Tracks and Treads - Finning Canada

No-risk business: Start with a hazard assessment 

He shoots, he scores! Finning mechanic saves the tourney 

FALL 2008 

www.finning.ca 

Room to Work 

Visit Finning’s new 

Centre of Excellence 

Logging Lift 

B.C. forestry company 

diversifies for success 

Machine 

Health Care 

Preventive maintenance 

keeps your iron tip-top 

First 

Partnership 

An aboriginal joint 

venture wins acclaim 

A FINNING (CANADA) PUBLICATION Non-deliverable mail should be directed to: 10259 105 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #40020055

E v E r y B a r n n E E d s a C at 

The new Cat ® C-Series Skid Steer offers comfort like the big Cat 

machines. Noise and dust are reduced thanks to a pressurized and 

sealed cab – an industry first. The optional air ride seat delivers 

even more comfort. Plus the wide cab opening makes for easy 

entry and exit. 

Cat Skid Steer loader, 

Fully equipped 

From as little as $ 18/day 

Caterpillar 226B2 Skid Steer loader 

*O.A.C. Taxes and finance fees extra. Buyout 

based on fair market value. Pricing based on 48 

payment operating lease. 

Count on Finning for the best in dealer support. 

Be part oF the legaCy. 

1-888-finning | finning.ca

18 

38 

Departments 

4 The Finning Focus 

We’re aiming for zero lost time 

incidents 

6 Groundbreaker 

Re-manufacturing services; 

Finning International signs a 

$360+ million contract; 

An update on NAIT’s ThinkBIG 

program; B.C.’s new WorkSafe 

forestry regulations; A nod to 

winners of the 4th annual Wood 

WORKS! gala; Good-hearted guy 

fixes Zamboni; Old operator opts 

for joystick. AND: meet the mega 

water truck 

12 Yesterday/Today 

Affordable and versatile, the 

backhoe loader remains a vital 

construction tool 

13 Yellow Iron 

New products and services 

from Finning 

33 Safety First 

Learn the difference between a 

hazard and a risk and make your 

worksite safer 

36 Meeting the Challenge 

Lafarge makes the most of the 

Preventive Maintenance program 

34 Field Test 

A blacktop family takes a new 

paver for a spin 

41 Bill’s Business 

Bill discovers Finning’s performance 

analysis program. Will it 

really increase efficiency on site 

42 Count On Us 

CONTENTS FALL 2008 

Features 

14 A Rock and a Wet Place 

A Kelowna construction company 

makes a road on a mountainside 

18 Three Times Lucky 

First Nations joint venture wows 

some industry heavyweights 

22 Machine Health Care 

A little TLC can prevent a world of 

pain and put the sparkle back in 

your scraper 

ON THE COvER 

Finning’s Centre of Excellence 

Photograph: DwightArthur/Photek 

22 

27 SPECIAL REPORT 

Centre of Excellence 

Finning’s huge new workspace in Red Deer 

promises to improve workflow and free up 

techs at branches to serve customers better 

38 A Sharke Tale 

A central B.C. company proves that there’s 

life in the logging industry yet 

33 

www.finning.ca Fall 2008 • tr acks & treads

The Finning Focus 

Zero Sum Game 

Management at every company 

WANTS TO REPORT HIGHER EARNINGS, 

BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY, 

null is the greatest number 

G 

iven its around-the-clock mining operations 

and high volume of workrelated 

travel, Fort McMurray is a place that 

sees a lot of people spending a lot of time in 

vehicles. Not surprisingly, it’s also a place in 

which people spend a lot of time on their 

cellphones, two-way radios, PDAs and 

BlackBerrys while on the road. 

That’s why the Regional Municipality of 

Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray 

and 10 other communities, launched a 

“Stop Then Talk” safe-driving campaign in 

the summer. With the support of Finning 

(Canada) and the Alberta Motor Association, 

the municipality made it mandatory 

for employees using municipal vehicles to 

pull over safely before using a communications 

device. 

Policies such as this one – and a similar 

one Finning (Canada) implemented more 

than a year ago – are a sea change in safety 

culture. A few years ago, being “unplugged” 

on the road meant being inefficient. Today, 

it means being smart. With an increasing 

number of companies adopting such safety 

policies, staying plugged in on the road is 

more likely to get you kicked out the door 

than patted on the back. 

Experts say that the distraction caused by 

By Brent Davis 

devices such as cellphones slows reaction by 

up to 50%. That’s a level comparable to impaired 

drivers. How would you feel about a 

company that permitted employees to drive 

under the influence 

It’s difficult to untangle ethics and technology. 

But leading companies are stepping 

up, looking for innovative ways to safeguard 

employees as well as the communities in 

which they operate. This may be our most 

important corporate responsibility. After all, 

we don’t work for work’s sake but to enjoy 

life – our families, our friends, our hobbies, 

our vacations. That’s why we need to choose 

safety, at work and at home, every day. 

Safety is a core value that influences everything 

we do at Finning. We’re working 

hard to develop consistent practices that 

encourage our people to put safety first. 

Finning’s recently improved job hazard 

analysis (JHA) is a prime example. JHA is a 

process whereby risks are recognized before 

starting a task: steps include hazard identification, 

assessment and control to help 

prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, 

damage to property and environment, and 

near misses. It is a tool proven to prevent 

injuries, and, as of June 20, it’s a mandatory 

part of doing business at Finning. 

JHA is a key Finning initiative to eliminate 

workplace injuries in an era that 

worships speed and technology. In 1994, we 

reported 168 lost-time injuries (LTIs). This 

statistic caused us to re-evaluate the safety 

of our workplace. We implemented company-wide 

conference calls, executive health 

and safety meetings, branch calls, incident 

reporting and daily learning sessions. Each 

brought greater safety awareness, and, as a 

result, we have seen the number of workplace 

injuries reduced. In 2007, our number 

of LTIs fell to 11. Ultimately, with the help 

of the JHA process, we aim to report zero, a 

number that’s the least sought-after when 

it comes to earnings, but the most soughtafter 

when it comes to safety. 

Back in 1985 when I worked in the 

Victoria warehouse, I didn’t always put 

safety first. But I should have. When I think 

about the near-misses I had, I wish I’d had 

access to the policies and programs Finning 

offers today. More importantly, I wish that 

everyone who has safety programs and tools 

at hand takes advantage of them. As much 

as rigorous policies and controls can mean 

more paperwork and more time, they’re 

a means to make sure that work is just the 

beginning of life, not the end. 

tracks & treads • Fall 2008 www.finning.ca

fall 2008 Volume 48, No. 3 

Publisher 

Ruth Kelly 

rkelly@venturepublishing.ca 

aSSociate Publisher 

Daska Davis 

ddavis@venturepublishing.ca 

Executive Editor 

Jeff Howard 

jhoward@finning.ca 

eDitor 

Mifi Purvis 

mpurvis@venturepublishing.ca 

eDitorial Advisors 

Danna Beatty, Crystal Chokshi, 

Brad Ledig, Michelle Loewen, 

Patrick King 

art director 

Charles Burke 

cburke@venturepublishing.ca 

design intern 

Rodrigo López Orozco 

Production COORDINATOR 

Betty-Lou Smith 

Production technician 

Geoff Cwiklewich 

Letters & Feedback 

A NOTABLE STORY: Your 75th anniversary issue is a great 

read – it’s interesting, informative, fun, as well as being a 

microcosm of Western Canada’s history for the past 75 years. 

Congratulations. 

My interest in Caterpillar began in 1973 when I joined Hewitt 

Equipment as secretary to Mr. Robert Hewitt. Later, I also wrote 

their company magazines. I then moved to Edmonton and wrote 

the company magazines for R. Angus Alberta Ltd. The Cat years 

were the best of my working life. 

The only thing I would take issue with is your use of the word 

“notorious” to describe the epic Antarctic rescue by Kenn Borek 

Air pilots in 2001. That journey and rescue in unbelievable cold 

and total darkness was a tremendous Canadian achievement. 

Jane Horsburgh, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia 

Thanks, Jane. You are quite right. “Notorious” means widely 

known, but unfavourably so. We should have used the word 

“notable,” meaning widely known, but in the favourable sense. 

Borek pilot Sean Loutitt’s landing at the South Pole was 

indeed notable or, as you say, tremendous. In a pitch black 

Antarctic winter’s night, on a runway lit by burning oil barrels, 

Loutitt’s Twin Otter touched down at temperatures of -60˚C to 

rescue the Antarctic base’s ailing physician to carry him to 

medical treatment. – Editors 

circulation coordinator 

Amanda Damman 

circulation@venturepublishing.ca 

aDvertising representative 

Anita McGillis 

amcgillis@venturepublishing.ca 

Contributing Writers 

Robin Brunet, Dave DiCenzo, Katherine Fawcett, 

Keith Haddock, Rick Overwater, Jim Stirling, 

Shannon Sutherland, Jim Veenbaas 

Contributing PHOTOGRAPHERS 

and illustrators 

Dwight Arthur, Tim Bailey, John McDougall, Chris Pyle, 

Kelly Redinger, Rick Tolhurst, Chip Zdarsky 

Tracks & Treads is published to provide its readers 

with relevant business, technology, product and service 

information in a lively and engaging manner. 

Tracks & Treads is published for 

Finning (Canada) by 

Venture Publishing Inc. 

10259-105 Street 

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1E3 

Phone: 780-990-0839 

Fax: 780-425-4921 

Contents © 2008 by Finning (Canada) 

No part of this publication should be 

reproduced without written permission. 

To the rescue: Borek Air in Antarctica 

Tell us what you think 

Tracks & Treads would love to hear from you. Tell us what you think 

of the magazine’s stories, columns and look, so that we can improve 

it and make it a more interesting read. 

Send your comments to executive editor Jeff Howard by e-mail at 

jhoward@finning.ca or the old-fashioned way to: Jeff Howard, Tracks & Treads, 

Finning (Canada), 16830 – 107 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5P 4C3 

www.finning.ca 

www.finning.ca Fall 2008 • tracks & treads

News & Reviews 

by david dicenzo 

Grading the Grader 

John Lindroos isn’t exactly a member of 

the video game generation. At 73, the 

Wetaskiwin native doesn’t wear out 

his wrists with endless hours on a Wii 

or an Xbox. So when Lindroos, a longtime 

grader operator for the County of 

Wetaskiwin, needed to get up to speed on a 

new M-series Cat grader that features a variety 

of joysticks, he turned to a more youthful 

teacher – his 25-year-old son Phillip. 

Father and son had trained on a simulator 

at the same time, but Phillip got a head start, 

logging 120 hours on the real thing, which 

was delivered while his dad was off recovering 

from knee surgery. And it was up to Phillip 

to teach dad when he returned to work. 

