By Heather Wright, fromwww.theobserver.ca The Observer
Manufacturers look to expand using Great Lakes to transport prefab equipment
SARNIA-LAMBTON – Sarnia-Lambton’s engineers, metal fabricators and industrial services companies have the technology and skill to make big bucks in Alberta’s oil sands. And the Great Lakes may increasingly be the corridor they use to get their products there.
The Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership is exploring ways to ship large freight from Sarnia-Lambton to the west. It’s not a new idea, but it is a hot topic as the Sarnia Lambton Industrial Alliance looks for ways to cash in on the oil boom being created by the oil sands projects in places such as Fort McMurray.
George Mallay, general manager of SLEP, says some local business have already entered the Alberta market. LamSar, KelGor and Chemfab all have customers in Alberta. But Mallay wants to encourage more firms involved in engineering, metal fabrication and industrial services to look to the west.
“There is a significant opportunity to do more manufacturing of modules (machinery which can be transported and then set up on site),“ says Mallay.
“We have an opportunity to secure an opportunity to fill those gaps.”
Using the Great Lakes waterway is an economical way of getting the products made in Sarnia Lambton to Alberta.
“The key thing with Sarnia is getting the product to a harbour site and then putting it on a barge to get it to Thunder Bay or Duluth and then onto the rail to Alberta.”
SLEP is hosting a forum about shipping large goods tomorrow (March 8). Officials from the Port of Thunder Bay, and CN will be on hand.
And while Mallay hopes to spur more business to use the Great Lakes as the gateway to cashing in on the oil sands, there are still some things which need to be worked out locally. Mike Banovsky, co-chair of the Sarnia Lambton Industrial Alliance, says the key to opening up the west is improving access to Sarnia’s waterfront.
“We see a big opportunity in Alberta shipping these units, but we want to make a corridor for other fabricators and machine shops to use,” he says. “That the (hydro and communications) wires are either buried or (strung) higher. It makes it easker for everybody to use the dedicated path.
“We’re trying to make it so everybody knows the costs of shipping,” he adds. “Contractors quoting on the price of those thingse know the cost of the pipe, know the cost for the welding…the challenge or the scary part is when you start shipping these things…If you get hung up with some wire, everyone has to get involved – hydro and police – and your costs start to go up.”
Banovsky, who worked in industry for years and dealt with shipping projects for ChemFab, says making it easier to use the Great Lakes would “make our shops more competitive for the business out west …with all the work in Alberta, we could fill up shops in Sarnia-Lambton if we could get a dedicated corridor.”
But Mallay says finding the solutions to any obstacles could expand business in more than just Alberta’s oil fields. “We’ve specialized for the oil sands projects, but it (the Great Lakes transportation route) can also serve other industries. It could be for mining or the petrochemical industry,” says Mallay. “We’re looking for solutions to make things better.”
Observer Article ID# 3491696
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