifax, Nova Scotia. “The fact that we’re affiliated with Air Canada as part of their main airline system… that in itself brings significant credibility to our company. It’s the most recognized and www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Air Georgian
Brad Warren, Vice President of Maintenance
“ The benefit with us is that we’re a 24/7 operation, 365 days a year”
respected aviation brand in Canada,” says Eric Edmondson, President of Air Georgian. In addition to commercial service, Air Georgian owns, operates or manages executive Brad Warren, Vice President of jets as part of its charter service for small to medium-sized corporations Aircraft Maintenance. and high net worth individuals. “We charter those aircraft on the executive charter market,” says Edmondson. small to hold trainings of their own. Recently, Aside from commercial and charter service, Air Georgian expanded its offerings to include the company operates an active maintenance dispatch services for other airlines. Dispatch and engineering branch, engaging in third party services include crew scheduling, planning, maintenance of aircraft. “There are companies dispatching and flight following. that we fly, manage [and] dispatch aircraft and there are companies that just come here for Managing the Supply Chain maintenance,” says Edmondson. The company “One of our competitive advantages is that we’re offers several training courses to airlines, geared a 24/7 operation, 365 days a year,” says Brad towards the smaller airlines, who may be too Warren, Vice President of Aircraft Maintenance. www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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supplier profile:
Raytheon Airline Aviation Services
AIR Canada comprises the core of Air Georgian’s business
Country: United States Established Partnership: 1997 Employees: 21 Industry: Aviation Provided Services: > Supplier of the Beechcraft 1900D 19-Passenger Airliner Management: > Mike Scheidt - President
www.missionator.com
“ We’re looking forward to growth within the Air Canada system, which is the core of our business” Eric Edmondson, President
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Air Georgian (Air Canada Alliance) Route map as of September 01, 2010
The company has a material management group that oversees the purchasing and distribution of materials from the bases in Halifax and Toronto. “We have a lot of parts shipments that go back and forth to Halifax,” he says. Since the company works with a variety of vendors, each vendor is continually audited to ensure that they meet the strict quality requirements of Transport Canada in regards to parts. Air Georgian has contracts for maintenance and bilateral agreements for parts. “[A company] will stock their own components in our facility and we then disperse them out to their aircraft or to ours, depending on what the agreement is,” says Warren. “We’ve invested heavily in software development internally,” says Edmondson.
Since a comprehensive software solution for maintenance, QA and SMS for a company of Air Georgian’s size doesn’t exist, the company began to develop its own software to meet this challenge four years ago. The software allows materials management, production, quality assurance and maintenance planning to interact within a single software solution. “Within that software solution, there are many safeguards that ensure the parts that are being used by mechanics are approved parts and that they’re approved for the plane they’re working on,” says Warren. Additionally, the software tracks the financial aspects of the parts as well as creates a maintenance schedule. “We have a high reliability factor from a fleet-management perspective,” he says. “It ties everything
together from a quality management system, we can now go in and validate that we are following exactly what Transport Canada requires us to do in day-to-day practice.”
Training High Quality Pilots
Air Georgian attracts many of the best and brightest in aviation. While much of the workforce consists of long-term employees, the company is also a feeder for Air Canada, supplying the airline with pilots. “Most pilots are here between five and seven years and then they transition to Air Canada or other major carriers around the world,” says Edmondson. “We do a lot to prepare them for the next stages of their career in the major airlines.” The company offers a variety of programs to enhance the skills and www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.hopeaero.ca
President Eric Edmondson
Created
Air Georgian is expanding its maintenance and dispatch services
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a software system that integrates materials management
Air Georgian
Senior LAT Ryan Bowman works on a B1900
under the leadership of highly entrepreneurial managers. “Our strength in operations and experience is what gets us through the door,” says Ian Wilson, Manager of Business Development. “And what differentiates us is our ability to offer comprehensive tiered services that can be customized for our clients.” Many customers are drawn to the Air Canada brand name and the reputation that comes with it. The relationship with Air Canada allows the company to branch into its other pillars of service, such as executive charters, maintenance, aircraft management, training Competitve Advantage and dispatch service. Air Georgian provides Though the company has over 25 years of Air Canada as well as smaller airlines great aviation experience, it continues to innovate operational strength with high rates of experience of its pilots, whether they choose to stay with the company or fly for a larger carrier. These programs include mentorship programs to help new pilots transition into the airline model as well as a transition program for First Officers to become Captains. For more permanent employees, the company offers an extensive benefits package that includes time sharing, remote work-from-home options, flexible vacation, a comprehensive medical package and continuing education programs.
