Municipal and industrial contractor North America Construction says it enjoys working on massive projects in Canada.

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Canada is North America Construction’s (NAC) playground. Based in Morriston, Ontario, Canada, the company performs large municipal and industrial projects all over the country.

“We did not want to be just a Toronto contractor or an Alberta contractor,” partner Gor­don Lindsay said in a statement. “The day we started, we knew that we were going to work from coast-to-coast. We literally pick jobs based on the fun factor.”

NAC’s definition of “fun” translates to working on massive projects. One example is the St. Mary’s Dam Spillway and Bridge in Alberta, which took more than two years to complete. Work included blasting more than 800,000 cubic meters of rock, installing 37,000 meters of cast-in-place concrete, as well as rock anch­ors and pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete gir­ders for the bridge and headworks access deck.

Lindsay noted that NAC enjoys working on unique jobs. “These jobs are exciting and a real challenge,” he said. “It is quite an accomplishment when you finish a job and you can look back and say, ‘We built that. It was difficult, and we are proud of it.’”

NAC is currently working on the world’s largest Zenon membrane filtration water treatment plant. Another project is the Seymour-Capilano filtration plant, the world’s largest UV water treatment facility, which will provide 75 percent of Greater Vancouver’s drinking water, the company says.

Part of NAC’s success on projects is due to its in-house capabilities. “When we started, we wanted a company that was all in-house, a true-blue general contractor, a builder, which meant doing our own concrete and rebar, and doing our own mechanical and electrical,” Lindsay said. “We have accomplished that.”

All Geared Up
NAC usually works on 10 to 15 jobs at any time, but its eq­ui­pment choice is singular by design, the company stresses. When NAC was established in 1993, it purchased its first excavator – a Komatsu PC220.

Since then, the company did not have to look further for its equipment – it became an all-Komatsu operation. NAC relies on Koma­tsu dealer Coneco/Terratech and Sales Representative Bruce Herdman for all of its equipment needs.

And when NAC ventured into dam con­struction, Herdman was ready to help. “It was nice to pick up the phone and say, ‘Bruce, we’re going to do earthwork here, so gear up,’” Lindsay recalled. “We need seven or eight pieces of equipment. What should we get?’

“He told us what was av­ailable and helped us to make the right decision by coming up to the job site.”

NAC’s relationship with Coneco/Tetta­tech was put to test when NAC perform­ed an oil extraction project for the Can­adian Natural Resources Horizon project. According to NAC, the project included installing underground piping and drill­ing caissons.

“With the opportunity to work at Fort McMurray, I realized we were into some serious equipment that might be difficult to get,” Lindsay said. “It is a very large project, one of the bigg­est I have ever seen in my career. We were not doing the whole plant, just a portion of it. We relied on Bruce again.

“Coneco/­Terr­atech came through and got us the eq­uipment we needed, when we needed it, in a market where it was tough to find equipment.

“If it was not for Coneco/­Terr­atech and Bruce coming onboard and help­­ing us to get the equipment to do the work, we would not have been able to do the job.”

Well-Tested Equipment
Today, the company’s assortment of Kom­atsu equipment includes dozers, wheel loaders and excavators. It recently purchased a Komatsu PW130 wheeled extractor to use on existing piles and digging holes. NAC?crew uses PC750LC-7 and PC600 track excavators for bulk digs and to move dirt around a site.

The company’s equipment has been tested for endurance, the firm notes.

For example, its Komatsu D155AX-5 doz­er was put to test at one of NAC’s projects in Fort mcMurray. “We discovered a water problem, so we had to put in a horizontal drainage system,”?Lindsay explained. “We had to rip the frost out prior to putting the system, which is a huge unit that lays down a horizontal line with wells all the way along it.

“The D155AX-5 dozer had to come to the rescue and get the frost out.

“It worked all winter pulling frost ev­eryday, nine feet deep.

“These were massive chunks of frost. The dozer just kept ripping and ripping. It was amazing.”

In addition, NAC also uses Komatsu PC308USL-3 tight-tail swing excavator, particularly on its Seymour-Capilano filtration plant project.

“Seymour is a huge structure with a lot of walls,”?Linday explained. “With its zero clearance, the PC308USL-3 can go up against the edge of a wall and swing around without risking the back-end smashing into it, which saved time and money on that infrastructure,”?he added.

Smart Staffing
NAC staffs each project uniquely, Linday noted. “A team of 30 may be deployed to a site that requires a crew of 50,”?the com­pany says.