“He was teacher for a day,” John says with a 

laugh. “It went good.” 

“It was basically just to get him familiarized 

with the controls,” Phillip adds. “When 

my dad came back, I spent half a day with 

him showing him all the controls, what does 

what. He did really good.” 

The M-series Cat grader is a radical departure 

from the older H-series models that 

John knows so well. Cat invested about four 

years of research and ultimately came up 

with a motor grader that replaces a complicated 

set of levers with a joystick that looks a 

bit like a fighter jet’s hand control. 

That didn’t matter to John, who, 

despite having 37 years under his belt with 

the county (30 of which he spent operating 

graders), wanted to learn all about the new 

machine. He says that after running the 

grader for the past few months, it’s a piece 

of cake. 

“I like the machine,” says John. “The visibility’s 

good and it seems to be a real nice 

machine. It’s quiet.” 

John figures he has a few years left 

working at the county before he packs it in, 

suggesting that he would love to get his 40- 

year pin before retiring. 

“I’m playing it by ear,” says the veteran 

operator. “I’m getting old but if I didn’t 

enjoy the work, I wouldn’t have done it for 

this long.” 

Perhaps a second career as a video gamer 

is in the cards. 

Is There a Mechanic in the House 

What’s the worst-case scenario for a kid’s 

hockey tournament A couple of teams 

are no shows They’re out of pucks No 

hot coffee for the parents in the stands 

How about a Zamboni zoning out on 

the middle of the ice between games 

That’s what happened at a tourney 

for seven- and eight-year-olds at Cardel 

Place in Calgary last winter. Luckily, 

Finning field technician Shawn Wallz 

was around when the Zamboni went on 

the fritz. Wallz’s son Ryan was playing in 

the tournament and, like an off-duty doctor 

jumping out of the crowd to treat an injured 

player, Wallz had no trouble offering his 

skills to help out. 

“We were going to find our seats and 

we noticed that the piece at the back of 

the Zamboni where it actually scrapes the 

ice had broken off,” recalls Wallz. “It was 

putting huge scrapes into the ice.” 

The off-duty mechanic saw the looks of 

disappointment on the players’ faces. “The 

kids were getting pretty upset because they 

knew that was going to be it for the tournament. 

I thought I’d go have a look at it.” 

Wallz’s expertise is diagnosing and repairing 

generator engines and natural gas engines 

out in the field. He saw that the chain 

on the machine had snapped and the snow 

guard was caught up in the wheel. Wallz 

drove to a nearby store, grabbed some parts 

and, within about four hours, had the Zamboni 

back up and running. Once the thing 

fired up, the players and the crowd were 

beaming. “Everybody was pretty happy,” 


groundbreaker 

dampening dust devils 

tw 

enty-thousand gallons is a whole lot of 

water. It’s as much as a person will drink 

in an entire lifetime. It’s enough to fill a 

backyard swimming pool. and it’s also the 

amount that can be corralled into cat’s massive 

777F mega water truck. 

ten 

of these giants were scheduled to 

be shipped to three different customers 

in the Fort McMurray area late in the summer. 

though water trucks themselves have 

been around for ages, ken shultis, Finning’s 

industry marketing manager for mining 

trucks, says their presence in Fort Mac will 

be a first. 

“We’ve got way more trucks being deliv- 

ered up there now than we have had in the 

past,” says shultis. “there’s so much activity 

going on in the oilsands.” 

the water trucks are crucial for safety 

and visibility on haul roads. a spray bar is 

positioned on the back end of each truck, 

wetting down the road for the other vehicles 

following behind. “they water the road to 

keep the dust down,” shultis explains. “It’s 

environmentally friendly and safer on the 

haul roads.” Otherwise, dust clouds kicked 

up by passing vehicles would obscure the 

road ahead. 

Water trucks, he says, aren’t anything 

new. In fact, contractors used to take old 

trucks and fashion their own water trucks 

out of them. But with Fort Mac buzzing, 

Finning decided to make 10 new units 

available 

to customers in the area. according 

to shultis, the trucks are worth $1.5 

million each. 

Water trucks aren’t 

anything new. 

Contractors used to 

take old trucks and 

fashion their own water 

trucks out of them. but 

with Fort Mac buzzing, 

Finning decided to make 

10 new units available. 

says Wallz. “They came up to me and shook 

my hand.” 

Though a few tournament games were 

cancelled because of the delay, Wallz’s 

handiwork enabled play to continue into the 

championship game. That was particularly 

important to the Wallz family because young 

Ryan’s team had made it that far. 

“He was one of the happiest people,” 

Wallz says of his son, whose team won the 

tourney. “No doubt about that.” 


A Retiring Guy 

The qualities Jack Klemke’s father instilled in 

him – a strong work ethic and integrity – have 

been driving Klemke and his company, now 

called KMC Mining, since he and his dad Ted 

first started up in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan 

in 1949. 

“He and I were 50/50 in business until 

1966, when he retired,” 77-year-old Jack says 

of his father. After almost six full decades of 

business, the “younger” Klemke felt retirement 

calling. On March 3, he walked into 

the Alberta-based offices for his last official 

day of work, closing a chapter in the history 

of the oilsands. “It was time to pass the 

torch,” says Klemke. “With a good team, the 

time was right.” 

The native of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 

started work on a single Caterpillar 

RD7 tractor with “a six-yard scraper behind 

it.” Klemke was confident that both business 

and his fleet would grow, but admits that 

he had no idea of how the mining industry 

would change. And he couldn’t predict the 

influence he’d have in the field. 

In its infancy, KMC was active building irrigation 

canals in the Prairies. In the 1960s, 

the company built Alberta’s highways, 

including the final leg of Highway 63, 

which enabled year-round access to 

Fort McMurray. 

But by the early 1970s, mining was the 

company’s focus and KMC was getting into 

heavy equipment. Klemke says that they 

were the second contractor onsite at Syncrude, 

a hotbed of mining innovation. “On 

that first job, we brought in a frontend hydraulic 

shovel,” he says. “It was fairly basic 

but we helped the suppliers of those shovels 

transition into what we have today, larger 

equipment, suited to the oilsands. 

“And I think we had the first three 789 

trucks in North America in 1986. We took 

them to the oilsands and worked through 

all the teething problems there,” he says. 

“That’s a long ways from a six-yard scraper.” 

Klemke says that working with Cat and 

Finning over the years, tailoring equipment 

for the oilsands, was a rewarding experience. 

But as a grandfather of 10 children 

and the great grandfather of one, work is no 

longer top priority. Klemke’s son Dan is now 

CEO, making KMC a third-generation family 

show. 

Klemke has channeled his energy into 

some important personal causes. He and his 

wife have been actively involved in spreading 

the message of Christianity across the globe, 

working in places like North Africa, the Middle 

East and Central Asia. 

That work ethic and integrity he learned 

from his father Ted so many years ago still 

exists in retirement. 

Tracks & Treads Puzzle 

Sharpen your pencil, take a seat and have a go at our firstever 

word search puzzle. 

Find these 12 hidden words based on the stories in the 

pages of this issue of Tracks & Treads and bask in your own 

cleverness. Plus, keep your eyes peeled in future issues for 

more crosswords and word search puzzles. 

mining 

paver 

zamboni 

forestry 

mechanic 

Caterpillar 

technician 

preventive 

maintenance 

excellence 

construction 

service 


groundbreaker 

A Historic 

Sale 

A major deal was recently inked between 

Finning International and Suncor Energy 

Inc., ensuring that there will be plenty of 

yellow iron visible in the rich Alberta oilsands. 

At the company’s annual general 

meeting back in May, Finning announced 

that it had agreed to a $360-million contract 

to supply heavy equipment to Suncor 

for work in the oilsands. 

Suncor will receive 22 Cat 797b mining 

trucks, 19 D11T tractors and five D8T 

bulldozers over the course of this year and 

2009, bringing the company’s fleet of massive 

mining trucks to 67 units, 51 of which 

will be 797s (the largest mining trucks in 

the world) along with 16 model 793 units. 

“Growth in mining activity in the oilsands 

continues to be very strong, and Finning’s 

position as the major supplier of large mobile 

mining equipment and as the key 

service partner to the oilsands producers 

continues to expand,” Mike Waites, Finning 

International president and chief executive 

officer said at the time of the announcement. 

“There are currently 120 of the 797 haul 

trucks operating in the Alberta oilsands, and 

in 2008 we are scheduled to deliver more 

than 65 additional 797s.” 

“You have to be honest 

with everybody. We have 

a pretty good reputation 

in grande Prairie.” 

Building a Reputation 

ken Wilson was looking for a new challenge 

when the contractor he worked 

for in Grande Prairie closed up shop in 

the late 1970s. With one machine, the 

Grand Prairie native decided to start 

his own company, focusing on roadwork. 

“I only planned on running one or two 

pieces,” Wilson says. “But the work was 

there and we grew.” 

thirty years later, ken Wilson 

contracting Ltd. is one of the most 

respected 

operations in the area. Wilson’s 

company does work on highways and 

roads, oilfields and subdivisions in the 

Grande Prairie and Grande cache areas. 

It runs about 40 predominantly 

cat pieces 

now, which is a far cry away from the single 

machine Wilson had going in ’78. 

the 58-year-old says one of the company’s 

biggest jobs in the early days was 

building a retaining pond at nearby 

IvyLake. But whatever the job, the common 

thread for 

ken Wilson contracting Ltd. 

has always been to do things well and 

be honest. 

“You have to be honest with everybody, 

telling them if you can or can’t do it or 

what it’s going to cost up front,” Wilson says. 

“We have a pretty good reputation in 

Grande Prairie.” 


Aaron Settle had no idea what he was in for 

when he applied to ThinkbIG in 2005. The 

joint program between Finning, Caterpillar 

and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology 

is designed to arm students with the 

educational requirements needed to obtain 

a heavy equipment technician ticket. 

And in Settle’s case, he went a long 

way to get them. The 21-year-old from 

Kaslo, b.C. made the epic 1,200-kilometre 

trek to Fairview, Alberta. on 10 

occasions in his trusty Grand Am.“ 

I found out about the program reading 

Tracks & Treads magazine,” says Settle, whose 

father owns a logging company in british 

Columbia, Settle would spend two months 

at a time in the classroom in Alberta and 

then two months at the Finning branch in 

Castlegar, b.C. doing his practicum where 

in. July of 2007, he was hired as a secondyear 

apprentice mechanic. Now a third-year 

apprentice, he’s running his own service 

truck – and loving it. “It could be anything,” 

he says of the varied assignments his job 

entails. “That’s part of the fun and I like 

the service truck for that reason. you never 

know what you’re going to be doing the 

next day.” 

