“Our area of expertise is bulk material handling equipment, so conveyors, apron feeders and belt feeders, and other related equipment,” explains IEM President Chuck Walls. “We design and build spile bar systems which act as isolation gates in mining operations. We also design and manufacture ball handling systems for mining operations and we build rotary de-barkers for forest product manufacturers. We build the biggest rotary de-barkers in the world.”

A spile bar system enhances safety in ore bins and transfer chutes at mines, while ball handling systems are used to store steel grinding balls for mining applications. As their name implies, de-barkers remove bark from logs. IEM has made de-barkers that can process 450 cubic meters of wood per hour or more.

The company’s main markets include mines, oil and gas operations, and forestry/wood handling. Cement and aggregate plants, port infrastructure, and grain handling facilities represent other sectors for which IEM has built products.

Forging a strong team
The business was founded in 1953 under the name Industrial Equipment Company (IECO). Half a century after the launch, John Hards and Joe Wurz purchased the machinery design and manufacturing division of IECO. The new owners changed the name of their acquisition to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd. and introduced an employee-ownership plan. At present, “maybe 95 percent,” of IEM staff own shares, Walls explains, with ownership of shares limited to employees only.

IEM has roughly 55 employees at present, up from around 50 at this time last year, and about half of these workers belong to the United Steelworkers (USW) union. The company typically hires newly graduated or junior engineers who can be trained in the company’s practices, such as its hands-on approach. “Our engineers can walk into the shop, see what they’ve designed, see how it’s being built,” says Walls. Here, shop floor staff can directly approach the engineers to refine designs or suggest ideas, a collaborative setup that gives IEM a competitive advantage over companies that perform engineering work in one country and manufacturing in another, notes Walls.

IEM is Engineering and Manufacturing ISO 9001:2015 certified and the company’s welding services are certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) to CSA W47.1 and CSA W47.2 standards, for steel and aluminum respectively. The IEM Vice President of Manufacturing is tasked with ensuring that quality benchmarks are met, while the company’s welding supervisor, who is certified in non-destructive testing procedures, conducts extensive weld-related tests.

Safety-wise, IEM employs toolbox talks and strict hazard-avoidance procedures, says Walls. Employees also rely on the company’s close-knit spirit to keep them safe. This is “not a big operation,” so everyone knows everyone else, as well as their spouses and children, says Walls. “We believe that the most important aspect of safety in any operation is—and it sounds corny—how much you care about the people you’re working beside. We find that our senior folks are always looking out for our junior people, making sure they’re doing things right, not taking shortcuts,” he continues.

Competing on quality
The company is based out of a 50,000-square-foot facility conveniently located near both Vancouver International Airport and major ports. While many of its clients are Canadian, IEM has sold equipment to companies with operations in Mongolia, Indonesia, and South America as well. It has also done “a little bit in Europe, and the U.S. of course,” adds Walls. “We specialize in mechanical design, while anything structural or electrical, we would subcontract out.”

IEM also stocks a huge number of spare parts, primarily to provide replacements for its own equipment. For example, it designs and manufactures specialized equipment for surface mining operators in Fort McMurray, Alberta, the epicenter of that province’s oilsands industry. Among other items, IEM supplies specialty equipment including plows, belt cleaners, and pulley cleaners. IEM uses a welding robot built to create wear parts that address the challenges of working with bitumen. Spare parts for such gear might be hard to find outside of IEM.

Walls acknowledges that competition within the bulk equipment handling space can be brutal. “We compete against some very, very large companies [including some] that manufacture all over the world, where the wages are much lower and it’s much cheaper to produce equipment… We can compete with them because of the custom engineering facet of our business,” he shares.

For example, “If you want an overland conveyor, to go from A to B, you go to [the competition]. But if you want three or four kilometers of underground conveyor that’s going to be attached to the ceiling of your mineshaft, you will come to us.”

IEM’s longevity also stems from its reputation for making quality products. “We can’t afford to produce sub-par equipment,” says Walls. “Our quality standards are very high, and we provide excellent after-sales service. What we find is, once we get a customer, they keep coming back. We’re not generally the cheapest when it comes to sticker price, but we compete very well on total cost ownership.”

Wins and challenges
Clearly, clients like what IEM has to offer, as the team has taken on a number of major projects over the decades. The company was hired to build conveyors and galleries—the enclosed structures that go around conveying systems to provide protection from the elements—for a company operating in Nunavut, Canada. Construction was done in sections, which were fitted together in IEM’s shop then painstakingly shipped to the client via barge and ice highway, among other methods. “That was a pretty cool project and quite challenging,” recalls Walls.