“NAC will make up the difference by hiring local talent, thereby fortifying its network of skilled workers.”

In addition, the company says it operates an apprentice boot camp, where students are honed in expertise that include carpentry, electrical and mechanical proficiency.

NAC has operated trade schools with 188 apprentices who “have joined the ranks of more than 600 NAC professionals,” it explains.

“Many of the employees have a vested interest in the success of NAC because they share in its ownership. Lindsay and [Denis] Gagnon structured the corporate ownership to transition through the years into the hands of its people.”

Commitment to Learning
NAC keeps its employ­ees busy year-round. Hard work is realized and rewarded, the company adds. “The vis­ion for the company is to do what no other construction company in North America has been able to achieve,” it explains. “That is, to have a core group of some 600 highly skilled and dedicated in­dividuals, both in management and the trades, that can tackle any projects anywhere in the continent.”

Because training plays a big part on the success of its projects, NAC is committed to apprenticeship training in conjunction with Fanshawe College in Ont­ario. It has apprentices enrolled in a range of construction trades, such as carpenters, pipefitters, plumbers and electricians.

Responding to Shortage
In addition, NAC is committed to add­ress­ing the shortage of labor in Canada. In partnership with Human Resources Canada and the Center for Skills Devel­op­ment, NAC is participating in the Youth Internship Canada program to assist individuals in preparing for employment in the heavy construction field.

“Not only is the program the first of its kind in heavy construction, but it is also the first federal program to pay students to attend such training,” NAC explains.  About 200 students from several high schools are chosen to participate. The program consists of 10 weeks of in-class training and six months of paid placements at one of NAC’s job sites.

Safety Operation
As proof of NAC’s commitment to its people, the company says it puts safety as its No. 1 priority. “When it comes to safety, we believe that a man’s life and health are extremely important,” Lindsay said. “We do ever­y­thing in our power and ab­ility to keep the men safe.

“It does not matter if it is a $5 million job or a $200 million job; we have full-time safety officer in each project. We have an audit system that is second to none. It is independent.

“Every week, there is a reporting system that goes into a consultant with score sheets and project performance from a safety perspective based on the paperwork, which is very strict. It is a unique system that I think was revolutionary when we started it a long time ago.”

Humble Beginnings
In 1993, Gagnon and Lindsay restructured a construction business that was started by Gagnon’s father, Sylvio Gag­non. With Gagnon as a partner, his son and Lindsay remortgaged their homes and reclaiming the deposit on a Harley that the duo wanted to buy.

“From the meagre beginnings, the partners parlayed their civil expertise and their experiences operating their successful business into one of Canada’s largest building contractors,”?NAC?explains.

Positive Thinking
Throughout its years in the business, Lindsay noted that the most rewarding challenges are sometimes the most remote.

“We put in a water treatment plant in Port Simpson, British Columbia,”?he said. “It was a small job, but probably my most favorite because of the logistics getting into it.

“I?had to fly from Toronto to Vancouv­er, and from Vancouver to Prince Rupert where I took a bus to a ferry,” he continued. “After the ferry ride, I?jumped onto another bus to pick up my bags. Then I?took a taxi to a floatplane that flew me to the dock in Port Simpson.

“From there, I?walked a mile-and-a-half past totem poles and all sorts of interesting things,”?he added. “It took me a day-and-half just to get to the job site.?We had a lot of fun.”

Present Efforts for Success
Today, the company’s organizational structure divides Canadian operations to the west of Manitoba, where Jeff Chipchase is vice president, and to the east, where Scott McPherson is also vice president.

NAC says it has been successful because of the company’s:

• Bonding capacity established in the mid-nine figures;
• Financed by the principals without any debts to financial institutions;
• Staff is filled with experienced personnel capable of building industrial, municipal, institutional and commercial projects of any size; and
• Central offices are capable of controlling all projects anywhere in Canada and the United States, therefore reducing ov­erhead and making NAC very competitive

Lindsay looks forward to future growth.

Approximately 65 percent of the company’s work is in wastewater treatment, 10 to 15 percent in heavy civil projects such as dam construction, and the remainder is in industrial.

NAC’s goal, according to Lindsay, is to perform more industrial-related projects. “I?would like to see it around 40 percent and maybe even a bit more,” he said. “It would be nice to do more dams and challenging jobs that require a lot of thought. That is what we like.”