The lack of skilled tradespeople in 

Alberta is well-documented. but for the past 

five years, Finning, in partnership with Cat 

and NAIT, has been trying to do something 

to combat that shortfall with ThinkbIG. 

“We saw it as a good opportunity to build 

heavy equipment technicians for the future,” 

says Amy Eleniak, Finning’s team lead, 

apprenticeship. “We’ve had a really good 

success rate.” 

ThinkbIG was launched in March 2003. 

The program accepts first- and second-year 

students, no more than 24 per group. Eleniak 

says that the 20-month program runs 

through five continuous semesters, with no 

summer break. Each semester is 16 weeks 

long and students spend half that time in 

the classroom, the other half working in a 

Finning branch. Not only do they get the 

Caterpillar education, but they also have to 

satisfy other requirements to be eligible to 

become a heavy equipment technician in 

Alberta. “They don’t get their ticket at the 

end of this program,” Eleniak says. “They 

still have to get hired on as an apprentice 

and finish off their hours.” 

Settle says that one of the biggest 

bonuses of the program for him was 

learning about the most up-to-date technology, 

especially as it pertained to Cats. 

“It was very Cat-specific,” he says. 

“The technological part of the program was 

really good.” 

Graduates of ThinkbIG have pursued a 

variety of different jobs upon completion of 

the program. Many are hired immediately 

by Finning. One former student is now an 

instructor at NAIT. 

PHOTOGRAPH COuTyESy NAIT 

10 tracks & treads • Fall 2008 www.finning.ca

By the Numbers 

Number of millionaires 

worldwide in 2007, 

a new high: 

10,100,000 

Number of Yukon athletes 

who participated in this 

summer’s olympic games: 

2 

The number 

of Canadian 

athletes who 

have been 

medalists in both 

the summer and 

winter games: 

1 

Ranking of labour shortages, 

the state of the economy, 

consumer spending and rising 

energy costs, in terms of their 

impact on hiring decisions 

made by Canadian employers: 

1, 2, 3, 4 

Estimated monthly cost 

of operating the new 

3G Apple iPhone: 

Number of years a Quebec 

law, which was revoked in 

June of this year, required 

that margarine be white 

in colour: 

21 

Size in carats of a 

diamond recovered 

at the Gahcho Kué 

project 300 kilometres 

northeast of yellowknife: 

25.13 

Number of cases of 

Neilson salted butter 

stolen from a B.c. 

Superstore, July 7: 

1,008 

Percentage of Suncor 

employees who are 

aboriginal: 

9 

Rank of Suncor among 

industrial employers 

of aboriginal people in 

Canada: 

www.finning.ca Fall 2008 • tracks & treads 11

Yesterday/Today 

Story by keith haddock 

Affordable and versatile, the backhoe loader has evolved over 

the years and remains a vital tool on construction sites 

Still Digging 

For the past four decades, backhoe loaders 

have been the mainstay of mechanized 

utility work. Even with the advent of miniexcavators, 

the increasive popularity of 

skid steer loaders and number of companies 

making compact-sized machines, the 

backhoe loader has held its ground. It has 

become more versatile and has adapted to 

modern construction practices. It wins out 

over most other small digging machines because 

of its superior mobility: it can travel 

at highway speeds over short to medium 

distances. 

Towards the end of the 1970s, Caterpillar 

recognized the importance of the loader 

backhoe and the potential for even wider 

markets for this type of machine. Noting the 

success of pioneer builders, especially those 

in the United Kingdom, Caterpillar decided 

to add backhoe loaders to its product line. It 

started up an intensive development program 

to design and build its own machines. With 

production of loader backhoes assigned to 

Caterpillar’s plant at Leicester, England, the 

wraps were taken off the first model, the 416, 

in 1985. In the 14-foot digging depth class, 

the 416 carried a 62-flywheel horsepower 

engine. Special features included a back-ofcentre 

carry position for the backhoe, which 

provided superior stability when travelling, as 

well as single cylinder bucket roll-back. 

By 1989, Caterpillar had expanded its 

backhoe loader line to six models ranging 

in size up to the 95-flywheel horsepower 

446, which offered a standard digging depth 

of 17 feet and up to 21 feet with its extended 

arm. Included in the line were two side-shift 

models, the 428 and 438. On side-shift models, 

the backhoe boom assembly is carried 

on a sliding frame so the boom pivot can be 

positioned at any point from the left to the 

DIG IN: Caterpillar’s first loader backhoe, the 416, proved that power was in the eye of the beholder 

right of the machine. This simple feature, 

more popular in Europe than in North America, 

allows the operator to dig flush to walls 

and footings and offers more flexibility when 

excavating around obstructions. The 428 and 

438 could dig to 15 feet 9 inches and came 

with power units of 70 and 84-flywheel horsepower, 

respectively. 

Caterpillar refined its loader backhoe 

models with the introduction of the Series II 

models in 1990, then followed in 1992 with 

the announcement of the upgraded B-series. 

The B models sported a curved excavator-style 

backhoe boom, which first appeared on the 

original 446 in 1989. This design provided 

more clearance when digging over obstacles 

and a greater overall digging depth. The 

B models were also endowed with increased 

power to 74 flywheel horsepower for the 416B 

to 84 flywheel horsepower for the 436B. 

Keeping pace with the latest technology, 

in 1993 Caterpillar introduced its first 

loader backhoe with optional four-wheel 

drive and four-wheel steer on its side-shift 

438B model and, in 1996 made this feature 

available on certain models in its newly designed-series. 

Never allowing its designs 

to stagnate, in 2001 Caterpillar introduced 

the first of its D-series backhoe loaders: the 

420D and 430D. The entire D-series line, 

completed in 2004, with the introduction of 

the 446D at 102 horsepower, boasted pilotoperated 

joystick controls for ease of operation 

and increased backhoe bucket rotation 

to 205 degrees. 

Today, Caterpillar serves the loader backhoe 

market with its latest E-series, which 

comprises 10 sizes of machines available 

in different options, including tool carrier 

and side-shift models. They range from the 

78-horsepower 416E to the 137-horsepower 

450E. Affordable for even the smallest 

contractor and capable of performing a 

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sites for the foreseeable future. 

photograph courtesy keith haddock 


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MAKE THE HIGH ROAD: Arthon’s 740s haul loads of 

blasted rock on a blistering Okanagan day. Higher up, 

the mountain goats are watching 


ARock 

and a 

Wet 

Place 

Story by Jim Stirling 

photography by john Mcdougall 

In the dusty confines of a busy 

Okanagan Lake highway project, 

a B.C. construction company 

is making it work 

Imagine for a moment you’re a hawk, 

wings motionless as you ride the thermals. 

Beneath you winds a busy two-lane ribbon 

of highway, dotted with cars, RVs and 

trucks, some of them towing speedboats. 

Framing the highway on one side is a wall of rock. 

On the other, the land drops abruptly to the sparkling 

waters of Okanagan Lake below. 

The raptor’s eye view of this section of Okanagan 

Valley shows some of the physical challenges facing 

a construction project underway on Highway 

97, north of Summerland in the scenic valley of 

southern British Columbia. 

Arthon Contractors Inc., based in the Okanagan 

Mission area of Kelowna, has a $38.5-million, 

two-year contract from the provincial Ministry of 

Transportation and Highways to twin an approximately 

seven-kilometre section of the highway. It’s 

a major construction job, one that’s stuck between 

a rock and a wet place. 


COMPANY PROFILE: Arthon Contractors Inc. 

Arthon has assembled the people and 

equipment it needs to get the job done, including 

eight new Caterpillar high-capacity 

rock trucks. Twinning the busy highway 

through the peak of tourist season is problematic 

enough. But an additional and 

unexpected challenge to construction 

scheduling was presented by a small group 

of local residents. 

A herd of about 20 mountain goats using 

the bluffs above the highway alignment usually 

move on up to higher ground in 

the spring. But not this year. Instead, 

they opted to stay put, have their kids 

and keep an eye on all the action below 

them. At last count, there were six new 

baby goats in the extended family. Arthon 

had to be equally quick on its corporate 

feet to accommodate the continuing presence 

of the unexpected sidewalk superintendents. 

“We had stop-work orders and extended 

no-blasting areas around the goat bluffs,” 

summarizes Steve Dimond. “We had to go 

to other areas of the project as best we could. 

It was something that couldn’t be foreseen.” 

Dimond is a partner in Arthon Contractors, 

along with Kerry Leong and Guy Ferrari. Arthon 

was incorporated in 1991 and bought its 

first rock-crushing equipment to use in a Kelowna 

development. Today, Arthon has grown 

to become a prominent general contracting 

company and a specialist in moving massive 

amounts of rock and earth. 

The company calls on all its expertise on 

the Highway 97 project, with some 1.8 million 

cubic metres of rock and other material 

to move. Dimond explains that the limited 

capacity of the soils that support the existing 

highway means that more than half of the new 

alignment has to be created above the present 

two-lane road. And that, in turn, necessitates 

extensive rock-blasting and material removal. 

The company’s newly acquired Caterpillar 

equipment is designed to assist with that sizable 

task. On site, Arthon Construction has 

four new Cat 740 articulated trucks and four 

Cat 775 rigid frame units on a lease-to-own 

basis, reports Dimond. The 40 and 75 designations 

reflect the machines’ approximate 

carrying capacity in tonnes, so these units 

are no babies. 

Arthon’s equipment management 

and logistical approach to the 

project looks pretty favourable. 

“The Cat trucks have performed quite 

well,” says Dimond. “There have been a few 

warranty issues, but the wheels have been 

turning daily.” 

That’s doubly important given the impact 

of the goat delays on the project. “When you 

purchase each piece of equipment, you try 

and get the best deal you can,” he points out. 

“The key question we asked ourselves was ‘did 

this job by itself justify the Cat machines’ 

And there’s always a value for them at the end 

of the job to consider.” 

Arthon is also using Cat dozers on the 

road-twinning project in D6 to D10 sizes and 

a Cat 235 excavator. Dimond says May was 

a productive month, with the company taking 

advantage of short hauls to deposit some 

30,000 equivalent tandem loads of material 

to a designated stockpile site. 

Traffic management is a significant issue 

on the project. Highway 97 is a major artery 

year-round in an area that’s growing rapidly. 

Additional pressure comes from the sum- 

mer tourist traffic. Arthon and the Ministry 

of Transportation and Highways have tried 

to establish realistic trade-offs with regular, 

scheduled road closures to expedite the job. 

The parties developed a pattern of occasional 

morning and afternoon closures, restricted to 

30 minutes or less when traffic volumes are 

highest, with the possibility to close the road 

for an hour at other times during the day. The 

relative quiet of darkness allows Arthon to 

close the road for up to two hours at a go in 

the middle of the night. Dimond says 

that extensive use of e-mails and good 

co-operation from local radio stations 

serve to maximize information and 

minimize inconvenience to the travelling 

public. 

