Caterpillar - Finning Canada

GROUNDBREAKERMACHINIST IAN MACKAYPrince George GrowsBusiness isbooming likenever beforein PrinceGeorge andthe new shopgives themthe capabilityof workingon some ofthe largestcylindersmade byCaterpillarBritish Columbia’s surging economy is fuellinggrowth at the Finning hydraulic cylinder shop inPrince George. Darcy Frankforth and his staffhave recently added more than 5,000 square feetof shop space by moving into a vacated buildingon their existing property.“We looked at our old facility and the growthin the economy in our area and decided we neededto expand. It was one of those situations wherewe either had to grow or seriously look at otheroptions,” says Frankforth. “Everything pointedto the opportunities out there and it’s succeededbeyond our expectations.”Making the move was a natural choice forthe Prince George operation. There was a 7,000square-foot fabrication shop sitting on theirproperty that wasn’t being used. They renovatedthe building, brought in new equipment and hadthe new digs up and running in short order. Theyeven put the old building to use, converting itinto a clean room for engine assembly.“We’ve been getting busier and busier andwe’ve increased our staff, but what we found wasthat moving materials around was slowing usdown. The big thing is that we now have morework stations and we’re putting in new cranes,which allows us to increase efficiency, producemore work in less time and reduce the chance ofdamaging materials,” says Frankforth.To reduce costs, Frankforth was able to salvagesome equipment from the Pacific FluidPower shop that closed down in Edmonton.Cranes, jibs, lathes, polishers, honing benchesand other equipment were all trucked in fromEdmonton. “It really worked nicely because thestuff may have gone to auction and we might nothave recovered the full value. This was a great opportunityfor us to grow without the high costs,”says Frankforth.The expansion project has been a real team effort.The company’s eight employees played a keyrole in designing the new facility. They all volunteeredtime to help with some improvements.“We sat down, before we even made the decisionto grow the business, and talked to ouremployees and explained what we wanted todo and where we needed to go. We wanted tomake sure they were engaged and involved,” saysFrankforth.“They’ve been the real success story. They designedwhere the equipment should be placed,”he adds. “Before anything happened, they wereover there looking at it and getting their ideasand thoughts. They know the business and theyknow what’s needed. Their ideas are well foundedand well thought out.“Our staff came in one weekend with all theirfamilies and friends, everyone donated their timeand we painted the walls,” Frankforth says. “Theywanted the place to look professional because wewere really going after a cylinder customer. Wespent the whole weekend painting and preppingthe building, the client came a few weeks laterand we got their business.”Business is booming like never before inPrince George and the new shop gives them thecapability of working on some of the largest cylindersmade by Caterpillar. In fact, Frankforthset a target to double cylinder work in 2005 andso far they have exceeded even those lofty goals.“We’re doing 994 cylinders and they’re comingall the way down from the Northwest Territories.We get all the cylinders for BHP Mines in theNorthwest Territories, we’re hiring more employeesand adding an afternoon shift. We’ll be ableto offer service from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.”8 TRACKS & TREADS • Summer 2005 www.finning.ca