Go west: TBay firm eyes Alberta oil sands projects.Alberta's runaway oil and gas industry has stretched its labour and manufacturing capacity to its limits. With human resource companies scouring scouring characterized by scour. scouring disease a colloquial name for secondary nutritional copper deficiency. Canada to lure tradespeople trades·peo·ple pl.n. 1. People engaged in retail trade. 2. Skilled workers. Noun 1. tradespeople - people engaged in trade west, Thunder Bay's manufacturing base may offer a competitive edge to cater to the country's most thriving economy, while keeping its skilled workers at home. "That's a real area of opportunity and we're going after it," says Mayor Lynn Peterson Lynn Peterson was elected as the second woman to become mayor of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario on November 10, 2003. Prior to becoming Mayor, Lynn Peterson served three years as a Member of Council and had nearly 20 years of community service. of the city's Oil Sands Initiative being promoted to local businesses. City officials and local manufacturers want to tap into some of the spinoffs from Alberta's resource supply and service sector where infrastructure project spending is expected to top more than $100 billion over the next decade. As well, urban sprawl and rising property values have outstripped the ability of many Alberta municipalities to harness its rapidly expanding economy. Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. development officer Richard Pohler says the city is formulating specific initiatives for local firms to be more aggressive in pursuing business leads. "The message we've gotten is Alberta is maxed out from an infrastructure standpoint," says Pohler, with a labour shortfall of 96,000 and very little industrial space available to attract new firms. Albert Economic Development regularly publishes an Oil Sands Industry Update, listing a slew of major multi-million dollar projects, some having life spans of 30 years or more. Pohler says there's significant opportunities in metal fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. , especially with steel piping, tubes, pressure vessels Pressure vessel A cylindrical or spherical metal container capable of withstanding pressures exerted by the material enclosed. Pressure vessels are important because many liquids and gases must be stored under high pressure. and tanks. Both Peterson and Pohler say given Thunder Bay's solid manufacturing base, transportation links, and central-Canada geographic location, there's no reason why goods and components can't be built locally and shipped west for final assembly. The idea has drawn interest from just under 40 local companies, says Pohler, with the City of Thunder Bay and local development agencies having hosted about a half dozen information meetings since last fall. A working group of local engineering, steel fabrication, machining and hydraulic companies has been formed to pursue contracts and an Alberta-based marketing person will soon be hired to represent Thunder Bay firms out west. One Thunder Bay contractor has already secured work at the Horizon Oil Sands mega-project in northern Alberta Norhern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region. , considered the largest construction project in Canadian history. Tom Jones Corp. is one of many subcontractors at the $10.8 billion open pit mine and refinery site, 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray Fort McMurray, town (1991 pop. 34,706), NE Alta., Canada, on the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers. Since the beginning of the mining of Alberta's oil sands in 1964, the town's population has grown from 1,200. . Canadian Natural Resources, a Calgary-based oil and gas developer, is spending close to $30 billion over the next 15 years to double the size of its oil sands mine. Tom Jones is being very selective on what type of work they're pursuing. "We're sticking to what we do best, which is pile driving and concrete pouring," says general manager John Jones. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] He says the slumping construction sector in northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. forced the company to look west for work. Parker Jones, a company estimator, says there's "endless opportunities" in the industrial, commercial and retail sectors in Alberta. But the challenge is not finding work, it's being able to deliver. There's a huge demand for construction people. "You have to make sure you have the right qualified people that are willing to travel there," adds John Jones. "The conditions aren't exactly ideal. You're pretty north and it can be cold. Accommodations are a huge issue. We're fortunate we're on a site where (they) provide room and board to our people and it's excellent. "You don't go out there and take on work and say I'm going to hire a bunch of locals. Locals do not exist." An airstrip built next to the site is used to fly in specialized workers from as far away as Ontario and the Atlantic provinces Atlantic Provinces, term used since 1949 to designate the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. , "which is a big, big plus." he says. Tom Jones handpicks a crew of tradespeople to fly out of Thunder Bay directly to the job site for two-week work rotations, with one week back home. "They're happy and still able to maintain a proper family life." www.tomjonescorp.com www.cnrl.com www.thunderbay.ca By IAN ROSS Ian Ross is the name of:
Northern Ontario Business Northern Ontario Business is a Canadian magazine, which publishes monthly in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. The magazine covers business news and issues in Northern Ontario. |
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