“If we can do it faster, the pain will be over 

faster,” he says of the overall approach. But, 

that said, company reps have to mind that it 

can get difficult trying to accelerate construction 

activity if they try to commit too much 

equipment to a confined area. Establishing 

a balance is the goal: one that makes some 

sense for the time-pressured contractor and 

keeps the traffic flowing. 

Equipment working on the job was consuming 

between 10,000 and 11,000 litres of 

fuel a day. In early summer, Dimond says the 

fuel consumption was translating to 1.2 litres 

of fuel per cubic metre of material moved. 

What it means is that Arthon’s equipment 

management and logistical approach to the 

project looks pretty favourable. “All in all, 

things have gone quite well so far,” summarizes 

Dimond. 

Arthon’s peak summer construction involved 

about 60 to 80 employees, including 

contractors. The summer surge of traffic will 

dissipate and crews will remain on the job 


BOTTOMS uP: The company is calling on all its 

expertise and cat equipment to move 1.8 million 

cubic metres of rock from the hillside 

through the winter of 2008-2009. arthon 

remains 

hopeful it will be able to catch up on 

at least some of the unforeseen goat-induced 

delays. Heavy winter snows might curtail 

work on occasion. But 

dimond anticipates 

that next spring and summer will see the anticipated 

paving of the new highway, clawed 

from the rock walls. 

that assumes, of course, the mountain 

goats are not planning any further intervention 

into arthon construction’s project. 

Hopefully, they will be content to look down 

from their rocky perch with bemusement, as 

four lanes of traffic zip along at 100 kilome- 

tres 

an hour through their beautiful section of 

the Okanagan Valley. 

Sea to Sky Pioneer 

there’s much behind-the-scenes activity that 

takes place before a customer puts a new 

piece of Caterpillar equipment to work. and 

that’s just after the initial decision to go Cat 

has been made. 

Consider some of the preparatory work 

required before arthon Construction could 

assign its new Caterpillar trucks to the job 

site on a road-twinning project in b.C.’s 

okanagan Valley. 

the four new Cat 740 articulated trucks 

that arthon ordered were built in England, 

shipped to Canada’s west coast and prepped 

by Finning (Canada) staffers in Langley, b.C., 

recalls Norm roine, a customer account 

manager for heavy construction, based in 

Vernon, b.C. all the new equipment goes 

through a rigorous and complete check 

before it’s handed over. Customers such as 

arthon want to put the piece to work as soon 

as they take possession. an idle machine 

doesn’t make money. 

the four Cat 775 rigid frame trucks that 

arthon also ordered for use on the highway 

97 improvement project presented a different 

set of challenges. they are substantially 

larger machines – with a carrying capacity 

of about 75 tonnes – and they arrived at the 

jobsite in pieces. For example, the frame 

and body system were transported in separate 

loads. the challenge was to assemble 

them on site. 

Just to make life more interesting, unexpected 

delivery delays put pressure on 

arthon’s already tight timelines. “We allowed 

about 100 hours per truck to put the 775s 

together,” reports roine, who, as a 30-year 

veteran with Finning, knows all about meeting 

such pressures. “our guys were in that 

range or improved on that timeline. they did 

a fabulous job; they really did,” roine says. 

the project has seen its share of collaborative 

solutions, roine says. “back in January, 

we sat down with arthon and its mechanical 

contractor and asked what else Finning could 

do to help the project,” he says. “and everyone 

put their heads together.” 

as a result of those discussions, both 

parties decided to squeeze in some trailer 

storage on site, to maintain a small parts 

inventory that would speed common repairs. 

the inventory included filters and other items 

that are needed frequently on a large-scale 

heavy construction project. the on-site storage 

capability augments the three-timesweekly 

scheduled parts and service runs 

that Finning operates through the okanagan 

Valley. regular service runs, coupled with the 

on-site storage, allow more inventory as the 

customer requires it and increases uptime. 


COMPANY PROFILE: Three Nations Ventures 

TOP JOBS: Prior to being elected chief of the 

Salteau First Nation, Harley Davis was a proud 

full-time employee of Three Nations Ventures 


Three Times 

a First Nations joint venture wows a 

B.c. logging industry heavyweight, 

sending critics running for cover 

STory by ROBIN BRuNET 

phoTography by DIGITAL B PHOTOGRAPHICS 

FIVE FROM 3NV: Three Nations Ventures President Darrell Garbitt 

(left) with four 3NV team leaders. From left to right: Mike Koosis, 

Warren Garbitt, Art Walker and David Gentry. They proudly hold the 

250,000 no time loss award 

I 

t’s June, three days before Three 

Nations Ventures will receive 

plaques from tembec, 

a leader 

in integrated forest products, and 

Finning (canada) commemorating 250,000 

consecutive person hours worked at the tem 

- 

bec Log Yard in chetwynd, British columbia, 

with no time lost to on-the-job incidents. 

tembec 

mill manager Wayne 

clement is enjoying 

the moment. “I knew from the beginning 

that three 

Nations would be a success,” 

he says. “But frankly, I didn’t think they would 

achieve so much, so quickly.” 

Operating consistently in a demanding 

work environment with no major mishap is 

indeed remarkable. But it’s just one facet of 

the amazing progress made by a small group 

of people who started with nothing five years 

ago, and today preside over six contracts inte- 

gral 

to the tembec 

Pulp Mill, which produces 

500 air-dried metric tonnes of pulp daily. add 

to this the fact that 

three Nations Ventures 

(more commonly known as 3NV) is comprised 

mainly of saulteau, West Moberly and 

Blueberry 

river 

First Nations band members, 

and you have a genuine made-in-B.c. success 

story that demonstrates the business capabilities 

of the community as a whole. 

tom 

aird, a saulteau member who is 

3NV’s accountant and human resources specialist, 

echoes the sentiments of his colleagues 

when he says: “I’m very proud of 3NV. It adheres 

to old-fashioned values, and it succeeds 

because of the mutual respect we have for each 

other and for tembec 

personnel. there 

are no 

prejudices here, just a collective desire to be 

the best possible contractor.” 

“to 

repeat the quote of a band chief prior 

to 3NV being formed,” Lyle Mortenson says, 

“‘all we wanted was a hand up, not a hand 

out.’” Mortenson is a non-native forestry consultant 

for 3NV with lifelong experience as a 

liaison between industry and First Nations. 

“today, 

our debt-to-equity ratio is one to five, 

we always show a profit at year end. and 

in addition 

to our incident-free status, we’ve won 

tembec 

several awards [from cN rail] 

for the 

safe handling of smelt ash.” 

at 

any given time of the day, the tembec 

log yard is a hive of activity, with as many as 

100 trucks arriving daily on the property. three 

Nations Ventures employs 33 people (twothirds 

of whom are First Nations members) to 

perform everything from scaling and unloading 

to shunting and mill maintenance. every 

year, the yard processes 450,000 cubic metres 

of wood. cat 924 wheel loaders load smelt 

into rail cars, while 

325MHs stack logs in tall, 

neat piles. the 

feeding of the mill, which employs 

160 people, is non-stop, and the yard 

work far surpasses its predecessor, run by Louisiana-Pacific, 

in terms of productivity. 

the 

venture’s success has roots not just in 

the people of the region, but also in tembec’s 

confidence in them. residents 

of the area who 

are involved in the project credit tembec 

for 

giving 3NV the “hand up” it was seeking. “to 

call tembec 

a model of a modern business 

would be an understatement,” says aird. “In 

fact, I’ve never come across another compa- 

ny 

like it, not just because it fosters First Nations 

business involvement, but because it 

genuinely treats us as equals.” 

tembec’s 

presence in 

chetwynd dates back 

to 2002, when delegates from Quebec arrived 

to finalize purchase of the old Louisiana-Pacific 

pulp mill and re-open the facility, which had 

been closed for two years. tembec 

arrived with 

a long history of working with First Nations 

across 

canada, most notably in its sawmills in 

northern Ontario and New Brunswick. so the 

regional bands were excited by the prospect 

of the Quebec-based forestry giant transforming 

the Louisiana-Pacific mill, which was an 


COMPANY PROFILE: Three Nations Ventures 

oriented strand board specialist, into a mill. 

“Here we were setting up a pulp mill,” says 

Tembec mill manager Wayne Clement. “And 

we were committed to partnering with any 

bands if an opportunity for outside operations 

arose that was integral to our main facility.” 

That opportunity arose almost immediately 

when Tembec decided to focus exclusively 

on pulp mill management and contract 

out auxiliary operations, such as the log yard. 

“There are seven bands in the Chetwynd region 

and we met with all of them,” recalls 

Clement. “Four had no 

interest in partnering with 

us, but the Saulteau, West 

Moberley and Blueberry 

River bands were keen on 

the idea. They became 3NV, 

I liaised with their business 

leaders, and we hammered 

out a deal whereby they 

agreed to perform to our high standards and 

we gave them the scaling contract.” 

“Even at this early stage, I was impressed 

by everyone’s determination to prove themselves, 

and I figured the scaling operations 

would be in good hands,” Clement adds. 

“I didn’t think anything beyond that. 

I assumed this would be enough work for any 

one group to handle.” 

From a regional perspective, there was 

considerable skepticism as to the ability of 

this small group (at that time, there were only 

four 3NV yard people) to fulfill their contract. 

Mortenson recalls the negative attitude some 

people held. “Many locals thought Clement 

was crazy to give Three Nations the scaling 

contract,” he recalls. Mortensen heard 

the usual ugly bigotry and stereotypes. “It’s to 

Clement’s considerable credit that he ignored 

the detractors,” Mortensen says. It took less 

than a year for the critics to eat their words. 

Even though Three Nations had little or 

no experience in the work they were about to 

undertake, they followed the cardinal rule of 

business: hire people who do and learn from 

them. So 3NV hired Mortenson to help hammer 

out its business plan; he subsequently 

became Three Nations’ general manager. 

The joint venture also hired Cyril Brewster, 

Louisiana-Pacific’s previous log yard supervisor, 

and retained other professionals to find 

ways of improving operations. And 3NV rearranged 

the decking to accommodate more 

wood, developed better work schedules, and 

undertook cross-training – teaching some employees 

to perform more than one duty. 

Cross-training continues today and has 

proven to be a major factor in productivity. 

“It significantly benefits Tembec if someone 

can unload and then drive a vehicle without 

blinking an eye,” Brewster says. It’s common 

for 3NV members to be versed in the skills to 

perform as many as four jobs. “It’s great for 

sick leave situations, or at times when certain 

assignments take precedence over others. And 

Many locals thought Clement 

was crazy to give Three Nations 

the scaling contract. It took less 

than a year for the critics 

to eat their words. 

it gives 3NV members the ability to apply for 

a variety of jobs if they choose to move on 

from Tembec.” 