IEM has also built cable reel structures for storing ship cables for a major maritime company in British Columbia building supply ships for the Canadian navy. IEM has also designed and manufactured massive de-barkers for a forestry business in Michigan and a pulp and paper companies in Alberta and B.C. Company engineers frequently attend mining and other industry trade shows to meet existing and potential customers face-to-face.

Given the nature of IEM’s work, it is no surprise that Walls cites “the cyclical nature of the natural resources business,” as the company’s biggest challenge while, interestingly, tariffs imposed by the White House have benefitted IEM in some ways. The company has taken on some non-American customers that are eager to find suppliers elsewhere. “We just signed a contract with a small company that builds water treatment systems. They were looking for an alternative tank supplier [to their normal U.S. supplier], because they sell both into the U.S. and Canada, and it’s much simpler for them to have [their systems for Canadian customers] built in Canada,” says Walls.

Embracing the future
Going forward, the company is looking into using artificial intelligence (AI) in its operations. Design work is currently performed with 3D design software, and IEM is open to new technology. “We’ve contracted an AI expert to come in this summer and train some of our people,” Walls shares. “They will look at some of our manufacturing processes and our drafting to see if there are some opportunities to improve quality and efficiency.”

As for the business itself, he personally would like to see the company grow over the next five years, perhaps through acquisitions. One plan would be to buy a fabrication firm, then incorporate IEM’s engineering methodologies into the work practises of the new purchase. Vertical integration is another possibility under consideration. “We spend a lot of money on painting, for instance. As the company starts to build some capital, I wouldn’t mind seeing us invest in a paint company or another kind of supplier to us, and running the companies separately, but owned by IEM.”

Given the company ownership model, any decisions regarding the future must be endorsed by an employee-run board. Naturally, the board is averse to risky ventures that might jeopardize the future of the business if things do not go as planned, notes Walls—and he is fine with this, viewing employee-ownership as a strength.

“It’s nice to work for a company where, when we succeed, all the employees succeed with us—not on a figurative level, but on a very real financial level.”

The post A Reputation for Quality Products and Custom Work<p class="company">Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (IEM)</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Incorporated as an industry town in the 1950s—the first community without residents to do so in the province—Kitimat continues to leverage its resources and its relationships to push the economy forward and preserve the enviable way of life it affords—a way of life that is due in large part to industry partners.

As Mayor Philip Germuth explains, “Kitimat is a very industry-friendly community when things are done properly,” and the investments that have taken place in the community are evidence of that.

Industry first
As an industry town, Kitimat, British Columbia had an interesting start.

The community was founded when the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan, now Rio Tinto BC Works) identified the area for what was a massive engineering undertaking at the time. The Alcan Project ran from 1951 to 1954. Through the construction of the Kemano hydroelectric dam, a 16-kilometre-long tunnel, a deep-sea terminal, an aluminum smelter, and the surrounding community, Kitimat came to be.

Considered the most expensive private project in Canadian history at the time, this was an intentional effort for industry and community to thrive alongside one another. Alcan brought renowned city planner Clarence Stein out of retirement to execute a vision for a planned garden city that existed separately from industry. Stein looked at prevailing wind patterns to isolate the community from the impacts of industry and found a way to design a community that is well connected, aesthetically pleasing, and could support the needs of the individuals and families that keep industry functioning.

Boom and bust
At its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, Kitimat had grown to a population of 13,000 people, but not unlike the rest of the world, the global financial crisis took its toll, and the market became incredibly challenging. For instance, Methanex, which established its ammonia and methane operations in the 1980s, sadly closed in 2005, while Eurocan Pulp and Paper Co., which had operated in the community for 40 years, closed in 2010, taking with it hundreds of jobs and leaving industrial lands sitting idle.

Industry boom and bust cycles are never easy to weather, but luckily for Kitimat, the hard times were short lived thanks to new investment partners who ushered in a new wave of growth and opportunity.

“Since the final investment decision by LNG Canada in 2018, the community has seen significant population growth,” notes Walsham Tenshak, Director of Economic Development and Communications for the District of Kitimat, who referred to this growth as “astounding.”

