New President & CEO for AAPG
Arctic Arrow Powerline Group and Seacliff Group Announce New President and CEO for Arctic Arrow
Vancouver, BC, November 3, 2014: Arctic Arrow Powerline Group, wholly owned by
Vancouver based Seacliff Group, today announced that Mr. Simon Davies will assume
the role of President and Chief Executive Officer effective November 3, 2014.
Mr. Davies brings to Arctic Arrow over 30 years of increasingly senior experience in
industrial construction leadership, project management and estimating, safety, and
engineering. Previously, Mr. Davies held senior roles with Commonwealth Construction
including President (2006 – 2010), Vice President Engineering & Estimating (1999 –
2006) and Vice President Operations (1997 – 1999). He started his career with Fluor
Canada as a design and field engineer. Mr. Davies is a registered Professional
Engineer in Alberta and British Columbia, and holds an Honours Bachelor Science
degree in Civil Engineering from Queen’s University.
Mr. Davies will be based at the AAPG head office in Surrey, B.C.
“Since we acquired the business in early 2013, Arctic Arrow has repositioned itself to
offer more services to a larger group of customers in both the public and private sectors.
With the addition of Simon’s extensive industry and operational experience, the
company is well positioned for its next phase of growth” said Stephen Curran, Managing
Director, Private Equity for Seacliff Group.
“I am very pleased to be joining Arctic Arrow and look forward to building on our strong
momentum. We have a great management group, dedicated and well trained field staff,
and a large, well maintained equipment fleet. In the coming weeks I look forward to
meeting our customers and partners” said Simon Davies.
Arctic Arrow Powerline Group is a full service transmission, distribution, and design
powerline consultant and contractor. Operating primarily in western Canada, AAPG is
well equipped to handle all overhead and underground power projects from private
sector services to large joint venture corporate partnerships. Services include design
and engineering, material procurement, project management, new construction,
maintenance, trouble response, and emergency restoration. AAPG was founded in
1981 and has grown to become one of the leading powerline service providers in
western Canada.
The Seacliff Group is a Vancouver based, privately-owned group of companies with
extensive experience in the construction, powerline services, oil and gas services, and
real estate sectors. Seacliff’s private equity division is developing a portfolio of
businesses in the infrastructure and industrial service sectors. Seacliff is also the
majority owner of IPAC Services Ltd, an oil and gas construction, maintenance and
logistical services provider based in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Previous notable
businesses have included Dominion Construction, Canem Systems, and
Saskatchewan-based Broda Construction.
Aboriginal Partnerships
On March 13, 2014 Ɂaq’am Community Enterprises (ACE), the development corporation of the St. Mary’s Indian Band, and Arctic Arrow Powerline Group (AAPG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will change the future of economic development for the St. Mary’s Band.
“The Memorandum of Understanding has created a strong relationship between AAPG and ACE. It will be through the Memorandum that ACE will begin its venture into economic development in the energy sector. This MOU will result in increased capacity and learning opportunities for ACE and for the community,” said Chief Jim Whitehead of St. Mary’s Band.
Meetings began last fall in Sparwood, BC, and continued through the New Year to discuss potential impact, both positive and negative, of creating a partnership.
“It was obvious from the beginning that AAPG and ACE were a good fit. After gaining an understanding of the Ɂaq’am team, it was clear that our organizations shared very similar core goals and values.” said Mike Honeyman, Regional Manager, AAPG.
Both organizations shared similar excitement about the new relationship.
“AAPG stood out to us for its local reputation and return to local economy. They have been established in Ktunaxa territory, with a positive reputation, for over 30 years. They work locally, hire locally, and their employees spend locally,” stated Becky Pelkonen, Director of Community & Economic Development.
Powerlines & Police Dogs
Arctic Arrow Powerline Group is a full service transmission and distribution powerline contractor and police dog training centre? Nope, that isn’t a typo; Arctic Arrow has joined forces with the RCMP, offering the Cranbrook and Sparwood yards as a place to train their police dogs.
Corporal Phil Sullivan, a dog handler with the RCMP, says the partnership is perfect timing as they recently lost their training grounds in Cranbrook and the yard will work for their needs.