Critics also suspected that it would be 

tough to train a group of 

log-yard newbies. “It’s not 

difficult at all,” Brewster 

replies. “It’s never difficult 

when you have folks who 

are eager to learn and deliver 

the goods.” 

From the outset, 3NV 

became adept at maintaining 

strict on-site safety 

standards. Brewster gives 

an example of the culture 

of safety that dictates the 

behaviour of his crew. “In 

many work environments, 

the norm is to have safety 

meetings monthly, but we 

have them weekly. Our 

motto is, if you think it’s 

unsafe or if you’re even slightly unsure of 

something, then don’t act. Call attention to 

your concerns.” 

It quickly became obvious to Clement 

that 3NV could run operations from scales 

to decks, so he was more than receptive when 

the organization expressed an interest in picking 

up other contracts. “We gave them the 

contract to load smelt onto rail cars, and they 

also picked up shunting, de-activation and 

TOWN COUNCIL: Councilor Clarence Willson and Betty Brown 

with Chief Roland Willson, of West Moberly First Nation, holding 

a copy of their safety award 

other contracts. In short, the business venture 

of 3NV became a sustainable business in its 

own right.” 

Three Nations Ventures decided early on to 

use Finning as its exclusive equipment dealer, 

a decision made partly because the equipment 

previously used by Louisiana-Pacific 

could only deck logs up to 24 feet compared 

to Caterpillar’s 325MHs, which could deck 

up to 30 feet, increasing log yard capacity by 


20 percent. “These logs are only eight feet 

wide, but not once have we had a deck fall,” 

Mortenson says. “We inherited some pieces 

of L-P equipment, but everything has been replaced 

by Cat. We prefer the way the machines 

run and they have been an integral part of our 

efficiency.” 

Finning’s Fort St. John forestry customer account 

manager Damien Bennett ranks Three 

Nations Ventures as “one of our best customers. 

They have their own mechanics for general 

repairs and maintenance but rely on us for the 

more complicated work and are very proactive 

in preventive maintenance. In fact, I would say 

they are meticulous. Plus, they’re good communicators, 

which is essential in any dealercustomer 

relationship.” 

Typical of a good communicator is office 

PASS THE SAULTEAU: Saulteau First Nations 

band member Tom Aird, barbecuing for the 

crew, jokes with Warren Garbitt (in the hard 

hat) and company president, Darrell Garbitt 

(left). West Moberly First Nations elder Max 

Desjarlais is looking things over 

manager and Saulteau member Niki Courtorielle, 

a four-year veteran of 3NV, who never 

seems phased by her hectic work environment, 

no matter how busy things get. “Everyone 

encourages each other around here,” 

she says. “And consequently I look forward to 

coming to work every morning, no matter the 

problems we might face.” 

Any group has its whiz kid, and at 3NV 

that person would be Tom Aird, whose computer 

skills frequently amaze Brewster. “Tom 

has set up computer systems for the oil and 

gas industry and government, and he does 

everything at 3NV from handling human resources 

to accounting,” Brewster says. “He’s 

also one of these guys who, if you complain 

to about some sort of computer problem, 

takes a look at what’s wrong and says something 

like `It‘s not a big deal,’ then fixes it in a 

flash,” Brewster adds. 

Aird, who also owns his own logging company 

in Fort St. John and is a father of five, 

prefers to deflect such praise towards his colleagues. 

“Binding us together is a strong sense 

of community,” he says. “We support community 

events, we’re very active in local sports and 

charities, and we nurture a sense of looking 

out for one another. Beyond our commitment 

to Tembec and beyond advancing First Nations 

causes, we’re investing in our children’s 

welfare. This is all about opening the door of 

opportunity for them.” 

As 3NV celebrates its fifth year of success, its 

members weigh in about how influential the 

business may be in the grand scheme of things. 

“On a regional scale, at least, the word is out 

that this is a great breakthrough,” says Brewster. 

Mortenson agrees, even though he concedes 

that cultural prejudice is still alive and 

well in some sectors. “But change is slowly 

coming,” he says, “just as society’s attitude 

towards women slowly evolved for the better. 

Until the day comes when everyone is 

treated equal, we’ll just keep working hard 

and breaking records.” 

To which Clement replies, “3NV is a real 

asset to Tembec. They’ve done everyone 

proud.” 


EQUIPMENT PROFILE: Mixcor Aggregates Inc. 


a little tLc today could help put 

the sparkle back in your scraper 

and avoid a world of pain 

Story by KaThERINE FawcETT 

photogrAphy by KELLy REdINGER 

MIX IT UP: Terry Mix, left, and Robert Knoll 

check out Mixcor’s 980G before they get the 

day’s work underway 

E 

veryone at work knows that if you drive Robert 

knoll’s 980G loader, or his new 980H, you’d better 

use the boot-cleaning brush mounted to the steps of the 

ladder before you get in. and don’t forget to sweep it out 

when you’re done. You could almost eat off the floor of his 

machines. “Not that I’d want to,” jokes the veteran operator. 

“But you could.” 

Meticulous about the care and maintenance of all the equipment 

he uses, the cat 980G has been knoll’s baby since the winter 

of 1996. “Baby” recently celebrated 25,000 hours of use, loading 

pit run and crushed gravel into trucks. that’s almost three full years 

worth of hours – a mighty feat, even for a cat. 

knoll has been a loader-operator with Leduc-based Mixcor aggregates 

Inc., a second-generation aggregate sand and gravel company, 

for 17 years. Mixcor supplies materials for roads and commercial developments 

in edmonton and throughout central alberta. the family-run 

company recently wrapped up a large project that involved 

providing half a million tons of gravel for the expansion of the edmonton 

International airport. 

Mixcor president terry Mix says that guys like knoll – conscientious 

and detail-oriented – allow the company to get the most out of 

its machines and finish its jobs on time and without incident. 

“He’s very observant,” says Mix. “He’ll notice if you touch a tire. 

robert has the reputation of being the fussiest, keeping the cleanest 

loader and accurately loading the most material in a day.” 



A LONG LOOK: Part of preventive maintenance 

involves knowing a machine and inspecting it 

carefully, like operator Kevin Unger is doing here 

The daily demand on Knoll and his machines 

is gruelling. “It’s not just working eight 

hours a day in some cushy job loading wash 

rock,” says Mix. “He’s loading sand and gravel 

from pit run. Vehicles are lined up every day. 

Ten to 12-hour shifts, loading up to 10,000 

tons per day of gravel into trucks.” 

Mix admits he’s pleasantly surprised at 

how reliable and productive the older machine 

has been. “The paint is a little faded, but 

other than that it’s in mint condition.” 

Finning representative Len Bushell 

recently sold Mixcor the 980H. When he 

saw the G with 25,000 hours, he too was surprised. 

“I went ‘What You’ve got to be kidding 

me.’ It looked as good as the brand new 

one. It just goes to show what you can do with 

a good reliable machine, good preventive 

maintenance and a good operator.” 

Preventive maintenance is something 

Knoll swears by. It starts with the daily walkaround. 

“I throw my lunch kit in the cab and do 

the walk-around,” says Knoll. “Every morning. 

Same thing at night,” says Knoll. “I’m 

picky. I’ve mellowed out a bit now, but you’ve 

got to be on top of things.” 

He checks for leaks, checks wheel nuts 

by running his hand around them, checks 

bucket pins and makes sure the windshield 

is clean. He says that even making sure the 

mirrors are adjusted right is part of preventive 

maintenance. It also means being diligent 

with the 200-hour and 500-hour servicing. 

Some of this work is done in-house, some requires 

Finning-certified technicians, but all is 

carefully recorded. 

“We’ve probably touched every major 

component in that machine but we’ve never 

had a major component cause any downtime. 

It’s always been a planned replacement 

or rebuild, from hydraulics to engine,” says 

Mix proudly. 

Knoll is also careful about who he lets operate 

his baby. “I don’t put no greenhorns in 

it,” he says. “They’re too rammy. There’s a lot 

of things that can go wrong.” 

At 49 years old, he knows that good habits 

and skills can take years to develop. “You’ve 

gotta learn from the people who’ve been 

doing it for a long time.” 

Keys for the newly purchased 980H were 

ceremoniously handed over to Knoll last 


CARE, PART TWO: Robert Knoll (left) and 

Terry Mix are putting the same care given to the 

980G into their latest acquisition – the 980H 

winter. Compared to the old machine, Knoll 

says, “It’s a little quieter, burns a little less fuel, 

tweaked a bit.” So far, he has put the same 

care into the operations and preventive maintenance 

of the newer machine as he did the 

old model. 

Blaine Haukedal, preventive maintenance 

manager for Finning (Canada) loves Mixcor’s 

story. He’s inspired by it because it shows that 

with a knowledgeable operator and conscientious 

servicing, companies might extend 

the expected lifespans of machines by two, 

even three times. 

The PM department helps Finning clients 

reach these long machine lifetimes. It helps 

them reduce or eliminate unscheduled downtime. 

Offering a PM “Do It For Me” contract is 

one way. “It’s how we streamline the process,” 

says Haukedal. “We make it easier and costeffective.” 

Making sure preventive maintenance 

and servicing are performed on 

schedule can save the client money on preventable 

repairs and prevent loss of income if the 

machine is down. 

“It’s more than just changing the oil in 

your car,” he explains. “These machines are 

people’s livelihoods. It’s got to be proactive, 

finding potential problems before they cause 

breakdowns.” 

Today there are more than 850 machines 

in Western Canada under the PM contract. 

In 2007, Finning delivered more than 2,600 

services to these machines. To provide this 

kind of service, Finning relies on 18 new, custom-built, 

state-of-the-art PM trucks, with an 

additional six to 10 to be added to the fleet by 

the end of 2008. Eight PM staff deal with everything 

from pricing a PM contract, enrolling 

the client, managing maintenance schedules 

and files, to monitoring the service delivery. 

Haukedal equates the preventive maintenance 

program with health care. Have regular 

checkups, follow a proper diet and exercise 

from an early age and catch or prevent problems 

before they become major health issues. 

Dan Morgan is maintenance general manager 

for Calgary-based Caliber Systems Inc. 

The busy construction company splits its time 

between road construction and underground 

water and sewer work. Morgan ensures the 

100-plus pieces of equipment are in top 

shape, ready for each job. Thirty of these machines 

are under Finning’s PM contract. 

Morgan’s biggest concern is ensuring 

Caliber’s earth-moving machines are always 

ready. “The D10s and scrapers – I like to have 

Finning’s certified people looking at them. 