Over the last five years, Kitimat has experienced a nearly 20 percent increase in population, going from around 8,500 in 2020 to 10,000 people today, according to BC Stats. As such, Tenshak notes, “Council has had to work with industry to look at how we can expand the services that we provide to care for more people as they come to the community, and industry partners have been excellent corporate citizens.”

Indeed, there have been several milestone moments in Kitimat’s history that have altered the trajectory of the community. Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Alcan in 2007 was one of them. The Rio Tinto Alcan acquisition breathed new life into the community, not only through a major investment to modernize the smelter, but through other investments in infrastructure that support the community.

“In 2015, they completed a multi-billion-dollar investment in a modernized smelter, which now has us producing the greenest aluminum anywhere in North America,” explains Mayor Germuth. He tells us that another key move came from LNG Canada in establishing Kitimat as a global natural gas export hub.

Having recently completed its hundredth shipment, LNG Canada is now considering proceeding with Phase Two of the project, a $33 billion CAD expansion of its export facility which will double production from 14 to 28 million tonnes of LNG (liquefied natural gas) annually.

Mayor Germuth also highlights the value and impact of the Cedar LNG project, which showcases the unique nature of partnership and collaboration between industry and the community.

Cedar LNG is valued at around $4 billion USD and is not only regarded for the magnitude of its investment but also the fact that it is the world’s first Indigenous majority-owned LNG facility, developed in partnership between the Haisla and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. Designed to operate using renewable energy from BC Hydro and to connect to the Coastal GasLink pipeline and local power grids, construction activities commenced in 2024 with completion expected in 2028, when it expects to deliver its first shipments of low-carbon LNG overseas to the Asian market.

As many communities know, investment breeds investment—and that is certainly the case in Kitimat. As Mayor Germuth notes, “The investment by Rio Tinto into modernizing the smelter plus the LNG Canada and Cedar LNG projects have given a lot of other people the courage to reinvest in their properties,” which is leading to a new wave of revitalization including new residential developments as well as retail, hospitality, and commercial investments.

Maximizing industry’s impact
The high wage opportunities in Kitimat not only afford an exceptional quality of life; they also enable a higher rate of entrepreneurship, as families have the economic freedom to pursue their interests with efforts that have the full support of the community behind them.

For those who take the chance, organizations like the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce and programs like Business Bootcamps and Entrepalooza, as well as industry programs like the LNG Business Growth Fund, are there to make the leap into business ownership a success.

In fact, industry is behind a lot of the growth and success taking place in Kitimat, with the Haisla Bridge project serving as a perfect example. Built in 1954, this critical infrastructure was in dire need of replacement. “That’s the main bridge that connects the community to the industrial area and it’s the only way to get to the industrial area,” explains Mayor Germuth. “LNG Canada was able to lobby the government to have them take care of the whole thing for us, so we were very thankful.”

Completed through a joint partnership, the Ledcor-Haisla Limited Partnership, the bridge was opened in 2023 and not only showcases the connectivity between industry and the community but also pays tribute to Haisla through traditional art, serving as a physical reminder that industry in Kitimat is strong, but community is stronger.

To be sure, companies like LNG Canada find countless ways to give back to the community in a very big way. The company committed more than one million dollars in funding to support the Kitimat General Hospital Foundation and the Kitimat General Hospital to purchase a computed tomography (CT) scanner as well as an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine, which improve patient outcomes locally and contribute to physician attraction and retention efforts.

The company also supported the community’s Dementia Home Project currently underway, and the construction of a kayak launch at Minette Bay West Park that gave the community its first saltwater access point, which is attractive to residents and visitors alike. “Rio Tinto donated the land in the bay in 2014 and then LNG Canada gave us money to develop it,” explains Mayor Germuth.

Being a safe community with abundant services, recreational opportunities, and amenities, a good school system, and a strong economy make Kitimat an attractive community to call home, but also make for an attractive place to visit, which is evident in the latest tourism figures.

“Tourism in our region grew by about 35 percent last year, and we’re welcoming more visitors than ever through our doors. What’s really interesting is that many of them are just as eager to learn about Kitimat’s industry as they are to experience our natural attractions,” explains Laurel D’Andrea, Executive Director of the Kitimat Chamber of Commerce.