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completion, on-time performance statistics and high levels of proficiency and expertise with respect to maintenance. With a mindset of continuous improvement, Air Georgian relies on a combined safety and quality management system comprised of processes and models, which allow them to maintain standards of quality and excellence within the company. “We’re a bit more forward thinking than most airlines of our size due to the fact that we do deal with Air Canada, so we use more of a large airline model than what most smallmedium airlines would deal with, hence the internal SMS and QMS systems,” says Edmondson. As a part of the Georgian International Group of Companies, Air Georgian is able to 98
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take advantage of the global opportunities for further expansion and growth. The company also offers stability, as it has established a strong presence in the aviation community.
On the Horizon
The company is looking to expand each of its pillars, particularly maintenance and dispatch. Over the last two years, these two pillars have grown 80 percent and 100 percent, respectively. “These were segments of our business historically viewed as internal cost centers but now they are earning additional revenues for us,” says Edmondson. “We’re looking forward to growth within the Air Canada system, which is the core of our business,” says Edmondson. The company plans to add aircraft to its commercial and
Air Georgian
Statistics Name: Air Georgian Country: Canada Est: 1985 Employees: 250 Air Georgians B1900 parked beside a Cessna Caravan receiving third party maintenance.
executive jet fleets in anticipation of growth on both sides of the business, following the recovery of the markets from the global economic recession. “We’ll focus on what we do best, which is being innovative and responsive to our customers, offering them unique solutions and tailoring the products that we offer to meet their needs,” he says.
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Industry: Supply Chain Premiere Service: Airline URL: www.airgeorgian.ca
Management President: Eric Edmondson Vice President, CFO: D. Scott Monsen Vice President, Flight Operations: Dan Bockner Vice President of Maintenance: Brad Warren Manager of Business Development: Ian Wilson
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Hardwoods Kitchen Remodelling 100
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Hardwoods Specialty Products
LEeDING
DISTRIBUTOR OF SUSTAINABLE HARDWOOD
One of the largest hardwood product distributors in North America, Hardwoods is focused on growth in the commercial and residential repair/remodeling sectors Written by Laura Clapper & Produced by John Aydin Hardwoods Specialty Products (“Hardwoods”) was started over fifty years ago in British Columbia by the Sauder family, a family known in Canada for philanthropy. Hardwoods was a member of Sauder Moulding and Millwork until it became its own division in the late 1970s. In 2004 the company went public. Though it is now a publicly traded company, the Sauder’s are still 20 percent shareholders in the company. Over the last fifty years, Hardwoods has grown to encompass 27 locations, with 9 in Canada and in 18 in the United States. It serves the $7 billion North American market for hardwood lumber and panel products, focusing specifically on small to medium-sized manufacturing companies that produce kitchen cabinets, furniture and custom millwork products. Hardwoods has become one of the largest hardwood product distribution companies in the United States, and one of the few who has crossed the border to serve the entire North American market. “Training is a focus for our company,” says Lance Blanco, president and CEO of Hardwoods.
“We have developed what I believe is one of the best training programs in our industry.” Hardwoods sales force has a deep understanding of the industry and available product solutions, which allows them to improve the profitability and efficiency of their customer’s business. Hardwoods prides itself on excellence service, fostering strong relationships with its customers. Employees are trained to excel in the business and thrive in a corporate culture that fosters respect and integrity. Additionally, the company has a strong product sourcing model and well-developed supplier programs.
Green Products
Sustainability plays a large role in the company. Each distribution center is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council and sells products that have been harvested from forests that meet rigorous environmental standards. Hardwoods is a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC), supporting green building www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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The company has 27 locations: 9 in Canada & 18 in the United States
www.birchlandplywood.com
Dining Table Set Hardwoods Design
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initiatives through accredited programs such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED速). The company has developed a comprehensive offering of environmentally responsible products within its distribution, known in the marketplace as the Hardwoods GreenBelt. Products included in the GreenBelt meet the requirements of FSC and LEED, as well as other leading green certifications. One product included in the GreenBelt lineup is EchoWoodTM, a reconstituted veneer product that has been engineered to achieve the look of even the most expensive and rare woods, but is made using common wood fiber from well managed and plantation-grown renewable forests. Another company product is DragonPlyTM, a sheet good product that meets Phase I formaldehyde emission standards set by the California Air Resources Board. The company also
Hardwoods Specialty Products
has a line of bamboo products, which are identified in the marketplace as O2 Bamboo. “The increasing demand for green products is a very exciting part of our business,” says Blanco. “The branded green products we offer are well recognized in our industry and have become the standard to which other distribution companies would like to perform.” All products included in Hardwood’s GreenBelt support at least one LEED credit area.