LOOKING GOOD: Kevin Unger stands with the 

“aging gracefully” 980G 

They’re high-maintenance pieces of equipment. 

It’s expensive to have them down.” 

With 19 heavy equipment mechanics, 

Caliber is able to undertake 

running repairs and regular 

maintenance on its own. “But 

there’s times we need extra 

help,” says Morgan. “Especially 

with the computer these days.” 

Morgan says his Finning 

reps Garett Dick and Jim Beck 

are assets. Morgan appreciates the way Dick 

and Beck co-ordinate repair and service calls 

within Caliber’s schedule. “They’re very willing 

to work with us. There’s times when there’s 

deadlines. They’ll set up a servicing time that 

works best for us, sometimes after hours or on 

weekends if it’s what we need.” 

A new approach that Finning recently 

launched is the “Work With Me” partnership. 

WWM offers less support than the full “Do It 

For Me” PM contract, but more support than 

the DIY approach. Finning’s Haukedal says it’s 

a balanced partnership that engages Finning 

in higher-level PM services while keeping the 

client involved in less critical or technically 

challenging activities. As well, the warranty is 

still in effect if there’s a complete, documented 

service history. 

“It’s about empowering the customer,” 

explains Haukedal. “If they can do the basic 

things, it’s win-win. They save a little bit by 

Three ingredients to long-lasting 

machines that hold their value: 

skilled operators, solid vehicles 

and preventive maintenance. 

performing lower level services on their own, 

but they still get us in on the more complex 

work.” He admits that this new program goes 

against the grain of what Finning is used to. 

“We’re used to picking up the phone and saying 

‘we’ll take care of you.’ But there’s been explosive 

growth and we want to offer a choice. 

We’ll do it all if the client wants – that won’t 

change. But this is another alternative.” 

Skilled operators. Solid vehicles. Preventive 

maintenance. three ingredients to long-lasting 

machines that hold their value. Whether 

you’re happy to take the DIY route like Robert 

Knoll, someone who wants the peace of mind 

of a full PM service contract or you’re looking 

for a WWM compromise between the two, 

these are three ingredients that can add up to 

long machine life and big profits. 

A little care goes 

a long way 

• How can we make routine service 

faster, safer and cleaner 

• how can we eliminate dry starts and 

reduce engine wear to ensure our 

machines last as long as possible 

• how can we put the fun back into 

oil changes 

A new system called QuickEvac TM 

answers all these questions. Mounted 

on the engine, QuickEvac TM combines 

a dedicated onboard pump with quick 

couplers to allow efficient oil changes 

and pre-lubrication protection with every 

start. Blaine Haukedal, Finning’s preventive 

maintenance manager, highly recommends 

the system. “I don’t know if I’d call 

it fun,” he says, “but it is a really exciting 

new technology. It just makes field techs’ 

lives easier.” 

With the new system, any service technician 

can perform an oil/filter change in 

less than 20 minutes. The technology lets 

the technician purge the old filters, evacuate 

the engine oil and refill the engine all 

from a single service point, then pumps it 

directly into final waste containers or lube 

trucks. A complete 250- or 500-hour service 

including greasing, SOS sampling and 

inspection can be completed in less than 

an hour. And the system automatically fills 

remote-mount filters and all oil passages 

every time the engine starts. 

The single service point means there 

is no risk of injury or environmental contamination 

from spills and no more crawling 

under machines or climbing on top. 

Haukedal says QuickEvac TM is perfect for 

PM’s “Work With Me” clients. “It enables 

them to do quick oil changes more effectively, 

and we can do the big services.” 


SpECIaL REpoRT 

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE 

The opening of Finning’s Centre of Excellence is a major event in the company’s 75-year 

history. Located in Red Deer, the centre comprises more than 200,000 square feet 

of workspace on more than 30 acres of prime land, adjacent to the QEII highway 

linking Edmonton and Calgary. 

Its goal is to streamline Finning’s service operations and position 

the company to better serve its customers into the future. 

That may sound like a tall order, but take a peek inside 

the doors of the company’s flagship new equipment 

preparation and machine overhal shop and find 

out how the company plans to take care of 

the yellow iron it sells. 

www.finning.ca Fall 2008 • tr acks & treads 27



SToRy by JIM VEENBAAS 

phoTogRaphy by DwIght Arthur/photEk 

the addition of the huge new centre 

of excellence means that overhauls 

and assembly are quicker than ever. 

customers get faster turnaround 

and improved quality 

room 

to Work 

28 tr acks & treads • Fall 2008 www.finning.ca



It has one of the world’s largest Cat equipment signs, two 

massive buildings – each bigger than 100,000 square feet – and 

it sits on 31 acres of prime alberta real estate. Finning’s centre 

of excellence dominates the landscape along Highway 2 in 

red 

deer and is helping the company streamline its service operations and 

position itself for the future. 

th 

e massive service centre, already with more than 300 employees, 

will become the company’s flagship new equipment preparation and 

machine overhal shop. 

“th 

is will boost our capabilities to meet the growing demand for 

service from our customers, particularly in the mining, heavy construction 

and power systems industries. the world’s mining markets are 

still booming and a big part of this facility is devoted to meeting the 

demands of those markets,” says Finning president dave Parker. 

“this will not only allow us to provide superior quality in terms 

of new equipment preparation and used equipment overhauls, it will 

also free up time for our branches and let them capitalize on what they 

do best – focusing on local customer needs for product support.” 

th 

e centre of excellence was born from Finning’s $145-million ac- 

quisition of collicutt energy services in November 2007. the spacious 

set of buildings were headquarters for collicutt and can easily handle 

the biggest machines that cat manufacturers – with the exception of 

the 400-tonne 797 mining trucks, more than 100 of which are cur- 

rently in use in the oilpatch in northern 

alberta. 

everything else, even 

793 trucks and 24M graders, sits comfortably in the 75-foot bays that 

are easily accessible through 30-foot bay doors. 

“these are the largest and best equipped buildings in the company 

and they are critical to Finning’s ability to provide superior 

customer service,” says scott Wakefield, general manager of red 

deer equipment services. “Our operations here are set back from the 

front lines so we can develop standard procedures and processes and 

focus on volume-based production, which will help us get even better 

at what we do.” 

Once it’s fully operational in september, the centre of excellence 

will run with a staff of 400 people, including 200 heavy duty mechanics, 

and be capable of doing 40,000 hours of service a month. 

that will shift a massive volume of work from the outlying branches 

to red deer, where work can be done quicker and more efficiently. 

“We’ll save the branches nearly 500,000 hours each year. By 

bringing it all here, we’re going to standardize the way we do business 

and treat it more like a manufacturing function,” Wakefield 

says. He adds that the move will also free up space in the branches 

and increase productivity. “We think we can improve our efficiency 

by a minimum of 20 per cent.” 




“collicutt was very good at lean manufacturing – it had more 

than five years’ experience – and we’ve hired a lot of that competency,” 

Wakefield continues. He says that lean manufacturing, a way of 

optimizing production by removing waste and improving work flow 

through a facility, will help Finning improve its processes and procedures, 

even before the equipment hits the facility. 

Finning will focus on four primary areas of operation at the centre 

of excellence: preparing and assembling new trucks, tractors and 

heavy equipment before they are shipped to customers; refurbishing 

and overhauling used equipment at the end of its first life cycle; repairing 

old models and selling them in new markets; and salvaging equipment 

at the end of its life for used parts sales. 

“We’ve always done machine overhauls. We’ve just done it in a 

number of different locations and every branch did it a bit different,” 

says Wakefield. Now, the expertise is centred in red 

deer, and processes 

will be standardized across the board, making for faster turnaround. 

For customers, that translates to reduced downtime and faster delivery. 

“We free up their time at various Finning branches so they can focus 

more attention on fieldwork and delivering customer service.” 

surprisingly, very few renovations were needed to make the facility 

compatible with the needs of Finning, even though it was a manu- 

facturing plant in its former life. 

a 

few overhead doors were installed, 

as were some signs, and some of the interior space was reconfigured. 

Finning budgeted $5.3 million for renovations, but it was a small price 

to pay, compared to the cost of a new building. “t 

this is a really good fit 

for us. For a building of this size and magnitude, the renovations were 

relatively small,” notes Finning president dave Parker. 

although Finning was happy to get the huge buildings and the prime 

location along one of the busiest highway routes in the nation, the most 

important aspect of the collicutt purchase was the employees. the 

red 




Finning’s Excellent Venture 

On June 6, hundreds of people crowded in front of the massive trucks 

and dozers that line the entranceway to the Centre of Excellence in Red 

Deer. The crowd was there for the grand opening of Finning (Canada)’s 

flagship service centre and to mark a new chapter in the history of 

world’s largest Caterpillar equipment dealer. 

The significance of the event was underscored by the host of dignitaries 

in attendance. Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling was there 

to welcome Finning, as was Caterpillar Canada president Jon Carman. 

Newly appointed Finning president Dave Parker was there, and so was 

Ian Reid, the outgoing Finning president, who is retiring this fall. 

The dignitaries cut the ribbon to officially open the Centre of Excellence, 

but the day clearly belonged to the hundreds of workers watching 

it happen, many of them former Collicutt employees who have 

decided to stay with Finning. 

“We are in the relationship business. We don’t have a lot of customers, 

but we have them for a long time and our employees play an 

essential role in those relationships,” says Reid. “We appreciate the tremendous 

support we have received from the staff in Red Deer. Many 

of them have agreed to take further training and that commitment is a 

critical part of our operations.” 

Reid is widely credited with being the driving force behind the Centre 

of Excellence. He was heavily involved in negotiations to purchase 

Collicutt Energy Services and quickly recognized the benefits of acquiring 

the 200,000 square feet of space in Red Deer and the highly skilled 

employees working there. 

“Ian was quick to realize the potential of this facility and how it could 

fit into our business model. Many of us were involved in the project, but 

Ian made it happen and played a big role in the process,” says Parker. 




deer workers have already become invaluable members of the Finning 

team and give the company an instant pool of highly skilled workers. 

“the transition has been better than we expected. We initially 

thought that only about 50 per cent of the staff would remain with 

us, but that figure is actually closer to 70 per cent. It has been much 

more successful than we anticipated,” says Ian reid, the outgoing 

president of Finning and the man who spearheaded efforts to develop 

the centre of excellence. “I think it’s one of the most exciting 

branches we have in the network right now. It has a good culture and 

some great young people. We’ve moved some people up there from 

our branches and they are very enthusiastic about it.” 

Many of the former collicutt employees are taking their skills 

and experience in different trades and applying them towards a 

ticket in heavy duty mechanics. to ease the transition, Finning is 

bringing in 80 journeymen mechanics to serve as mentors and help 

the new staff learn the trade. 

