Mining Supply and Services Sector – Page 12

Mining companies need Ottawa’s help to solve shortage of workers – by Peter O’Neil (Vancouver Sun – January 29, 2013)

September 7, 2018January 30, 2013

http://www.vancouversun.com/index.html

Report says lack of skilled employees already causing costly mistakes

OTTAWA — Vancouver, Toronto and Sudbury are to Canada what Hollywood and Silicon Valley are to the U.S. — cities with a cluster of businesses built around a major industry that competes globally.

But the world-class industry in those Canadian cities — mining — needs government help, says a report to be released Wednesday.

According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce report, world-competitive industries emerge when they attract a large cluster of related companies to a particular area, such as Metro Vancouver, allowing for increased competition, economies of scale and innovation.

But, the report warns, renewed federal government efforts are needed if mining is to continue to attract and maintain the “clusters” of companies it needs — in finance, insurance, manufacturing and more — to Vancouver, Toronto and Sudbury.

The top challenge for governments is to help the industry resolve the skilled worker shortage “crisis” that, according to the report, is increasingly resulting in costly mistakes in mining operations.

[Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association and Dick DeStefano] Mining with merit – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – February 2013)

September 7, 2018January 29, 2013

Established in 1980, Northern Ontario Business provides Canadians and international investors with relevant, current and insightful editorial content and business news information about Ontario’s vibrant and resource-rich North.

Sudbury mining cluster changed face of community

During the last decade, Dick DeStefano has led the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA) to represent mining excellence in Northern Ontario, and its success can be attributed to one thing: boredom.

“I literally was bored,” conceded DeStefano, SAMSSA’s executive director and a founding partner. “I was near retirement, and when I was 65 I decided that I really hadn’t accomplished what I wanted to accomplish and that was to change the face of the community.”

After a career in consulting, he become a passionate advocate of the Northern Ontario mining supply and services sector, bringing together mining companies, innovators, suppliers, researchers, contractors and educators into a cluster recognized around the world for its knowledge, skill, expertise and experience.

The concept was hatched in 2003 during a conversation with Paul Reid, an economic development officer for the City of Greater Sudbury, out of which the pair determined the North’s 100-plus years of mining experience was a hidden asset that needed to be recognized and exploited.

Ontario Mine supply and service sector is found in all parts of the province

January 11, 2013

This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.

The Ontario Mining Association’s economic impact study Mining: Dynamic and Dependable for Ontario’s Future clearly indicates that having a headframe on the local horizon is beneficial to the regional economy. Almost 75% of the services and supplies (input costs) purchased by a mine are acquired from companies within Ontario and 31% of the total purchases come from companies located within 100 kilometres of mine sites.

Only 11% of purchases by Ontario mines are made outside of Canada and about 14% come from Canadian companies located outside of Ontario. Part of the reason mining has such a positive influence on other sectors of the economy is because approximately 90% of its expenditures are made inside Canada providing company revenues, employees’ salaries and government taxes.

With mines in Ontario making 31% of their expenditures locally, it is not surprising that communities such as Sudbury are home to large numbers of mine suppliers. A Northern Ontario Mining Supply and Services study prepared by Doyletech Corp. in 2010 indicates that the size of this business in Northern Ontario is $5.3 billion annually employing about 23,000, with concentrations in Sudbury, North Bay, Timmins and Thunder Bay.

For the Sudbury region specifically, this study pegs the mine supply and service industry at $3.9 billion annually employing 13,800 people. For the purposes of this examination, the threshold is that more than 50% of these companies’ revenues are derived from mining supply and services.

SAMSSA ‘a cheerleader’ for [Sudbury Laurentian] mining school – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – December 5, 2012)

September 7, 2018December 5, 2012

http://www.northernlife.ca/

LU prez promises to meet industry’s needs

Three years ago, Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux and Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA) executive director Dick DeStefano sat down for what was to be a fateful drink together.

“(DeStefano) challenged me,” Giroux said, speaking before about 150 SAMSSA members gathered for the organization’s annual general meeting Dec. 4.

“He said, ‘Dominic, you have great programs, but Laurentian University needs to step up its game. You need to create a school of mines. You need to be more active in the cluster, and allow the cluster to be more vibrant.’

“My answer to Dick was ‘For crying out loud, I have a record deficit. Give me a year or two to settle the place, secure a school of architecture, and then we’ll get talking.’” Since that time, DeStefano has been “very supportive,” he said, but also kept his “feet close to the fire, on occasion.”

Laurentian announced the creation of its school of mines in June. Then in October, it revealed Dundee Corporation CEO Ned Goodman was lending has name to the school of mines and donating a significant amount of money, although the exact amount has been kept confidential.

School of Mines adds value to mining cluster – by Dick Destefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 2012)

September 7, 2018November 27, 2012

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA).destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the November 2012 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

October 15, 2012 was a special day for Northern Ontario and mining. On this day, Ned Goodman, CEO of Dundee Corporation, and the Goodman Family Foundation announced an historic gift to Laurentian University’s new School of Mines.

Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux also announced that the university will name the school in honour of the Goodman family. This announcement stems from early meetings I had on behalf of SAMSSA with president Giroux in the first weeks of his appointment about three years ago.

I suggested that one of the missing components of the Northern Ontario mining cluster was a comprehensive academic centre that would add value to mining and supply and service companies regionally and gradually become a global centre of all things mining.

Many internal meetings at Laurentian and public consultations with the industry led to the October 15th announcement.

I agree with Ned Goodman’s comment at the announcement when he stated, “Greater Sudbury has the best orebody and largest concentration of expertise in mining supply, products and services in the world. We want to be associated with Laurentian University because it’s undoubtedly the go-to for university for mineral exploration and mining in Canada.”

The SAMSSA brings strength and prosperity – by Karen Kornelsen (Mining and Exploration Magazine – July 20, 2012)

September 7, 2018November 21, 2012

http://www.miningandexploration.ca/

The SAMSSA’s No. 1 goal is to promote the expertise of its mining supply and service members

The Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association(SAMSSA) represents the interests of the greatest concentration of expertise in mining supply products and services from within what is considered to be the most recognized centre of excellence worldwide.

The SAMSSA’s executive director, Dick DeStefano, is one of the founders of the association, which currently represents 120 members, including organizations in North Bay and Timmins as well as Sudbury.

The SAMSSA started in 2003 when DeStefano recognized there were more than 350 mining supply and service companies situated in Sudbury, yet they had never formed an organization or chamber to join together to create an international brand.

“Historically, this was not a pattern for independent business people in any regional area,” said DeStefano. “It was very competitive and companies did not want to reveal their networks or intelligence.”

NEWS RELEASE: BESTECH NAMED A FINALIST IN THE 2012 ONTARIO BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

October 29, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sudbury, October 26, 2012 – BESTECH is proud to announce that the company was selected as a finalist in the 2012 Ontario Business Achievement Awards (OBAA). At the 30th annual OBAA held on Wednesday, October 24th, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, BESTECH was runner-up in the Desjardins Award for Large Business category. This honour rewarded two large businesses (over 100 employees) who are forward-thinking in their overall business practice from escalating sales and developing new markets to boosting employee morale and skill acquisition to elevating environmental stewardship and corporate citizenship.

The Ontario Business Achievement Awards were created to celebrate Ontario’s rich history of innovative, ethical and profitable business. Launched in 1983, the OBAAs shine a spotlight on innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that are at the heart of business in Ontario.

According to a representative at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, “OBAA is the most prestigious industry gala in the province with a single focus on celebrating business success. BESTECH is now part of an exclusive group of Ontario companies who are recognized for their achievements in innovation, market expansion, exports and governance as well as successes in small and large business categories.”

Siemens looks to Canada to boost growth – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – August 29, 2012)

August 29, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG is betting on strong growth in Canada in coming years, underpinned by the stability of its resource-focused economy and a pending free-trade agreement with Europe, chief executive Peter Loescher said in an interview on Tuesday.

Mr. Loescher, accompanied by Canada head Robert Hardt, said growth will come from across the company’s $3-billion worth of operations in Canada, divided into health care, industry, infrastructure and cities and energy. Siemens Canada, with particular focus on business with the mining and oil sectors, has turned in double-digit growth in recent years, the executives said.

Siemens is looking for ways to maintain growth and fill its order books even as its chief market, the European Union, struggles with a recession and growth slows in other key markets, from China to the United States.

The Munich-based company said in reporting its fiscal third quarter on July 26 that orders came in 23 per cent lower than in the year-ago period.

Northern Ontario is an Oasis of Mining Activity – by Dick DeStefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – August 2012)

September 7, 2018August 24, 2012

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca This column was originally published in the August 2012 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

Northern Ontario is an oasis in the global mining market. Northern Ontario is “booming” (some would say a mini super cycle) and will continue to do so for at least three years with an expectation to extend to five and some say for 95 years more. Others warn of a commodities downturn for a short period until China and India ramp up again. Its all about cycles.

The Honourable Joe Oliver, Minister of Natural Resources, Canada recently highlighted the importance of the mining industry to Canada’s economic growth and long-term prosperity. He acknowledged Sudbury as a centre of job creation and innovation in the Canadian mining sector.

We are talking about billions of dollars of capital and operating investments and major exploration activity in Northern Ontario. Highlighting every active mine and potential new mining enterprise is a difficult task, but we can offer some of the recent significant activity.

[Sudbury] City faces legal action as [industrial land upgrade] deal dies – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – August 11, 2012)

September 7, 2018August 11, 2012

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

An $8.8-million deal to upgrade water and sewer services to industrial land in New Sudbury – which had the potential create hundreds of new jobs – is dead and may spark legal action against the City of Greater Sudbury.

