38
ACT
MAY 2014
REGIONAL REPORT
CANADA
Hal Lundgren
reports on
strong growth in the crane,
rigging and transport
sector in Canada.
specialized cranes, 90 tractors and300
trailers,NCSG iswell equipment for both
industry segments.
NCSG reached its strongposition, in
part,with timely acquisitions.Acquiring
companies has spurred recent growth
from350 employees to670.
Thebusinesses that compriseNCSG
now include crane companiesNorthern,
Mullen andGrizzly, aswell asTransTech
Contracting andScorpion Industries.
“We’ve grown inbranches, too,”
Redmond said. “We’reup to18 fromnine
in thepast year.Aswe’ve continued to
grow,we’vebeenvery careful about the
companieswe acquire.Whenyou add
the right company, you also add the right
people.As individuals, they’repeople
whowant to stayon andhelp thebusiness
grow. Those are thepeople youvalue
most.”
He continued that thepeopleonboard
through the acquisitions havebeen top
notch.
“Theyhavebrought their talents tous,
butwe’ve alsobeen able tohelp them,”he
said. “Wemight add equipment that they
didn’t alreadyhave.Orwemight have an
effective safety system thatwe couldput
inplace for them.Our acquisitions have
workedoutwell.”
Upward trend
ChallengerMotor Freight, too, finds its
revenue arrowpointingup.
“We’re experiencing anupward trend in
volume,” saidChallenger’s FrankDeVries.
“There’s also adefiniteuptick inprojects.
As anoptimist, I think this positive trend
will continue. Butwhenyou stepback and
look around at theworld today, you can’t
always be sure about how long a trendwill
last.”
The caution, hebelieves, “meanswewill
stay aboutwherewe arewith equipment.”
Based inCambridge,Ontario,
Challenger operates terminals inQuebec
andBritishColumbia. The company
F
orTedRedmond, Tuesday’s
weeklyhockeygames lift him
from the speedy tempoof a
carpetedoffice to speedy tempos on an
icy floor. Themore taxing thehockey
match, themore likelyhewill perspire
awaypressures of abusiness that keeps
leaping ahead.
“When someonepasses you thepuck,
you’ve got toknowwhat todowith it,”
Redmond said. “There’sno time to think
aboutwhat happened that day at the
office.”
On a typical day atRedmond’s company,
Edmonton,Alberta-basedNCSGCrane
andHeavyHaul, awhole lot happens.
LedbyRedmond, president andCEO,
NCSG rocks along at a26percent annual
growth rate. Thanks primarily tooil and
gas opportunities inCanada’swestern
provinces andmuchof thewesternUnited
States,NCSG intends to sustain its solid
growth rate– even if 26percent proves
unreasonable.
Nomatter the growth rate, lots of
business is in reachof theprepared.
Counting energybusiness inWestern
Canada and severalU.S. states served
byUCSG, Redmond estimates that in
thenext five years, projectsworth about
$1.6 trillion await crane andheavyhaul
companies.
With a fleet of 280mobile cranes, 12
Getting stronger
‘‘
”
When you add the
right company, you also
add the right people. As
individuals, they’re people
whowant to stay on and
help the
business grow.
Those are the
people you
valuemost.
TED REDMOND
NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul
Alberta, Canada
Redmond estimates that in the next five
years, projectsworth about $1.6 trillion
await crane and heavy haul companies.