“We are taking a group of employees who were focused on the 

fabrication of compressor packages – millwrights, welders, pipefitters, 

instrumentation techs – and we are going to support them as 

they complete their apprenticeship to become heavy duty mechanics,” 

says Wakefield. “these employees will be some of our most valuable 

assets moving forward.” 

Finning first identified the need to create a centralized service centre 

about three years ago when it became increasingly apparent that 

a shortage of both space and skilled labour had the potential to limit 

growth. after researching a variety of different options – building its 

own facility would have been too time consuming, expensive and 

risky – the company jumped at the opportunity to tap the experience 

and work space of collicutt. 

“We’ve been challenged to keep up with the workload because of 

the volume of business out there. We looked at many ways to solve 

our capacity problem and when the option came up to get involved 

with collicutt, we immediately recognized the potential,” says Park- 

er. “We thought it was by far the best option and even more so now 

as we ramp up our operations there.” 

the development of the centre of excellence has moved forward 

quickly, considering the challenges associated with buying a new 

company and flipping its operations upside down, from manufacturing 

to heavy equipment repair. despite those challenges, heavy 

equipment work has already generated more than $1 million in revenue. 

all the business performed by the former edmonton equipment 

service teams has now been transferred to red deer and by the 

end of april, about 7,000 hours of work had been completed. that 

figure grew beyond 10,000 hours in June and will double to 20,000 

hours by the end of the year. 

“there is an excellent opportunity to not only expand our used 

parts and used equipment business, but to also cash in on the huge 

machine overhaul and rebuilding business. right now, there’s demand 

for more than $150 million in overhaul work among our mining 

and construction customers,” says Wakefield. “With this facility, 

we will be well positioned to tap into those expanding markets while 

reducing our costs and becoming more efficient.” 


Safety First 

Story by rick overwater 

illustration by CHRIS PYLE 

A safe construction site starts with a hazard and risk 

aSSESSment, and lies in knowing the difference between the two 

Don’t Hazard 

a Guess 

Zac Brown recalls his early years as a safety 

adviser, working for an employer with a 

particularly densely populated work zone. 

Dump trucks continually moved around 

several excavations where a second crew was 

laying pipe below. Overhead, a crane lifted 

and lowered the pipe, with both its boom 

and counterweight swinging into other work 

zones. Amidst all the machinery, men were 

on foot everywhere, sometimes out of machinery 

operators’ sightlines. Brown knew 

that the company needed to increase its emphasis 

on safety. 

“Often in construction zones, you’re 

working pretty close to each other,” says 

Brown, “so we did a hazard assessment to 

manage the risk at the interface between the 

guys hauling waste rock away and the guys 

installing pipe.” Besides installing fencing to 

segregate work areas, the company took an 

extra step and installed a worker, with a high 

visibility vest and a radio, to co-ordinate onsite 

movement. “That happened because 

we sat down and did a hazard assessment,” 

says Brown, now employed as the director 

of Health, Safety and Environmental 

Protection for Ledcor CMI, a specialist in oilpatch 

construction. 

Ted Lane is an occupational health and 

safety officer for Alberta Workplace Health 

and Safety. He points out a compelling reason 

for carrying out a hazard assessment at 

the start of every job. 

“It’s a legal requirement for a start,” he 

states matter-of-factly. “The Occupational 

Health and Safety code requires an employer 

to assess a work site and identify existing and 

potential hazards. They have to prepare a 

report, date it and ensure it’s done at reasonable, 

practical intervals.” He adds that small 

companies are often unaware that this law is 

equally applicable to two carpenters building 

a deck on a vacation property as it is to 

100 workers erecting an office tower. 

There are two parts to a hazard assessment. 

First, identify the hazard. Second, 

identify the risk, and make sure you understand 

the difference between the two. 

A hazard is anything that has the potential 

to cause harm. “It’s a physical thing,” 

Lane explains. “Could it possibly fall on my 

head Could it run me over Could it electrocute 

me” Risk, on the other hand, is the 

actual likelihood of being hurt and it involves 

numerous components. “How badly 

is it going to hurt me” he asks. “Is it going to 

kill me or give me a paper cut How often is it 

likely to kill – several times per shift or twice 

a year What’s the likelihood Is it a certainty 

or very unlikely” 

Answering such questions, Lane continues, 

allows you to assess the combination 

and create a system for implementing controls. 

This could be as complex as providing 

specialized training and protective equipment 

to something as simple as making sure 

a machine is in good working order, ultimately 

yielding a safer workplace. 

He cites the example of a factory in which 

a large machine with whirling blades has the 

potential to kill workers. Meanwhile, outside 

there is a chunk missing from the front 

step of the building entrance. The blades of 

the machine, inside a safety enclosure, 

are operated from the 

outside and the chance of them 

contacting workers is minimal. 

“It may scare you to death but, 

taking the risk into account, you 

don’t really have to do anything 

about it,” he says. “But the chunk 

out of your front step may have 

500 people passing over it every 

day and is much more likely to 

hurt somebody than your nasty 

machine is.” 

Ha zard assessments remain 

a key part of Brown’s role, 

and a Ledcor jobsite generally 

sees more than one kind. 

Initially, there’s a projectlevel 

hazard assessment that 

looks at elements affecting the 

site, such as weather, overhead power lines 

or underground services. On the ground, 

generic assessments apply to any jobsite. 

“Fixing a pothole is fixing a pothole,” Brown 

says. Safety officers carry out assessments at 

the start of every task and whenever the 

project introduces a new element, such as 

a change in the machinery or an influx of 

new workers. 

Regardless of the factors affecting it, 

Brown says, one thing is for sure: Day-today 

safety starts with a hazard assessment. 

“There’s a lot of value in just telling people 

‘Hey, wait! Let’s take five and think about 

what we’re going to do and plan how to do 

it safely.’” 


FIELD TEST 

A Smoother 

Surface 

The Santorelli family knows 

all about paving in the Lower 

Mainland. They’ve added a new 

Cat to help them do it better 

Story by DAvID DICEnzo 

few thousand kilometres was not 

going to keep Nick santorelli from 

making a deal to purchase a muchneeded 

new aP655d caterpillar paver for 

his family’s business. santorelli, the sales 

manager of Burnaby, B.c.-based Grandview 

Blacktop Ltd. was at his home in Vancouver 

when he officially closed the deal with Finning 

rep Marc de Boer, who was attending a 

caterpillar training session in tucson, 

arizona. 

BlackBerrys, it appears, are crucial tools in 

heavy equipment negotiations these days. 

“the 

communication was great, even though 

Iwason holidays and Marcwasintraining,” santorelli 

says of their recent transaction. “thanks 

to the Internet, we e-mailed ourselves to a deal.” 

BLACKToP BEAUTY: Grandview Blacktop recently 

tested a new Cat paver just like th one pictured here 


Of course, that’s not the way 

santorel- 

li’s elders conducted business when they 

started Grandview Blacktop in November 

1969. Phil santorelli (Nick’s father) and 

his brother 

antonio were members of the 

city of Vancouver’s paving crew when they 

approached a few other siblings with the idea 

of branching out on their own. 

eventually, the next generation of 

santorellis would enter the fray, including 

Nick and his cousin John, now the general 

manager of the company. “We’re 

prime examples of child labour,” 

Nick says with a laugh. 

“We used to work every summer 

as kids.” after high school and 

post-secondary school, the second 

generation entered the business. “We were 

strictly a small asphalt paving company that 

did driveways and repair work. that’s how 

we started out,” he says. “In the late 1970s, 

we grew into the commercial market.” 

Grandview Blacktop expanded the scope of 

its work, taking on much bigger projects, such 

as shopping centres and highway paving, in 

addition to acquiring its own asphalt plant. 

as it grew, the company clearly needed 

to add reliable equipment. the santorellis 

owned some 

caterpillar equipment, but 

cat 

pavers were new to them. Nick santorelli decided 

to look at 

cat, and de Boer, who had 

always been in periodic contact with the 

staff, jumped at the chance to show the B.c. 

paving family what a cat paver could do. 

“th 

e strong economy in the Lower Mainland 

drove them to the point where they needed 

a new or next-to-new prime machine – they 

have that much work going on,” de Boer says 

of the paving company, which now employs 

almost 40 people. 

de Boer says that the santorellis really did 

their homework and shopped around. With 

their experience in the business, they knew 

what they needed to get out of a new paver. 

“We wanted to see what was out there, to investigate 

what was new on the market,” says 

santorelli. “the 655d had the weight that we 

were content with (approximately 50,000 

pounds). It had the power. We felt that that 

the machine would be able to complete over 

95% of our work.” 

One feature that helped sell the 

aP655d 

cat to Grandview was the option of a steel 

“The 655D had the weight 

that we were content with. 

It had the power.” 

track. rubber 

tracks had proven to be problematic 

in the past when Grandview was 

involved in tough jobs that required the company 

to do trench paving or work over train 

tracks. “We needed something rugged,” santorelli 

explains. “We were adamant that we 

had to go with steel tracks.” the machine ar- 

rived in July, and on that first day, management 

called in all of the paver operators, the 

mechanics and the superintendent for an 

orientation on the new 

cat. santorelli says it 

was soon ready to go and they tested out the 

aP655d by paving a parking lot. 

“the 

first time out, it did atight 700-tonne 

parking lot in one day,” says santorelli. “the 

boys were overwhelmed but they managed 

the day.” In the next few days, the crew did 

some narrow paving and road widening. 

santorelli’s operators thought the machine 

was great, but they wanted to see it in action 

in a wide-open space, so they put it to the 

test by doing a large overlay in a subdivision. 

It was a hit with santorelli’s operators.“the 

boys now want it to be their everyday paver,” 

says santorelli. 

He explains that a good crew is crucial 

to successful paving, which is sometimes 

a combination of art and science. 

the complex process involves lots of quality 

control as materials have to be per- 

fectly 

blended to spec before the actual 

paving begins. and the machine, he says, 

can only do what the operators allow it to do. 

“You have to have good operators and good 

screed men who understand slopes and elevations 

and high points and low points,” he 

says. “If they understand that, they can 

control the machine.” 

some machines are better than others 

and the Grandview Blacktop crew and 

the new 

aP655d have married well 

so far. santorelli knows this is just the 

beginning for the latest addition to the company’s 

fleet of four operational pavers. the 

cat is their starter, the equivalent of the ace 

of a pitching staff that sets the tone for the 

rest. santorelli expects it will be responsible 

for about 75% of Grandview’s work and, 

ultimately, he would like to see it in the rotation 

for about 10 years, if not longer. 

