Cementation

Source: Energy Digital

Date :2/18/2008 3:34:09 AM

Roy Slack, President of Cementation, is proud of his company’s track record and the continued success it enjoys. The mining contractor is currently involved in a number of high profile projects

Written by Ian Armitage and Produced by Jason Wright

What can you say about Cementation Canada Inc., a division of Murray and Roberts, that hasn’t already been said by a host of satisfied customers? Not a lot. So let’s start at the beginning. The company is perhaps best known for a focus on safety and for valuing the relationships it builds with its esteemed clients, striving to make those long-term. “We are committed to making every project a success and base our decisions, from day one, on our best for project philosophy,” explains Roy Slack, Cementation’s President, who was eager to emphasize the company’s unique tagline: “We are Cementation. We build mines.”

The global Cementation group has sunk many of the world’s deepest shafts and the company is today recognized as the most active shaft sinking contractor in North America. “We are proud of what we do and have built a great reputation,” says Roy.

With a full service engineering group as part of its contracting company, Cementation has the technical depth to tackle the complex challenges which typically arise on large and complicated infrastructure projects. According to Roy, the depth of Cementation’s technical services are above and beyond the typical mine contracting group. “We are currently carrying out a number of world class projects, which is testament to our technical, financial, and operating capabilities,” adds Mr. Slack. “We feel we can offer added value to most projects and our clients, who include the likes of Xstrata Nickel, Vale INCO, Rio Tinto, and New Gold Inc, trust that we’ll do a great job.”

Despite the success, and ever-growing customer enquiries, Roy says Cementation is still extremely selective about the work it will do. The company will only tender for relatively few projects, where Roy comments “our strengths and approach can make a real difference in helping the customer achieve their goals.”

Unique values

If you haven’t guessed by now, Cementation has unique corporate values, which remain unchanged no matter what. The company has always been, and will continue to be, committed to safety and working in a healthy environment. According to Roy that is “one of our key values, based on treating our people well.” This is driven by a belief that there should be “zero injuries,” says Slack.

Indeed, Cementation is devoted to safety, protecting its employees, as well as others, from the risk of incidents and injuries. “We believe in [hands-on] safety systems, and structure our programs accordingly,” says a safety-conscious Roy who ensures his staff plays an active role in improving safety.

Roy adds that Cementation recently achieved a significant milestone in North American mining, which has cemented its position as a leader in safety. “Without incident, first aid or lost time injury we completed longest and largest diameter raise ever bored in the Canadian Shield [for Goldcorp’s Red Lake Gold Mines in Red Lake, Ontario, Canada].”

Another impressive safety achievement is completing two shafts at the Nickel Rim South project (over 11,000 feet of shaft sinking) with no lost time injuries. These projects are proof that, according to Roy, Cementation is “committed to safety” and that it doesn’t just “talk the talk”, but “walks the walk” as well.

Top 100 employers

Cementation also treats its people well and gives them every opportunity to succeed within the business and in life, generally. “We want to be the employer of choice as well as the contractor of choice within our market,” comments Mr. Slack. “Through excellence in safety and by treating staff and customers with respect we form the foundations of long term relationships and superior levels of performance.”

Recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Employers in Canada for the second consecutive year, Mr. Slack says this is proof of the company’s continuing commitment to running the business in a responsible, forthright manner. “We are pleased to be recognized as one of the top 100 employers in Canada,” explains Slack who thinks Cementation is a great place to work.

“We want to be the employer of choice and there many things you have to do, as a business, to achieve that. The projects that we secure are challenging and interesting, the type of projects that the best people want to take on; obviously we have some very interesting high profile projects with great clients, so we have done well in that area. We do other things too; it is vital you treat staff well. We offer good salaries, excellent bonuses and full insurance cover, as well as family assistance and other little, but important perks. This has had huge impact on morale and we have developed a core of good people as a result. As we grow, we will focus on promoting from within, as we believe this is the best way to create a dedicated and committed workforce.”

Expanding infrastructure

Roy is delighted at how Cementation has developed and grown. He believes the US market is where the company’s future expansion lies and that the timing is right to expand its infrastructure to cater for the growing number of US customers. To do this, Mr. Slack says the company is looking to restructure by establishing a full service base in the United States that will take on the workload in that area and provide local service to our US customers. This approach will also increase the capacity of the overall group. “This expansion plan is well underway, and is the next major step for us,” he explains.

Right now the industry is in a boom and there are a number of opportunities open to Cementation. “We are in a boom and have some great projects and clients who will help us continue our growth. We will never stray from our core principles and believe these will help us maintain our momentum,” says Slack. “We are proud of our track record and the projects we carry out. We are also committed to delivering world class services in everything that we do and this will not stop.