Trends
The company seeks to stay on top of trends in the industry, and to respond with adjustments to its business model where necessary. Many customers are increasingly in search of a compressed supply chain, which puts pressure on Hardwoods and other distributors to supply a broad range of products within tight time constraints. “Our customers, primarily
manufacturers of cabinets, commercial fixtures and furniture, have all gravitated to a just-in-time delivery model,” says Blanco. “No one wants to be caught with excess inventory in this very competitive market.” The competitive influence of China and other low labor cost countries has caused North American industrial manufacturers to invest in state-of-the-art equipment to create high quality products. Manufacturers of cabinets and custom millwork products in North America are increasingly more focused on manufacturing to their strengths; this means adjusting their businesses to differentiate themselves and create a competitive advantage over lower quality, cheap labor products. “What you see is specialization developing where a customer may focus on just producing cabinet doors or cabinet boxes. Larger manufacturers are outsourcing their production to www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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these specialists,” says Blanco. The increase in imports, and specialization among the large industrial manufacturers, has caused small to medium-sized manufacturers to transition towards custom work in the repair and remodeling sector. “The R& R sector has done better than the new residential construction recently,” says Blanco. “As a rule, customers that focus more on custom work enjoy a business model that is more defensible against imports.”
Challenges
The nature of the industry creates significant continuous cost pressure. “We know that to deliver our value proposition to our customer base requires that we continuously look for new ways or new products to reduce their costs,” says Blanco. To improve the efficiency of its customers, the company continually seeks to release new and innovative products to the market. “We have people on the ground fulltime in Asia, working on the next generation of products such as Bamboo veneers,” he says. ”In North America, we work very closely with our suppliers, keeping them abreast of changes in production methods in the field and the changing needs of the industrial manufacturers that use hardwood, bridging suppliers’ knowledge to the 104
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needs of our customer base.” The company was not immune to the pressures caused by the global economic downturn. According to Blanco, the last three years have proved challenging and the company was forced to close several branches and lay off employees. “We believe we are stronger as a distributor today having made those choices,” he says. Blanco is now focused on moving the company forward. “We don’t want to forget our roots as a highly trained, focused group of consultative sellers,” he says. “We see the continued value that our distribution model brings, providing the critical link between hundreds of mills that manufacture large volumes of hardwood lumber and sheet goods, and thousands of industrial customers that require smaller quantities of many different hardwood products for their own manufacturing processes. We believe we have the best value proposition in the industry to continue to grow our distribution business.”
Future Plans
“Our business is closely linked to the North American housing market, therefore our growth potential is significantly influenced by new home construction,” says Blanco. As a result of the housing collapse in the United States, Hardwoods has sought out new, more resilient,
Hardwoods Specialty Products
Statistics Hardwoods Warehouse facility
market segments for their products, such as the commercial sector and the repair and remodel market. “By having a focused business plan for these separate market segments, we have been able to break from the housing trend line and have grown our company this year and plan to do so again in 2011,” he says. When home construction does rebound, the company expects even stronger growth in the years ahead. “I believe the companies that have survived, particularly ourselves, will emerge stronger than ever in the months and years ahead,” Blanco says. “Current levels of housing and construction activity in North America are low relative to expected longer term population and housing trends. We are not relying on a market turn around for our success, but we are well positioned to benefit when the market rebound does occur.”