“The yard is a great training ground, it’s large enough to hide items for retrieval, has different obstacles with its many buildings and equipment, and will help socialize the new pups,” says Cpl. Sullivan.
Regional Manager Mike Honeyman was more than happy to step up and help out.
“We value being involved in the community and working with the RCMP’s training program,” says Honeyman, “These dogs are used all over Canada and are responsible for many search and rescue finds, suspect apprehensions, and narcotics searches. We are willing to assist with that in any way we can.”
Cpl. Sullivan says there are two types of dogs that he will be working with in the yard – veterans and pups. The veteran police dogs, like his current partner Rambo, need regular training to exercise their skills and the puppies need familiarizing and socialization.
“These dogs are trained in all things, from finding an avalanche victim to chasing a suspect or finding drugs, so we work with them daily to keep them in top shape,” says Cpl. Sullivan.
Although handlers only work exclusively with one fully training dog, Rambo is retiring and Cpl. Sullivan will be continuing his work with his new german shepherd.
Rousselle takes on Extremity Games 8
“I was robbed,” laughs Foreman Mike Rousselle, “I should have come in first.”
Rousselle is talking about his recent second place finish in wakeboarding at the Extremity Games 8, no mean feat as he just learned the sport at last year’s games.
“Actually, although I am very competitive, I am proud of my run which included clearing and riding the wake, and a 180.
The Extremity Games host athletes from all over the world who compete in extreme sports for adaptive athletes. Events include mountain biking, skateboarding, powerlifting, kayaking, rock climbing, and wakeboarding, as well as clinics in these sports and mixed martial arts.
“It’s a higher level of intensity and competition,” says Mike Rousselle, “These are people who have had to overcome the loss of a limb. It’s about your personal will; you could try and give up or you can keep trying until you succeed.”
Rousselle’s local training in Mixed Martial Arts gave him the confidence to try a new experience.
“I started to do it (martial arts) just for the conditioning but thought I would get my ass kicked. I thought, if I can’t do it, I will scale down from there, but I was not going to start with low expectations. Now I know I can do it and people don’t hold back with me, I like that.”
Rousselle attended Extremity Games 7 last year, competing in wakeboarding and attending a clinic for mixed martial arts. This year, he was able to take his family with him through fundraising spearheaded by the Cranbrook office.
“My daughter was really excited to come along this year. She is only nine but athletic like her dad,” says Rousselle.
“I want to thank everyone who helped raise money for my trip. We were able to pay for almost everything for all my family, which was really important to me.”
What’s next for Rousselle? Relaxing apparently, but Rousselle’s idea of taking it easy is different than most people.
“I’m looking to relax a bit. More wakeboarding for sure, mountain biking, and I might try to surf behind a boat – nothing too extreme.”
February 2013 Nor’easter
On February 7th a powerful storm ripped across the Northeastern United States, including New York, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. With record snowfall and hurricane-force wind gusts, it left behind uprooted trees and downed power lines. By the time the storm, dubbed ‘Nemo’ had subsided, six states declared themselves in a state of emergency and nearly one million people were without power.
At 8:30 pm on February 6th Arctic Arrow Powerline Group responded to a U.S. utility call for a support crew to be in place and by the next morning 15 of our PLTs and apprentices were on route to assist.
The team arrived in Boston via Toronto and immediately set off to get instructions.
“There were about 150 trucks at each staging area and about 10-15 staging areas across the affected states,” says Foreman Sam Dooley, “Our group split into two crews with another power company and we worked for seven days, mostly in Connecticut, pulling trees off lines and cars.”
There were three British Columbia companies that came to assist, as well as countless power companies from the U.S., and it was a very organized and much appreciated relief effort.
“It was a good experience. People were really grateful; they thanked us for coming all the way from Canada to help.”
It wasn’t all work and no play for the crew. They took an extra day at the end of the trip to do a little sightseeing in New York City, checking out the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and Ground Zero.
It was a trip of many ‘firsts’ says Dooley.
“It was our first time responding to a call for an Eastern storm, our first support crew under the new company, and the first time, for many of us, to explore New York City.”