This month, Sarens is pleased to feature insights from Ken Burke, Country Manager for Canada. Here, he shares his thoughts on key projects, future market outlook, and opportunities in the region. 

Could you please give us a little background on the Canadian division? 

With the acquisition of Canada Crane, Sarens was immediately launched into the taxi crane rental market, and we launched into the Saskatchewan market in 2017. Our fleet of cranes includes:  

• 8 industrial cranes up to and including a 500t LTM1500
• Crawler cranes ranging from 130t to 750t
• A wide range of rough terrain cranes from 30t to 160t capacity
• 64 lines of Kamag K25 platform trailers, including 9 prime movers
• A complete range of rigging accessories including spreader beams, load spreading beams, support stools, etc.
• Jack and slide equipment with a hydro slide and a unified jacking system 

Our achievements in Canada include taxi crane rental, heavy transport, engineering services, project management, and specialised solutions. Sarens is now expanding into other markets, offering rental solutions to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

In 2017, we have seen key projects executed in the region. Could you name a few of the major ones?

 

Projects we completed in 2017 include:  

• Fort Hills Suncor project for our client KBR and Sunlake
• East tank farm project at the Suncor base plant in Fort McMurray for Fluor
• Wind farm project in Trois-Pistoles, Quebec for our client Borea
• Champlain Bridge project in Montreal, Quebec
• CNRL shut down 

How do you ensure safety during each project? 

Safety is the cornerstone of our Canadian operation. We ensure safety during our daily start meetings and with the help of our daily hazard ID card process, our stop and consult process, supervision support of personnel, careful planning and engineering, and telematics tracking of overload activities on cranes so we can monitor safe behaviour. 

Could you tell us about the existing and future outlook for this region?  

The future will bring smaller oil and gas projects, more de-bottle-necking in existing plants, an increase in wind projects, and a number of proposed potash projects. The wind market looks very healthy and with the push for green energy in Canada, there are significant opportunities. 

A number of rapid bridge replacement projects are planned for the next few years, and a number of LNG projects are being proposed for British Columbia and Eastern Canada. Plant maintenance will become a significant part of the Sarens Canada business. 

Which opportunities and challenges could Sarens leverage in the near future? 

Rapid bridge replacement, innovative lifting solutions in existing plants, Sarens global capabilities in mod yard, heavy shipping, heavy land transport, and a full toolbox of lifting solutions. 

What do you see as Sarens' key strengths?  

Our key strengths are our personnel and the team we have built in Canada, our diverse management team, and our dedication to getting the job done. This, coupled with our global strength in quality equipment, innovative ideas, and personnel, makes us the best.