Name: Parent company Hardwoods Distribution Income Fund. The company carries on business as Hardwoods Specialty Products Country: Canada and the United States Est: 1960 (50 years in business) Employees: 160 Industry: Construction Premiere Service: Hardwood distribution Revenue: 2009: C$191 million URL: www.hardwoods-inc.com
Management There are more company reports available to read > Visit Website
President: Lance Blanco CFO: Rob Brown Vice President, NorthWestern Region: Garry Warner
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The lights at Christmas in Central Park are not only breathtaking, but they are environmentally-friendly, energy-saving LED lights. 106
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THE CITY OF SPRUCE GROVE
THE CITY OF SPRUCE GROVE MAKES
COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY A TOP PRIORITY
The City of Spruce Grove makes the connection between economic, social and environmental elements to create a common vision for the future Written by Michaela McNamara & Produced by Brian Andersen Located 11 kilometers west of Edmonton, Alberta, Spruce Grove is one of western Canada’s fastest growing cities with the reputation of being a modern urban centre with a strong sense of community. Mayor Stuart Houston says, “Our City is wellplanned, inclusive and emphasizes connectivity and accessibility. We offer a range of housing, employment, open space, and transportation options while protecting agricultural lands and natural areas. We make environmental programs a top priority.”
CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING UPON A RICH HISTORY
Maintaining a balance between economic, environmental and social sustainability, community sustainability is a key factor for Spruce Grove’s development. The overall fiscal capacity of the municipality to continue providing the services, programs and infrastructure that residents expect, while maintaining reasonable levels of taxation, is critical to community sustainability. “The population growth
presents the City with the challenge of providing an excellent quality of life to our residents at an affordable rate while staying the strategic course of municipal economic sustainability. There is a financial cost associated with residential growth and we will need to focus on non-residential growth to be sustainable,” Mayor Houston says. Partnerships for Prosperity, Spruce Grove’s Economic Development Strategy 2010-2020 will focus on the economic and related fiscal components, as well as the economic development imperative of community sustainability. The Partnerships for Prosperity consultations have made it clear that Spruce Grove residents support the City’s strong fiscal management and financial prudence, and particularly efforts to diversify and broaden the City’s assessment base. “We also need the support of a strong and diverse business community to achieve our goals of environmental and social sustainability,” Mayor Houston says. More retail stores, health practitioners, grocery stores and restaurants will give Spruce Grove the services it needs to support growth. “This kind of growth requires forethought www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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and planning and that’s what we’ve been doing these past three years, and will continue to do through the Economic Development Strategy,” the Mayor says. It’s that kind of forward-thinking that brought Spruce Grove to assemble lands at Century Road and Highway 16, in an effort to raise the City’s profile along one of Canada’s busiest highways. It will bring the destination retail, hotel, office and residential amenities that are necessary for development, as well as more local jobs, more business and a stronger and more diverse local workforce. In 2010, the City completed a comprehensive corporate planning process which resulted in the development of the 2011-2013 Strategic Plan. The plan will help Spruce Grove capitalize on opportunities, focus on the its vision and ensure Spruce Grove is the best place to live, work and play, as it experiences unprecedented growth. This plan will evolve with the City, its changing profile and the needs that emerge.
THE CITY OF SPRUCE GROVE
Spruce Grove offers six industrial parks with companies ranging from international and national to local businesses.
Woven throughout the plan and supporting the themes are fiscal responsibility, effective communication and social awareness. This support is critical to building a solid foundation and to successfully achieving the goals and strategies in the plan.
businesses and the Chamber of Commerce has a record number of members. Spruce Grove is already known as an attractive place to do business because it has a diverse workforce close at hand. “In order to keep that foundation strong we need to have a clear vision of how we can grow and support our economic base. We need to attract new investment and businesses to our PLANS FOR GROWTH Spruce Grove is expected to maintain its high City and encourage the existing ones to expand,” population growth rate now that it has been identi- the Mayor says. fied as a priority growth area in the Alberta capital region plan, making economic development a SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES high priority. The city already has a substantial By making the connection between economic, commercial and industrial base which draws from social and environmental elements, the City is a trading area of over 100,000 people. Mayor creating a common vision for moving forward to Houston says, “We already have a strong founda- a future where quality of life is enhanced and the tion to work from and have put a strong emphasis local economy grows and the community thrives. on creating a healthy business climate that will “We are committed to long-term goals in social, encourage economic development at a responsible environmental and economic sustainability to pace. By doing that we’ve accomplished more in ensure our City is here for future generations to the past three years than at any other time in the enjoy,” Mayor Houston says. history of our City.” Individuals, businesses, community groups This year, the City has a record number of and local government all have a role to play in www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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achieving