Supporting the movement of goods, people, and opportunities
Access, proximity, and connectivity are other key parts of the overall value proposition offered by the District of Kitimat. With water, highway, and air infrastructure, from Kitimat, you can get anywhere! “We like to say that we are the very start of the highway, so you literally start here and can go everywhere,” says Tenshak of this connectivity. “We have great road networks, the province and the district invest heavily in ensuring that people stay connected, and we have an airport that’s just 30 minutes away,” she says. “You get to have the world as your oyster.”

This is what happens when a community is intentionally designed and thoughtfully developed: it is rewarded with continued growth and development and an unmatched quality of life, something that would not be possible without partnership.

“There’s lots of opportunity here, and again, you have a community that wants to work with industry,” Mayor Germuth says of a commitment that has long served the community and will continue to do so for decades to come.

The goal at its core, he notes, is to make Kitimat “a balanced, desirable community that people want to call home and where they can pursue their opportunities,” a place where everyone is welcome and where individuals and businesses thrive.

The post Built for Business, Designed with Intention<p class="company">District of Kitimat, British Columbia</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Pucci, before becoming Lands & Economic Development Manager at the City of Terrace, built a reputation for strategic engagement in business development. A skilled and passionate negotiator, his résumé includes work with government and Indigenous partners, serving as CEO of Prince Rupert International Airport, and working at Prince Rupert’s Port, Canada’s fastest-growing container terminal. His current role is generating municipal revenue and acquiring and developing municipal lands for the City of Terrace.

A prime location
“We are the Fort McMurray of the 1990s,” says Pucci, referring to the Albertan city which became legendary for its powerful petroleum sector. To Michael Pucci, and many others, the City of Terrace is similarly on the brink of overwhelming success, for a variety of reasons. The city’s population of just 13,000 is small, but its economic and service draw is closer to 40,000. The business, investment, and growth potential of the area is enormous.

When discussing Terrace, a word frequently used is “hub.” The city is easily accessible by the Skeena River and multiple highways (16, 113, and 37) and is just 144 km east of Prince Rupert. Terrace is also linked to passenger rail, bus service, the CN mainline—the only rail line in northern British Columbia—and the Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat. Annually, the CN rail line moves about $65 billion worth of Canadian economic value to and from the Port of Prince Rupert through the City of Terrace.

Northern BC is sparsely populated, with about 100,000 residents in a 1,000 km range from Prince Rupert to Prince George. However, Terrace lies along the Trans-Canada corridor, making it a centre for shopping, healthcare, financial services, and other amenities that many similar communities lack. People drive hundreds of kilometres to visit Terrace. In 2024, a study showed that 1,000 regional inhabitants visit the city in any given week, year-round, because of its hub status.

“Tourism accounts for about $84 to $86 million worth of our economy,” says Pucci, “and that includes local tourists who come to see their doctor or optometrist, or go to the grocery store, those kinds of things.” Every year, millions of additional dollars flow into the city thanks to its year-round tourism market. In summer, many are drawn by ocean fishing, boating, and fly-fishing for trout and salmon. In winter, with some of the deepest snowpacks in Canada, they flock to Terrace for skiing and heli-skiing.

Despite its many attractions, the City of Terrace knows success doesn’t happen overnight, and understands that local government must also make an effort at every level. Pucci and his team have exchanged views with Prime Minister Mark Carney three times in the past few months concerning development initiatives. And despite comparisons of Terrace’s emergence with that of Fort McMurray in the 1990s, Pucci understands the importance of proceeding strategically.

“We know from lessons learned where we need to jump over the puddle instead of walking through, and we may need help doing that,” he says. “But we have that type of opportunity here that’s outside of our taxable jurisdiction to the same level of federal economic mover and shaker in a small town. And again, 15 or 20 years from now, we will hopefully have done it better.” He notes that in the ’90s, owing to the oil industry, Fort McMurray’s high local wages also created inflated prices for everything from housing to groceries, and he says measures need to be put in place to ensure this doesn’t happen in Terrace.

Welcoming diverse industries
Many years ago, people and goods such as logs were transported along the Skeena River. In time, this led to the development of railways, roads, and a strong forestry industry. And then, to meet the needs of forestry companies, Terrace transformed itself into a service hub as truck-servicing facilities and heavy industrial groups, like Caterpillar, established themselves in the area. Every day, about 200 Class A forestry trucks roll through.

In the past few years, intent on not focusing too narrowly, Terrace has modernized, invested, and expanded wherever opportunities arise, and sees a future serving multiple industries. Truck drivers need places to sleep and eat, prompting investment in new hotels. And while the forestry industry is growing and evolving, Pucci says Terrace is well-suited to helping related businesses expand locally. Wood mills need forklifts to move product, and manufacturers to make forklifts.

