Tracks and Treads - Finning Canada

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
tracks & treads • Fall 2008 www.finning.ca