these goals. When decisions made are based on sustainability, everyone benefits. The Mayor’s Task Force on the Environment has been established to take a critical look at the history and future direction of the City’s environmental sustainability programs/initiatives. Within the policy framework provided by the City’s Municipal Development Plan Your Bright Future, there is an integrated approach to address future growth and change. The Mayor’s Task Force on the Environment complements the strategic planning efforts underway for community services and economic development. This Task Force combined with other efforts and the vision and policy framework of Your Bright Future are an opportunity for Spruce Grove to build on its past and become a sustainable forward looking community. The business community is an important partner in making Spruce Grove sustainable. Economic development initiatives combined with local business, commercial and industrial interests create local jobs, reduce commuting and support a strong community. 110
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They also strengthen the community’s fiscal sustainability and its ability to respond to change. The City of Spruce Grove is looking for ways to support the business community in its efforts to become more sustainable. Spruce Grove is focusing on: • Working together to identify opportunities for partnerships and resource/program development • Strengthening our approach to economic development; • An eco-industrial plan which explores best practices, feasibility and local opportunities and makes sure eco-industrial development uses resources efficiently by building on mutually beneficial relationships between companies within an industrial park. The City has also made its operations more sustainable, including: • Using high efficiency LED lights in all traffic signals; • Extensive use of LED Christmas lighting within the city; • Green Buildings Policy requires that any new
THE CITY OF SPRUCE GROVE The City is focusing on an
eco-industrial plan
Statistics Sustainability is important to the City no matter what the endeavour that’s why the City made the playing surface at Fuhr Sports Park “green” by using 90,000 recycled tires in the construction.
or renovated City facilities must be constructed to a LEED standard; • Corporate Anti Idling policy; • Automated solid waste management program including curbside pickup of dry recyclables and organics (including kitchen wastes); • Promoting waste diversion programs like using compostable cutlery/dishes at special events ; • Installing drip bags around trees on City property to reduce water use, and; • Using recycled tires in the development of Fuhr Sports Park’s playing field.
Name: The City of Spruce Grove Country: Canada Est: 1891 Employees: 200+ Industry: Municipality Premiere Service: Sustainability Revenue: $80 million URL: www.sprucegrove.org
CITY COUNCIL Mayor: Stuart Houston Alderman: Jeff Acker Alderman: Louise Baxter
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Alderman: Bill Kesanko Alderman: Wayne Rothe Alderman: Bill Steinburg Alderman: Searle Turton
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PowerGas plays a pivotal role in the efficient and reliable delivery of natural and town gas to industrial and residential consumers 112
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Montrose Culture/Library
City of Grande Prairie
City of Grande Prairie
Multiplex
Reflects Innovative Spirit
Grande Prairie has a multitude of construction projects that will add long-lasting value to the fast growing community and region Written by John T. Connelly & Produced by Brian Anderson One of Canada’s fastest growing cities, The City of Grande Prairie is located in the north western part of Alberta. The City was built with a pioneering and industrious spirit, which has driven growth from its inception as a village in 1914 to becoming a town in 1919. Today, the City of Grande Prairie, which was incorporated as a city in 1958, boasts a population of 50, 227 and is growing at a rate of 6.72% . To accommodate the exploding population the City is building—and building at a staggering pace. Newly sworn-in Mayor Bill Given is the latest leader to oversee Grande Prairie’s development(s), which there are many. Mayor Given, a Grande Prairie native, is positive his constituency will continue, as they have so adeptly done before, identify needs and employ solutions using a do-it-your-self mentality. “Today, we define Grande Prairie by a spirit of innovation. It comes from the fact that people here over the years had to do a lot of things for themselves,” says Mayor Given. “That’s bred a tradition of seeing a need and figuring a way to fill that need.” www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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mailto:indyrock@telusplant.net
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City of Grande Prairie
Mayor Bill Given (right), Bill Walker (Director of Protective Services)
The central need today is accommodating growth. As such, the City of Grande Prairie has completed or is in the construction/ renovation phase of several projects that will add long-lasting value to the community.
“ All the projects are quality built with an eye toward the future.” Bill Given, Mayor
Community Knowledge Campus
The Community Knowledge Campus will literally change Grande Prairie forever. The project is the result of a joint venture between the City of Grande Prairie, the Catholic School Board, the Public School Board and the Gymniks Gymnastic Club. The project, which is currently in stage four of five stages, is the social and cultural hub of
Grande Prairie. “It’s a unique partnership. The idea dates back to the late ‘90s when the City of Grande Prairie and the partners came together to assemble the site,” says Mayor Given. “Even today, I think the project is still cutting-edge. The first building built provides the heat for all the other buildings. The buildings that came on down the line all share those services. It’s a unique way to build this www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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www.wrightconstruction.ca
Frank Daskewech, Director of Public Works
one
the public Prairie Art Gallery features the largest public art collection in the Peace Region.