“There are many different industries, but the idea is to look at the core things we do well and ask, ‘How do we participate in those industries?’” he says. “That’s an important reason why we’re able to create and maintain our hub status.”

Together with forestry, the City of Terrace is promoting itself to the mining industry. After Northern Ontario, Northern BC is the hottest mining hub in North America. One of the world’s largest gold deposits was uncovered nearby, and 60 percent of BC’s critical minerals are found within a few hours of Terrace. Some mines are at the permitting stage, while others are in operation, and as these mines develop, they will need more equipment and local labour.

“It’s very top-of-mind right now, and the federal government has highlighted that area as a key revenue source for the Canadian economy,” Pucci shares. “That is beyond the fact that it means a lot to the local economy, because mineral extraction provides a lot of royalties to the federal government. It’s an important component.”

One mine in BC’s Golden Triangle, Red Chris, is on Canada’s Major Projects Office list, and Terrace is well-equipped to meet the logistical needs of this mine site and many others across BC. These sites, along with other major energy projects such as wind, oil, gas, and ports, are estimated to bring $230 billion in affordability, security, and diversification.

Indeed, Northern British Columbia is known as the powerhouse of the province’s mining industry, and it is projected that the construction of 24 mines in the area could realize $69 billion in economic activity for British Columbians from gold, copper, silver, zinc, and other minerals. More mines, of course, mean greater opportunities for related businesses, like depots to serve trucks, commercial vehicle inspection stations, food services, and accommodation.

“We might not see Caterpillar making new diggers here, but will they have a service shop?” asks Pucci. “It makes a lot of sense to have some sort of service depot or affiliation. Will they need certain styles of flatbed trucks to move equipment in the area? One hundred percent.”

Industrial opportunities
When he became Lands & Economic Development Manager, Michael Pucci was intrigued by one of Terrace’s key assets, the Skeena Industrial Development Park (SIDP). The park is remarkable for many reasons, including its size. With over 1,200 acres of continuous greenfield industrial-zoned land, SIDP is larger than Vancouver’s 1,000-acre Stanley Park.

Representing a joint venture and revenue-sharing partnership with Kitselas First Nation, SIDP is ideal for operations large and small. It is close to the Port of Prince Rupert, which is Canada’s third-largest container terminal and the home of the nation’s newest liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal.

“The involvement of First Nations in British Columbia’s economic development, and where that’s going, is something that large and global companies don’t have the strongest understanding of,” says Pucci. “And so, this is a fantastic way to put industry at comfort; that there’s a way to positively engage, as well as contribute to the overall benefit of our region.”

On the highway and adjacent to the Northwest Regional Airport, SIDP is accessible to every part of British Columbia. And with both the transmission and distribution of natural gas and electricity, it has all the base assets for petroleum, manufacturing, logistics, and transportation businesses. Just 10 minutes from nearby communities, it’s conveniently placed. “It is the future of Terrace,” says Pucci, “and it doesn’t have that urbanization concern.”

The Skeena Industrial Development Park may be the clearest expression yet of Terrace’s ambitions. With its scale, strategic location, infrastructure, and partnership with Kitselas First Nation, it offers the city an opportunity to attract investment while building on the strengths that have made Terrace a regional hub. More importantly, it reflects a broader vision that is not dependent on any single industry or project.

For Pucci and the City of Terrace, the goal is not simply to capitalize on a moment of economic momentum, but to build an economy capable of sustaining that momentum for decades to come. Forestry, mining, energy, transportation, tourism, manufacturing, and logistics all present opportunities, but the real advantage lies in the connections between them—and in the businesses and services that emerge around them. By identifying what Terrace does well and positioning itself to support a diverse range of industries, the city is working to turn its geographic and infrastructural advantages into lasting economic value.

That approach also means learning from the experiences of other resource-driven communities. Terrace has an opportunity to welcome major investment without losing sight of affordability, livability, Indigenous partnership, or the needs of the residents and businesses that already call the region home. The ambition is considerable, but so is the opportunity: to grow strategically rather than simply quickly. Terrace has the chance to chart its own course—one that embraces its role as a northern hub, welcomes diverse industries, and creates prosperity that extends well beyond any single boom.

The post The Hub of British Columbia<p class="company">City of Terrace, British Columbia </p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.