$32 Million Dollar Contract = 30 New Jobs

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 12:00 PM

Finning workers deck out a Cat D10T tractor that is destined to head to the Wolverine Mine

Finning International has announced it has secured the sale of 18 pieces of Caterpillar equipment to Western Canadian Coal Corp and its contract partners for the development of the Wolverine Mine near Tumbler Ridge.

The sale is worth $32.6 million dollars and will mean Finning will increase its employee base by another 30 people.

Finning has stuck with Prince George despite the "Finning thinning" that took place in the mid 1990's when there was a downturn in the economy which resulted in layoffs and displacements. Things have been looking up over the past couple of years, and the company now has 123 people at its Prince George operation having added 35 employees last year, and will hire 30 more in the near future. Simply put, says Prince George Branch Operations Manager Darcy Frankforth "Mining means jobs" a 74 % increase in employees underscores that statement.

In fact, the P.G. plant has been designated the regional mining service centre, and will service customers throughout all of northern B.C.

Corporately, Finning thinks the future is bright. Based on proposed new mining development in B.C. and anticipated new business, the company projects that its company wide workforce (currently 1100 in B.C) could increase by at least another 10% over the next few years.

Finning is planning for the future, diversifying its customer base as it prepares for the changes that are to come when the beetle impact hits hard within the next ten years.

Agriculture/Lands Minister Pat Bell says "It's good to see Finning back on a high note" he added "The future is huge" with the potential of two more mines coming on stream in the near future, Bell says their combined output will be more than three times what used to be the top production out of Tumbler Ridge.

Bell says this is just the tip of the iceberg "We are no longer a one horse town, we have a second pony now, and its going to run long and hard for us."

Canadian Coal's Wolverine Mine is expected to be fully operational in July 2006.
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