Canadian Maritime Engineering: Shipshape in North Sydney
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Canadian Maritime Engineering (CME) is underway with a large capital investment to expand its North Sydney Shipyard with the help of the Innovation Rebate Program from NSBI.
CME, whose head office is in Dartmouth, provides marine reft and repair services as well as new manufacturing of marine vessels for commercial and offshore use across Canada.
“Strategically, the North Sydney operation is well positioned in a deep harbour that’s also protected, with access to the major shipping lanes on the East Coast that go between the U.S. and Newfoundland and into the St. Lawrence River,” says Tony Kennedy, CME’s president and co-owner.
The company is investing $3.16 million to increase its capacity to manufacture vessels such as commercial work boats, fishing vessels, tugs and barges.
“We do a large amount of work on naval ships, coast guard, commercial cargo, oil & gas vessels, fishery and aquaculture vessels,” Kennedy says. “We’re also pursuing new opportunities with offshore wind and hydro power.”
Innovation is vital if you want to export, he says. “Because offshore wind is still new, it is underserved, but a huge market for it is emerging on the Eastern Seaboard of North America. Part of our innovation will be to improve the construction process for manufacturing and handling of components we are building. To compete worldwide, we have to be at the top of our game with the best solution and a quality product.”
One of CME’s bigger hurdles is the financial resources to continue growing its business. “That’s why NSBI has been helpful,” Kennedy says. “We’re a small, privately held, Canadian-owned company. All the money we make goes back into expanding and growing our business.”
The capital investment fuelling the physical expansion and upgrades underway now is only the latest part of CME’s evolving story. The story started with the company focusing on its people, and it previously tapped into another NSBI tool – the payroll rebate – for that.
“From about four full-time employees in 2016, we’ve grown to 32 full-time equivalents today. Safety training and technical training are a major upfront investment in employees,” he explains. “Having that employee payroll rebate is a huge help for us as we expand our employee base.
“We’ve found NSBI tremendous to work with. They’ve come in to really look at our operations and understand who we are as a company, so they can figure out the best way to help us. I can’t say enough how much their financial support has meant to us.”
“We’ve found NSBI tremendous to work with,” he adds. “They’ve come in to really look at our operations and understand who we are as a company, so they can figure out the best way to help us. I can’t say enough how much their financial support has meant to us.”