After entering the Saskatchewan market in 1953, Associated Engineering has become a fixture at major infrastructure projects
Plenty has changed in the world over the last 70 years, but one thing that has remained constant is the stable existence of consulting firm Associated Engineering. Founded in Edmonton, Alta., following the Second World War, Associated Engineering has grown to become one of the Canada’s most significant long-serving engineering consulting firms with 21 offices across Canada and employing more than 1,000 staff. The company is the largest of the privately held, employee-owned engineering firms in the country, working with public and private sector clients here and internationally.
“The fact that we are a private firm means we take complete ownership of the work that we do, the relationships that we have with our clients and the products that we produce,” said Paul Pinder, a professional engineer and vice president and general manager of Associated Engineering for Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
During the past 12 years, the firm has been awarded one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, earning Platinum membership status in the respected national program. It has also been a carbon neutral company since 2009.
Associated Engineering provides community planning and engineering services for water and wastewater, transportation, municipal and industrial infrastructure, buildings and environmental projects. Beyond this, the company also provides infrastructure management and certified operational training and support to many clients, in the interest of public health and safety, through its ATAP subsidiary.
The firm also provides in-depth environmental science and management services for bridges, roads and highways, community and industrial development, infrastructure rehabilitation and airports. Other services include solid waste management, landfill design, composting, odour control and environmental impact assessment.
Entering Saskatchewan
The company entered the Saskatchewan market in 1953, opening an office in Regina to service clients in southern Saskatchewan. It quickly established itself by providing the engineering work for the initial Buffalo Pound project, which would supply water to Regina and Moose Jaw.
The company later expanded to offices in Saskatoon and Prince Albert with the Saskatchewan head office situated in Saskatoon. Pinder oversees all three offices, as well as the Winnipeg office and the ATAP subsidiary.
In Saskatchewan, Associated Engineering focuses on projects in the transportation, municipal infrastructure, water, wastewater, intakes, bridges, environmental, buildings and asset management sectors. The Saskatchewan employee complement currently sits at 140 staff across the three offices. Much of the firm’s work in the province is done in small communities, Indigenous communities and smaller cities, complemented by projects within bigger centres, such as Saskatoon and Regina.
“Many communities in the province are in need of an effective water treatment plant or have an existing facility that is inadequate, have insufficient capacity for the community’s size, are unable to consistently meet drinking water requirements or may be so dated that they simply need replacing,” said Pinder.
“Smaller communities and smaller cities are often in greater need of engineering assistance from firms like ours as they don’t have the tax base of the bigger cities like Regina and Saskatoon who are large enough to have in-house engineering departments. This is where we come in. We provide many small communities, or even cities like Moose Jaw or North Battleford, with the engineering expertise they need when they need it without being a continuous financial load on their operating budget. The same can be said of highly specialized and complex projects in the larger cities as well, where our extensive experience and specific expertise, such as water and wastewater treatment, can really be brought to bear.”
Associated Engineering also does a significant amount of work with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure on transportation infrastructure design and construction.
“Everything that we do in this sector is engineer-based, either design engineering or construction administration. When we are commissioned for transportation infrastructure by the Ministry, we do an in-depth review of what is required and come up with a detailed design solution and a tender package. Then we also provide service in construction management and operational assistance,” explained Pinder, a transportation engineering specialist.
Associated Engineering also has a strong partnership with SHCA to assist them in the work that they undertake.
“We work with SHCA with many contractors all the time. So not only do they support us, but they are also a part of the process,” said Pinder.
Current projects
Currently, Associated Engineering is doing a significant amount of work in Langham, a small community west of Saskatoon, including sewage pump station upgrades, a lagoon upgrade and infrastructure assessment.
Another larger project Associated Engineering has been contracted for in Saskatchewan is the development of The Greens on Gardiner, a major residential subdivision located in southeast Regina. Associated Engineering also led the design and construction of upgrades for the La Ronge and Air Ronge municipal utilities to provide back-up systems to keep tap water flowing during power outages – an issue many northern communities face.
Associated Engineering has also been involved with the City of Martensville Athletic Pavilion, snow management facility, the Avenue H Reservoir, Raw Water Intake and Pump Station in Saskatoon, the Regina Bypass, Chief Mistawasis Bridge and environmental site assessment for the Town of Lumsden’s landfill. A listing of Saskatchewan projects can be found on the company’s website at www.ae.ca.
Projects and overall work load has continued for the firm across Canada despite COVID-19. Fortunately none of the offices have had to be shut down yet; however, many of the employees started working from home when the pandemic started. Any staff who remained in the offices, or have returned to the offices since, follow health guidelines, contact and cleaning protocols stringently.
“Work never really slowed down for us because provinces and municipalities confirmed engineering as an essential service. A community that is in need of a critical infrastructure project, like a new water plant, cannot put something like that on hold, so we have kept most projects moving through the pandemic,” said Pinder.
Despite COVID-19, Associated Engineering assures its clients that its project delivery remains the same. Staff are available by phone, email, teleconference or videoconference. Project managers will continue to reach out to clients about project updates and reviews and answer any questions.
“Our goal is to keep building better communities; we do that in three ways. The first is more obvious with building better infrastructure that supports the health and economic wellbeing of our towns and cities; the second is contributing to important local charities – we believe in our social responsibility to the communities in which we work; and the third is developing and training our staff to provide them career growth and opportunities while creating a great culture within our firm. What we do is all in the service of public protection, environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility. In this way, we shape a better future for all of us.”
Photos courtesy of Associated Engineering