Global contractor Kiewit Construction Canada is moving to Westlock with a new laydown yard and administrative site located on the southwest corner of town.
The company is spending around $4 million to prepare a 30-acre space at the Armitage Business Park and will move there later this year from west Edmonton.
Months of lobbying by mayor Ralph Leriger and municipal administration has paid off and all parties involved in the deal are very happy with the outcome.
“It’s been a long process but we’re really excited to have them here,” Leriger said.
“They’re one of the largest construction companies in the continent and they come with an excellent reputation.”
Kiewit Construction Canada area Supt., Jason Duperron, also praised the move and Leriger received many of the accolades.
Duperron said that after plans in Redwater didn’t work out, the town’s streamlined approval and permit process made building in Westlock easy.
“I really want to thank the mayor and his team publicly for how fantastic they have been in helping our transition go so smoothly. Realistically, without it, we wouldn’t be there for another month or so,” he said.
It ranks amongst the highest in ease of day-to-day dealings and overall friendliness of the staff and willingness to help.”
Servicing the oil and gas industry, as well as commercial, industrial and private construction, Duperron said Kiewit is aiming to relocate to the new space before the end of the year. Construction at the site, on the south side of Highway 18 west of the train line, has already begun.
“We are hoping to start moving to Westlock in the middle of November,” he said. “We’re currently stripping the ground and putting gravel down as we speak.”
By initially using 30 acres of the 90-acre site, there is room for expansion if needed.
Kiewit Construction Canada is a subsidiary of Fortune 500 Company, Kiewit Corporation, a global business that has dealings in building and contracting across a range of sectors.
Currently employing 18 people at the relocated laydown yard, Duperron said at this stage the business isn’t hiring, but there is potential in the future.
“We had too much office space and not enough laydown space,” he said.
The process of attracting Kiewit to Westlock began when Leriger become aware that the company was looking for a change some months ago.
He said that Westlock’s location and facilities made the task easier.
“It’s something that I’ve been personally been chasing since last February,” Leriger said. “I got a tip that they maybe interested in relocating from their Winterburn operations, so I very aggressively pursued them.
“You have to find the contact and make that initial contact and make a pitch about your community and what you have to offer.
“The trick was getting them here to take a look.”
