Kevin Hursh Awards & Honours - Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce

LPC CONSULTING
Partnerships that work...
Building Success in Saskatchewan’s Mining Supply Chain
“We’re bidding on projects that
we wouldn’t have looked at before,”
says Tom Foster of Industrial Machine
and Manufacturing in Saskatoon.
Speaking of his company’s developing
relationship with Wabi Iron & Steel
Corp., a foundry and equipment
manufacturer from New Liskeard,
ON, Foster says “Together we’re able to
tackle projects that neither of us could
do on our own. We’re getting into new
markets; we’re bidding in the States,
we’re exploring joint opportunities in
South America, and we’re going after
projects together in Saskatchewan that
were previously beyond our reach.”
This is typical of the business
relationships that Lester Cey is working
to develop in the Saskatchewan mining
community. Lester’s company, LPC
Consulting, represents a consortium
of twenty-two Northern Ontario
firms, all of whom are
experienced suppliers
to the mining and
www.LPCconsulting.ca
heavy construction industries. “These
companies have years of experience,
often with unique areas of expertise
that make them ideal partners for local
firms,” says Cey. “When we bring them
together, and both sides get talking, they
start to see all kinds of opportunities
together that weren’t even on the radar
before.”
Some of those opportunities
are coming from Saskatchewan’s
aboriginal communities. Bruce Simms,
of Mamawe Northwest
Resource Partnership,
is excited about a new
strategic partnership
they’re forming with
two of the consortium
companies, Wabi Iron
& Steel, and TESC
Contracting Company.
TESC is a Sudbury,
ON mining contractor
with an established
10,000 sq. ft. facility
in Saskatoon.
“These companies
have experience in the mining sector,
and they’re very receptive to transferring
skills to our communities,” says Simms.
“We give them a local presence and a
local workforce in the North. We can
access training and skills development
programs together, we can build the
aboriginal workforce, and we can
increase aboriginal participation in
Northern Saskatchewan’s mining
projects.”
By connecting the consortium
members to local companies, and
weaving them into the local business
fabric, LPC Consulting helps both sides
succeed. When TESC needed some
local help for their work on the BHP
“The opportunities in
Saskatchewan’s resource
sectors are huge. And
everywhere I hear the same
thing - we need people, we
need resources. I think we
need more partnerships.”
“Linking Suppliers to Markets”
Billiton Freeze Plant project at Jansen,
SK, Lester connected them to Rob
Simpson, of New Concept Industries.
According to Simpson, “We wouldn’t
have known about this opportunity if
Lester hadn’t gotten us together. We
see great potential to work with TESC
as our skills are a good fit for what they
need locally.” New Concept is a metal
fabrication, welding and equipment
manufacturer based in Lanigan, SK.
From Cey’s point of view, “this
partnership model
really seems to be
working. We’re
building local
business, building new
joint opportunities,
and we’re connecting
S a s k a t c h e w a n
companies to new
markets as well. These
are literally win-win
relationships.”
The consortium of
twenty-two companies
that Lester represents
is an initiative of ONEDC (Ontario North
Economic Development Corporation).
Lester’s company LPC Consulting is the
Saskatchewan in-market consultant for
the ONEDC consortium.
Lester Cey
LPC Consulting
For more information on the
twenty-two companies that Lester
represents, visit:
www.LPCConsulting.ca
876B 60th St. E
Saskatoon, SK, S7K 8G8
http://www.LPCConsulting.ca
P: (306) 384-6042
C: (306) 220-7783
E: Lester.Cey@LPCConsulting.ca
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14 April 2011 BUSINESS View­