He admits that in the first few weeks 

the staff used the paver, he gained a much 

better understanding of what all the fuss 

was about when it comes to the cat brand. 

“John had commented to me the other day, 

now he knows why all the big companies 

choose 

cat,” santorelli says. “the support is 

second to none. they’ve 

been talking to John 

on a daily basis just to make sure everything’s 

Ok. It’s not just selling the equipment; it’s the 

support. cat’s made us believers.” 

santorelli says that when it comes time 

to add another machine to the Grandview 

Blacktop fleet, Finning has earned the right 

to get the first phone call – or e-mail, or text 

message, or whatever happens to be the latest 

technology available to make a deal. 


meeting the challenge 

photography by roth and ramberg 

Prevention Is 

the Best Cure 


an oUnce oF PreVention: Peter holub, left, knows the 

benefits of taking care of machines before something goes wrong 

Three things go into the long life of a piece of yellow iron: the 

machine’s reliability, a conscientious operator and good preventive 

maintenance (PM) program. Cat iron is renowned 

for its reliability, and some of Finning’s customers have the 

best operators in the field. The last item on that three-legged 

stool – preventive maintenance – is one Finning is constantly 

improving. 

On the jobsite, good foremen, such as Peter Holub of Lafarge’s 

Spy Hill aggregates pit, lay the groundwork for Finning’s PM programs. 

Holub manages an array of maintenance schedules for 

the machines, and he’s not the only one doing it. “I have a chart 

and I keep track of the maintenance,” Holub says. “And so do the 

Finning guys. My own guys also make regular inspections and 

keep track.” 

Holub oversees a busy pit that includes such equipment as two 

345C excavators and three 980H loaders, just a few of Lafarge’s 

machines that are covered under Finning’s PM program. 

Many Lafarge operators are fastidious about the first steps 

of maintenance. They do a walk-around before and after shifts 

checking for leaks, loose nuts, and even making sure windows 

and mirrors are clean and adjusted properly. An early eye can 

catch potential problems as well as enhance site safety. 

“We’re on a PM schedule that brings the Finning guys out at 

regular times for servicing,” Holub says. The service schedule is 

pretty predictable. The Finning PM service team visits the Spy 

Hill pit to work on machines at their 250-, 500- and 1,000-hour 

marks. Regularly scheduled servicing might take a machine off 

the job for a few hours, but it’s proven to extend the machine’s 

life significantly. “You have to get it done,” Holub says. “We try 

and work things out to get it done.” And a couple hours out for 

preventive maintenance beats having a machine down for major 

repairs. 


COMPANY PROFILE: MW Sharke 

M.W. SHARKE ATTACK: Rob Sunderman (top), Wade Elliot 

(left) and Kelvin Arndt have purchased a Cat TK 741 buncher, 

545 and 535 skidders, a 320 processor and a 320 excavator 


A Sharke Tale 

A central B.C. company proves that 

there’s more to the logging industry 

than the numbers would suggest 

Story by Shannon sutherland 

photography by RICK tolhurst 

Kelvin Arndt and Wade Elliot are 

sitting in the office of the Safety 

Mart, a grocery store they own, 

talking, as usual, about business. 

Banter flows between these men about as easily 

as the water from the Murtle River over the 

spectacular, 137-metre high Helmcken Falls 

in the provincial park just a few kilometres 

down the road. 

They are taking a rare break from tending 

to business to talk about their longevity, losses 

and their love of logging, a mainstay in their 

town of Clearwater, B.C. Meanwhile, Safety 

Mart staffers continue to serve the customers 

that drift in and out as the busy summer tourist 

season approaches. 

The men, along with a third partner, Rob 

Sunderman, have owned the independent 

grocery store, which employs more than 50 

people at its peak, for several years, and it has 

served town residents as neatly as it has served 

its owners’ goals in that time. 

Elliot, a lifetime resident of the scenic forestry 

town, has an extensive history in the logging 

industry. A few years back he opted for a 

change when he and his partners decided to 

give the grocery business a go. 

“We were doing pretty good with the grocery 

store, but there were always rumours of 

other grocery stores coming to town,” Elliot 

says. Seeing the need to spread their investment 

dollars around, they decided to tap their 

own expertise. “We got back into logging,” he 

says. “It never hurts to diversify.” 

And so MW Sharke came to be. 

MW Sharke has been engaged in stumpto-truck 

logging as a contractor for Vancouverbased 

Canfor Corp. since 1997. Its expertise 

covers almost every aspect of the industry. 

MW Sharke became the name of the company 

after the four original owners (one has 

since left) scrambled the initials from their 

names to form an anagram. The contracting 

company employs as many as 12 people at 

its peak and relies on between nine and 10 

pieces of heavy equipment throughout the 

year to support its operations, which now 

includes building roads. 

The men behind MW Sharke have purchased 

Caterpillar equipment for the company’s 

five most recent machine deals. They own 

a Cat buncher, skidder and processor. For log 

skidding applications, Cat builds a full line of 

both track and wheel skidders, and Caterpillar 

feller bunchers provide rugged, reliable 

harvesting operations with easy maintenance 

and low operating costs. Finning is the world’s 

largest dealer of Cat equipment. 

“When we decided it was time to purchase 

some equipment, we did a lot of shopping 

around,” Elliot says. “And after a lot of 

research, we decided on Cat. We have been 

happy with the equipment, but even more 

importantly, we have been happy with the 

service. If we have a problem they’re right 

there to try and fix it with a solution or even 

an upgrade.” The central B.C. company deals 

with Finning customer service representative 

Guido Claudepierre. “Guido is the best salesperson 

I have ever dealt with,” Elliot continues. 

“He’ll do anything to help us, and when 

we have a problem, he tries to help us take 

care of it as quickly as possible.” 

Claudepierre says he almost instantly 

shared a rapport with the guys behind MW 

Sharke. 

“MW Sharke has had a very good relationship 

with Finning since first coming on board 


COMPANY PROFILE: MW Sharke 

in 2004,” Claudepierre says. “MW Sharke is 

the largest interior Canfor contractor north of 

Kamloops.” 

Building relationships has long been a 

priority for Finning, and it’s also a skill that 

the owners of MW Sharke have in 

spades. The men’s commitment to 

the business and to their community 

is evident, but they speak plainly 

about the dire situation the forestry 

industry now finds itself in. For instance, 

Canfor recently announced 

that falling demand and poor prices for softwood 

lumber were forcing the company to 

reduce production. As a result, shifts were cut 

at a number of plants and lumber production 

was reduced by about 600 million board feet. 

“We’re sort of working for nothing right 

now – working to pay the bills, but we’re hoping 

for better times. And we have the grocery 

business to get us through it,” says Elliot. 

Finning leaders know that the thousands 

of Canadians who rely on the forestry industry 

are indeed going through some trials right 

now, and that’s why Finning has been trying 

to find new ways to show its support for this 

very important contributor to the Canadian 

economy. 

Canada’s forests support a multibilliondollar 

industry that directly or indirectly 

employs close to 900,000 people across the 

country. Industry employees range from those 

who live in communities such as Clearwater, 

where forestry is the only major source of 

employment, to those who rely on the urban 

construction industry for employment. 

In 2008, its 75th anniversary year, Finning 

(Canada) made a $10,000 donation to Kelowna’s 

Silver Lake Forest Education Society 

Building relationships has long 

been a priority for Finning, and 

it’s also a skill that the owners 

of MW Sharke have in spades. 

(SLFES) to support the society’s revitalization 

efforts. 

The SLFES is a non-profit society offering 

year-round, hands-on, outdoor experience 

for youth, adults and educators. It emphasizes 

sustainable forest management through recreational 

activities and educational programs. 

Given the major challenges currently facing 

Canadian forestry, Finning chose to be a direct 

industry sponsor this year. The guys at MW 

Sharke are hoping for better times too, and 

they think that supporting their community 

is one way to contribute, to make a difference 

where they live and work. 

Clearwater, a town of about 5,000 is touted 

as the gateway to the famed 515,000-hectare 

Wells Gray Provincial Park. The park protects 

a gorgeous valley that water has cut from volcanic 

rock. It encompasses five major lakes 

and more than 200 waterfalls, including some 

of the most impressive in the country. These 

men clearly love their town, and they recently 

STOREFRONT: (L-R) Partners Sunderman, 

Elliot and Arndt in front of the store that helps 

them through slow times 

had a chance to show it by putting some of 

their newly acquired Cat equipment to good 

use for the community. 

A new, integrated health-care centre has 

been approved for Clearwater to replace the 

existing, aging hospital. The new facility will 

provide emergency care and comprise eight 

multi-purpose acute inpatient beds and 12 

multi-level care beds. Needless to say, this facility 

will improve area residents’ access to care 

and improve their quality of life. 

A site was chosen recently, but then 

the project seemed deadlocked. The land 

needed to be cleared to prepare for construction, 

and there seemed to be no plan or 

people in place to do it. “We just told them 

we’d use our equipment and go in and clear 

it for free, and they could hardly believe it,” 

says Elliot. “Not only did we do it for free, but 

we made them about $32,000 from the sale 

of the timber we took out.” More than half a 

dozen MW Sharke employees volunteered to 

help out with the week-long project. 

It’s projects such as this that are keeping 

Elliot and Arndt hopeful and positive. 

“We’re not ready to give up on 

logging yet,” says Elliot. “We believe times 

will turn around and we’ll be profitable 

once again. Sometimes you have to stick 

things out.” 

Canada’s forest industry: 

• Earns $80 billion a year and represents 

2% of the country’s GDP 

• Employs 900,000 Canadians directly 

and indirectly 

• Exports more than $40 billion worth 

of material globally 

• Sustains more than 320 communities 

from coast to coast 

• Makes for an average annual wage 

of $46,300 (2005) 

• Earns governments 17 cents on the 

dollar 

• Invests more than $4 billion annually 

on capital improvements 

• Innovates constantly, in such diverse 

areas as bioenergy, nanotechnology, 

biochemicals, building products, 

and the environment 

Source: The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and Finning (Canada) 



Count On Us 

Log Day Afternoon 

Headquartered at 736 Granville Street in Vancouver, 

the Thomsen & Clark Timber Company was an important 

figure in the British Columbia logging industry in the 1930s. 

Here’s a shot of the company in action, but that’s about as 

much as we know. We trust our readers will have more 

information. Please send your helpful and descriptive 

comments about this image to jhoward@finning.ca. 

Thanks for your assistance. 


1-888-finning | finning.ca 

75 years of Dedicated Support to 

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We know your 

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We’ve got you covered 

Valid: 

August 1 - September 30, 2008 

Extended Life Coolant 

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Universal Coolant 

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Offer valid while supplies last. 

Not valid with any other discounts. 

Pick - up on or before September 30, 2008 

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