Home is where the hires are: local engineers make good; Returning to the North may have been the best decision the proponents of Porcupine Engineering Services ever made. In less than a year, their company has grown to employ over 20 people.

South Porcupine -- Solid business relationships and healthy friendships combined with strong work ethics in an active economic climate have proven to be a successful recipe for Porcupine Engineering Services Inc.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Located in South Porcupine, engineers Mario Colantonio, Frank O'Donnell and Brian Emblin joined forces to offer quality service on a personal level.

With a strong focus on the industrial market, they specialize in brown field engineering (projects involved in making changes to existing facilities) and design work for mining, forestry and power generation.

In what may be considered a humble beginning, the three men performed business from their individual home/basement offices for eight months, communicating via conference calls.

Undaunted by challenges and blessed with a vigorous dose of entrepreneurial spirit, they moved to a second-floor office space above the post office in South Porcupine, in July 2005.

Within a year, the 850-square-foot area, in which they work, has expanded to 1,700 sq. ft. They now employee 23 people, some of which are stationed directly onsite at various operations throughout northeastern Ontario.

In recognition of their success as a new business, Porcupine Engineering Services received a Nova Award for New Business from the Timmins Chamber of Commerce in the spring.

All three men were born and raised in Northern Ontario: Colantonio--Timmins; O'Donnell--Cobalt; and Emblin--Hearst. They studied in southern Ontario and eventually returned to familiar surroundings where they met through a mutual employer, AMEC Engineering.

When the global engineering firm Bechtel Corporation bought Amec's Timmins office, the three men decided to consolidate more than 50 years of work experience and establish their own firm.

This commonality, along with their varied skill sets, provide valuable insight into the major industrial and economic issues faced by Northerners, which indirectly helps the business.

"From time to time, it's convenient, because you run into people you know ... there is a certain camaraderie with Northerners," says O'Donnell.

"Having an understanding of what it is like to live in the North helps with design (particularly climate)," adds Emblin. "We have good knowledge of the contractors ... (so) we can give good recommendations to the clients (about) which contractors are available or not."

Growing up in northeastern Ontario has also given them an appreciation and awareness of its resource-based economy and cyclical nature.

"We're all about industry surviving in the North," says Colantonio, who adds that he is well aware that mining resources are finite, and if the lumber is not managed properly, it too could run out.

As a newer company working on a smaller scale, they are able to offer more one-to-one service.

"We're small enough that we can work on a variety of the aspects of the project," Emblin says, "... either directly for the owner, suppliers, contractors. We're flexible."

"We'll work with major corporations directly," says Colantonio. "They see that we care and that we're striving to do the best for them."

That same flexibility, competence and level of due diligence has created a return client list comprised of Inco, Falconbridge, Goldcorp's Dome Mine, Agrium, Tembec, Northland Power, and Ontario Power Generation, to name a few.

They attribute the business' exponential growth to a thriving economy spurred on by high base and precious metal prices.

"We are competent, approachable ... but, the timing has been very good, too," says O'Donnell. "It's a hot market."

As the business develops, future hires may be in the offering. As well, Emblin sees the potential in establishing turnkey operations.

Conversely, while they ride the wave of a prosperous mining market, they will prepare for the down turn by diversifying the client base and location of the work.

"We understand the cyclical nature of mining towns with the boom or bust," says Colantonio.

www.pes-inc.ca

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business