Construction connection

Thursday, 09 December 2010 14:25

An interview with Charles Iggulden, president of the Fort McMurray Construction Association

Oilsands Review

Charles Iggulden is president of the Fort McMurray Construction Association (FMCA), as well as president and chief executive officer of Landing Trail Petroleum, a local oilfield management and consulting firm. A full member of the Northeastern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association, Iggulden moved to Fort McMurray in 2001, originally as president and chief executive officer of Mikisew Energy Services.

Recently he sat down with Oilsands Review to talk about activity levels in the region, and the status of the Regional Economic Development (RED) Link system, which is intended to “facilitate opportunities to enhance the region’s business sectors through information, communications, promotions, research, networking and sales.”

Q: How would you characterize the level of activity currently for construction players in the Fort McMurray–area oilsands market?

A: It’s been slow, but it’s starting to pick back up. The last couple of years have been very quiet, but we’re starting to get back to where we were before. We have three times as many jobs as last year posted right now on RED Link. We’re seeing the oil companies actually put out expressions of interest. When you actually see the bids come out, there’s no more talking.

Q: RED Link is an online resource designed to connect project owners with potential contractors in the Athabasca region. Who does this system belong to?

A: It is privately funded by the City of Fort McMurray through the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce, [by the] Fort McMurray Construction Association, and the Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce. What it does is local business only.

Q: Do Fort McMurray construction companies see firms coming from the Lac La Biche area as unnecessary competition?

A: Lac La Biche has always been a natural trading partner of Fort McMurray. When it’s busy, there’s so much work that you don’t even worry about it.

Q: What do you see for the future of RED Link?

A: We just updated the whole system to make it easier for the users. Like any computer system, you have to freshen it up and update. If you can [compose] an email, that’s how easy it is to put the work in. We’d like to grow it, and get more participation from the oil companies. They’re buying into it, just slowly.