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of Canada’s fastest growing cities at an annual rate of at a rate of 6.72%.
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mega-project, in a component-like fashion.” An ambitious plan to centralize a vast array of services and facilities on a single site, the Community Knowledge Campus is currently home to three facilities: St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, the twin ice rink Coca-Cola Centre and the Gymnastic’s Centre. Stage four, which is underway and slated to be completed in the fall of 2011, features the $109 million Field House/Aquatics and Wellness Centre. The site will provide a mix of structured and casual sport and wellness opportunities and is designed to emphasize student sport and wellness as well as ensuring multi-generational access to the facilities. Finally, the fifth and final stage planned (to date) will feature Grande Prairie’s second Public
City of Grande Company Prairie Name
Jane Cada Sharp, Director of Community Services
High School. The school will houe 1,400 students and has a projected price tag of $62 million. All said and done, the Community Knowledge Campus will provide over 450,000 sq feet of education, recreation, entertainment & wellness. “The partners and council recognized a need to get better bang for the buck,” says Mayor Given. “To get the economy of scale, the idea was to get the partners together instead of each organization addressing their needs with separate facilities across the City.” Community Health Centre and Grande Prairie Regional College Expansion By far the heaviest of price tags, the $520 million Community Health Centre and Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) expansion
Greg Scerbak, City Manager
targeted to start in 2011, and some parts of the facility could be ready to deliver services in 2014. The project includes a medical workforce training component with the Grande Prairie Regional College and will be built on GPRC land. “The project is expected to break ground this summer,” says Mayor Given. “Again, this project is the result of a unique partnership between the Province of Alberta and the regional college. There is going to be an education and teaching component of the health centre when it comes on and fuel an expansion of the regional college.” Additionally, the new 200-bed facility will focus on acute and specialized care – including cancer care, and provide residents from throughout northern Alberta and British www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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Columbia access to a broader range of health service in Grande Prairie. The Grande Prairie Cancer Centre project will be part of the new facility and include two new radiation vaults. The new Cancer Centre will bring more comprehensive cancer care significantly closer to home for hundreds of northern residents who need treatment each year. “Although we are a city of just over 50,000 people, we service a trade area of between 250,000 and 300,000 people within a couple hours drive time,” says Mayor Given. “We serve a lot more than people might imagine for a city of our size.” The Grande Prairie College and Community Health Centre is, at least numerically, the center 118
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piece of approximately $700 million worth of major capital projects announced or in the design phases, including the $100 million Multiplex.
Montrose Cultural Centre
The City of Grande Prairie recently completed the $24 million Cultural Centre, which houses a brand new library and additional space for the art gallery. The 37,400 sq ft Grande Prairie Public Library has taken up residence on the west end of the building while the public Prairie Art Gallery features the largest public art collection in the Peace Region. “Previous to the Montrose Cultural Centre, we have never had a purpose-built library,” says Mayor Given.
City of Grande Prairie
Statistics Name: City of Grande Prairie Country: Canada Est: 1914 Population: 50, 227 Industry: Construction Montrose Culture/ Library
“With that, we are trying to keep up with the growth of not just the City but the surrounding rural area. That’s one of the challenges. All the projects are quality built with an eye toward the future.” And some good old fashion Grande Prairie ingenuity, for good measure.