“We’ve already spoken to a lawyer,” said Robert Brouillette, who owns City Welding on Elisabella Street and speaks for other businesses in the Lasalle Elisabella Industrial Area. Brouillette said his company will be taking the lead in the legal action, with the help of other property owners in the area.

“Basically, we’ll be hiring a firm to gather some information and likely to meet with the city to indicate to them we’re serious about getting (infrastructure issues) fixed at their cost. “Everyone is so upset and pissed off it’s unreal,” he said, adding the decision “means we’re not going to grow the city.”

Sudbury-born mine tech assists in Elliot Lake mall excavation [Penguin Automated Systems] – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – July 2012)

July 17, 2012

Robot recon

There’s an unwritten code adhered to by people working in the mining industry: when emergency strikes, you do whatever you can to help. That’s why Greg Baiden didn’t hesitate to offer up a pair of $2-million reconnaissance robots when he got word that part of the roof had collapsed at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, potentially trapping people inside.

Baiden, chair and chief technology officer of Penguin Automated Systems Inc., was actually in Charlotte, N.C., en route to Florida to test a new optical communications system, when he got the call, but co-ordinating from afar, a team was mobilized from his Sudbury office.

The crew arrived in Elliot Lake on the evening of June 27, a day after the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) team tasked with sifting through the rubble had reached the end of its capabilities. Though originally created for use in underground mines, Penguin designed the robots with mine rescue in mind.

Mining suppliers cautiously optimistic to the core – by Pav Jordan (Globe and Mail – July 5, 2012)

July 5, 2012

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Craig Kipp’s business is booming. As he walks the floor of Boart Longyear Ltd.’s plant in Mississauga, Ont. , he looks upon row after row of steel drill rods that have no time to gether dust before being shipped to customers from Sydney to Santiago. This year, the Boart factory could hardly be busier. It’s the outlook for 2013 that makes Mr. Kipp a bit uneasy, because the mining world is swooning.

“Is the world more nervous than it was a couple of months ago? Yes,” said Mr. Kipp, the chief executive officer of the South Jordan, Utah-based company. “I’m more nervous.You wouldn’t be breathing in this environment without being a little concerned about what’s going on in Europe, in China and so on.”

But despite a murky outlook for his industry, Mr. Kipp is far from gloomy, energized by customers that include most of the world’s largest miners, which have not let up on drilling.

Every drill and drill bit pushed through the Boart Longyear plant in Southern Ontario has been spoken for, as have those it makes in seven factories around the world to supply companies from Ghana to Guatemala, Tucson to Tierra del Fuego.

NEWS RELEASE: Cementation recognized as leading apprenticeship provider in Ontario

June 21, 2012

June 20, 2012

NORTH BAY – Cementation Canada is one of four Ontario employers to be recognized for their dedication to training the province’s next generation of skilled workers. The annual Ontario Minister’s Awards for Apprenticeship Training celebrate employers that show leadership in training apprentices, support the apprenticeship training system, and promote careers in skilled trades. Through apprenticeship programs employers have the opportunity to make an important contribution to the success of their businesses and industry as well as Ontario’s economy.

In a luncheon held Tuesday, June 19, 2012, in North Bay, Cementation Canada was recognized as a top 2012 apprenticeship provider for Northern Ontario by the Ontario Government. In a time when the mining industry is concerned about the future labour pool and attracting young people into the industry, Cementation has taken positive steps in bringing young trades people into the mining sector through a well-developed apprenticeship program.

Eric Hodgins, Personnel Manager for the company, stated that “The employees involved in the program are committed to advancing their careers and they are all grateful for the opportunity. This program benefits both the individual and the company and we appreciate this recognition from the Ontario Government.” Cementation presently has 17 employees involved in the company’s apprenticeship program in the mechanical and electrical fields throughout Ontario, and an additional 7 apprentices working on projects in other regions of Canada.

MEDIA RELEASE: Global Presence for Fuller Industrial – Bagdad and Mongolia on the Map

June 11, 2012

JUNE 11TH 2012

Fuller Industrial, in Sudbury Ontario, is shipping trucks full of rubber lined pipe fitting to Bagdad. Bagdad Arizona that is.

The rubber lined pipe and fittings manufactured at Fuller’s is part of an upgrade to the 75,000 metric ton per day concentrator at the Freeport McMoRan (FXC) company owned town.

Rubber lining protects and extends the life of the pipe from the abrasive slurry transported throughout the concentrator.
Bagdad is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining about 100 miles northwest of Phoenix Arizona.

The project is one of several projects being delivered by Fuller and is part of a string of current and upcoming jobs in the United States, Canada, and the world.

With all the bad news about the demise of the small innovative Canadian companies, Fuller Industrial, in Sudbury Ontario continues to buck the trend.