Construction firm PCL has opened a Sudbury office.
The Edmonton, AB-based firm announced on Feb. 13 it had moved into a space in the city's east end and is eager to get started on local projects.
"We see a lot of potential in the North and we've done a lot of projects here. We like to support the communities we operate in," said Paul Franklin, PCL’s newly appointed area manager, at the launch party at Dynamic Earth.
With a combination of coming projects and potential for more, he said the corporation thought it is a good time to have a permanent office in the city.
The office will serve as a hub for Northern Ontario. The company had been studying the possibility for a regional office for about two years, and the plan was finalized last summer.
The firm is ready to start work on projects now, Franklin said. While PCL is known for multi-million-dollar projects, he said they handle projects with values ranging from $10,000 to $1 billion. The majority of their projects range from the $200,000 to $2-million range.
PCL is a group of independent construction companies that carries out work across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and in Australia, serving a number of sectors, including commercial, institutional, residential, industrial, and civil construction.
PCL has served as general contractor for a number of Northern Ontario projects in the past, including the Sudbury Regional Hospital, the White River hydroelectric project, the CUPE office renovation in Kenora, and the North Bay Regional Health Centre.
“I’m genuinely excited to be leading PCL’s local efforts here in Sudbury and throughout Northern Ontario,” Franklin said in a release.
“Those of us living here know this region’s economic development opportunities can coalesce into a bright future for area businesses and residents alike. I look forward to helping Sudburians build Sudbury and to replicating this approach throughout the region for the benefit of surrounding communities.”
The company said the Sudbury office would initially be staffed with a “modest contingent of seasoned PCL personnel and industry veterans new to the company.”
Franklin, who is from Sudbury, said the company hired a local project manager, brought a former city resident back as a superintendent, and transferred two people from Winnipeg.
The company also subcontracts to local trades.
"We view our local trades as our partners, so we utilize them as much as possible," Franklin said.
Currently, there are no projects in Sudbury. There are two in Thunder Bay for the Ministry of Transportation, a bridge project north of Timmins for Ontario Northland, and a project for Great West Life in Sault Ste. Marie.
"We would love to say we have an active job in Sudbury and I'm sure it's only a matter of time," Franklin said.
PCL is the largest contracting organization in Canada, generating an annual construction volume of $8 billion.