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Premiere Service: Municipality URL: www.cityofgp.com
Management Mayor: Bill Given Director of Protective Services: Bill Walker Director of Public Works: Frank Daskewech City Manager: Greg Scerbak Director of Community Services: Jane Cada Sharp
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HUSH
HUSH
builds the
ultimate
dream home
Naheel Suleman, President of HUSH divulges his story of how his company allows its home buyers to have an engaging experience Written by Laura Canter & Produced by John Aydin The genesis of HUSH really comes down to a very simple concept. HUSH is about providing a best-in-class experience. In thinking about starting a new company, Naheel Suleman, President of HUSH, really thought about what kind of company he wanted to build and what it would stand for. “I came across a very interesting concept used by one of the greatest companies today: Disney. Walt Disney’s take on what makes his company different than others was a shift in how he looked at his business. It wasn’t about theme parks, movies, or cartoon characters. It was about making kids happy and that was the paramount shift in my thinking.” What Disney did was take out the product and put in the experience, to form the foundation of the business. Suleman looked at this and thought what if he looked at home building in the same way? For homebuilders, building homes is a business – build as much product for the most effective price in the quickest fashion. To home owners, a home is their life savings, 120
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it’s the biggest investment they are going to make, and it’s where they raise their family, it’s where they entertain, it’s where they seek refuge, it’s where they live. And the problem with that is for home buyers, it’s very personal; for builders, it’s very business. This paradoxal way of looking at a home inevitably leads to an expectation gap - how can you build a product that will service both needs? It’s very tough, and really the only way to resolve this is not look at the business from a product point of view, but from an experiential point of view – the genius of Disney. So, HUSH’s genesis begot from that simple change of view – not to focus on the building, but focus on the experience. If the experience was delivered, the product or home would come automatically. “The Best-In-Class Experience is a promise for anyone who touches our brand – our buyers, our trades, our consultants and our financial backers. The brand promise is who it and we are- extends to everyone. Everything
we do, all the decisions we make, and the way we conduct ourselves have to revolve around this promise. We need to constantly do a gut check and ask ourselves, is this decision, or reaction, or strategy, or communication, or product going to lead to a Best-In-Class Experience? To ensure that we do deliver on our promise we have implemented very clear and well thought out procedures and policies. We call this our HUSH Methodology.”
The HUSH Methodology
The methodology is a set of processes and procedures that addresses every facet of the home buying, building, delivering and servicing experience.
Client Focus and Sales Methodology
The first is the Client Focus and Sales Methodology. Instead of building a model home or pre-designing floor plans and forcing someone to fit into that house plan, we turn it around, “we don’t want our buyers to have fit their lifestyle into the home we have designed, rather, we want to design homes to fit the lifestyle of our buyers. We want our buyers HUSH to feel that we care first and
“ Anyone who touches our brand should feel they just received the best experience from a home builder that they ever had.” Naheel Suleman, President of
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HUSH
Hush Kitchen Design
foremost.” So, HUSH engages with their buyers first, and tries to understand them, their family needs and their lifestyle. Simple questions like: “How many people live in the home? How does this family live in their home? Do they entertain? Do they use their home as a place to get peace and solace? We go through all those sorts of questions to understand what the buyer wants to do and why they’re buying a new home.”
The Design Methodology
The next component is the Design Methodology. To design a home that fits to the homebuyer’s lifestyle HUSH offers buyers one-on-one sessions with their in-house architect. HUSH has pre-designed plans that clients can choose from, but if they feel that they want to make changes to fit their family, like adding another bedroom or making the kitchen larger, HUSH allows them to make those changes using
their own in-house architect. Clients are also assigned a Decor Specialist who works to gain insight to the buyer’s tastes and aesthetic. It begins with a walk through of the client’s current home to take an inventory of furniture, artwork and other items that will be making the trip to the new HUSH home. The process can be as hands on as the buyers feel comfortable with; ranging from trips to every trade showroom to handing over the responsibility to the licensed interior designer. The advantage is to provide our buyers an unlimited resource of materials, as long as our trades can get it, we will get it. HUSH also provides their homebuyers to meet with a professional landscape architect; as HUSH believes a homebuyers experience is not just kept within the walls of the house, but also it’s surroundings.
Construction Methodology
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HUSH
Custom Car Parked in a Customised Garage
The next stage is the The Construction Methodology. This is the stage where the buyers home are under construction, and typically are completely in the dark until their house is ready. HUSH has turned this blackout period into an interactive experience. HUSH invites their buyers to walk through their house during construction at specific sessions of completion. It’s important for the homebuyer to feel engaged and understand the nuances into building their dream home. “It’s one thing to say we build quality homes, it’s another thing to show them. We want to show our buyers how their home is built and what it looks like behind the drywall” There is no mystery about progress - this engaged methodology ensures that HUSH buyers know exactly what’s happening with their home - because they are part of the process. The walk throughs are
also accompanied by the Design Specialists, so that further design refinements can be made during construction. “It’s very difficult to envision a home and the finishing details on paper. Even the best designers need to walk their project to ensure the finishing and the details work and are perfect – we offer that same service to our buyers.”
Continued Support Post Sales Methodology
The fourth and final part of the Methodology is the Post Sales and Continued Support Methodology. To be consistent to HUSH’s promise and business plan that it’s the customer’s experience that needs to be delivered not the home, HUSH doesn’t simply hand over the keys and consider their job done. Living in the home is just as much – if not www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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HUSH is a new company, just five years old.
(Left) Entrance Inside (Right) Celing Architechture
more – about the experience than the actual design and build. So, HUSH created a number of services and packages available to homeowners. Its starts the day the homebuyers move in. They will enjoy the benefit of this day by having a HUSH move-in specialist greet them at their new home. They will not only point out features of the home, but assist the new owners in unpacking and settling, and generally ensures that this first day is an exciting and positive experience. “Our move-in specialist will make sure that our buyer’s first day in their new home is a good day – it really is the first day of our future long term relationship with them”. After buyers are moved in, a HUSH inspector will visit the home six months and twelve months after the owner takes possession. Each HUSH certified inspector arrives with a checklist of items to examine, confirming the home is up to HUSH standard. Home owners can opt for this inspection and certification on 126
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an annual basis, providing homeowners with the comfort that their home is maintained by the builder for the time that they live in their home, that they are in constant communication with the builder, and that they don’t have to chase the builder to get any repairs done. In addition, this annual inspection and certification also justifies in charging a premium price should they sell the home in the future – after all – it’s a Certified home. In addition, the HUSH team has gone beyond expectation by putting together a wide range of maintenance and support packages including: Move In Service, Exterior Maintenance Package, Interior Maintenance and Improvement Package, and even Holiday and Seasonal Packages – HUSH will literally put up your Christmas lights and plan a party in your home! Anything that has to deal with your experience in your home – HUSH wants to be part of it.
Virtual Concierge
HUSH
To keep track of all the moving parts during the design and construction of the homes, and then to keep track of all the services post move-in, HUSH has developed an industry-first web-based platform, which means every home has its own dedicated website. The site Naheel Suleman, President of HUSH serves as a resource centre, with pictures of the home during and after construction, sales documents, – it ties in together everything from design to upgrade option lists, home and appliance post sales – again – to ensure that our buyers manuals, and everything else related to your feel completely engaged, communicated with, home. and of course, feel that they have received a The Virtual Concierge also includes best-in-class experience.” a scheduler so that buyers can keep track Another benefit of the Virtual Concierge is of the many events and appointments that that it can be sold with the home to the next are scheduled during the design stage. It homeowner – so that the history of the home also includes a service component so that and the service continues. Again, another homeowners can order services and post sale justification for a re-sale premium. packages. “It is a one stop portal for our buyers Going Green
“ The reason the Company is called HUSH is because we’re not about building homes, we’re about building a best-in-class experience”
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Building Green homes are very important today and homebuilders are gravitating to LEED or Energy Star labels that the government agencies have designed. When HUSH looked at green, it did it in the same way that it looked at the way it looked at building homes – from the
buyer’s experiential side – not the product side. HUSH spent a countless number of hours and money to research and really understand green. HUSH first learned about green before blindly putting out green products. After their careful analysis, HUSH realized that that green is not about saving the world and return on investment for energy costs, but about the homeowners health, comfort and delight. Saving the world one home at a time is just the by-product benefit. HUSH developed it’s own HUSHHUSH Green HomeTM, which not only exceeds standard building code, but even Energy Star.HUSHHUSH also created their own upgrade packages that also touch on the four major HUSH categories of Green including
“ Our approach is instead of building a model home and forcing someone to fit into a house plan, we engage with our buyers, we want our buyers to feel that we care and first and foremost we want to build them a dream home.” Naheel Suleman, President of
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HUSH HUSH based their product service on a Walt Disney quote.
Statistics Name: HUSH Living Room Interior Design
resource management, water conservation, air quality and energy saving. “We looked at all the various green products and features and created a package of some them, combining them to work more symbiotic with each other. A home buyer can choose to upgrade from our HUSH Green Home to a HUSH Emerald Home, or the HUSH Holistic Home or they can choose a la carte products including geo-thermal or solar panel energy systems.�
Country: Canada Est: 2005 Employees: 12 Industry: Construction Premiere Service: Home Development 2010 Projected Revenue: $70 Million URL: www.HUSH.ca
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Management President: Naheel Suleman
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www.businessreviewcanada.ca January 2011
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