The Quebec engineering consulting firm Norda Stelo acquires a Vancouver firm, CWA Engineers, with the financial support of a $12 million loan from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
CWA brings together around a hundred specialist engineers and employees who have developed particular expertise in the design, construction and management of bulk transport and handling infrastructure in the natural resources sector.
According to Alex Brisson, President and CEO of Norda Stelo, “the complementarity of our services with those of CWA will position us to become a global leader in intelligent transportation and handling logistics in the port and shipping sector. terminals as well as in the mining, railway, construction aggregates and wood products industries.”
“With CWA, we have the opportunity to enhance our service offering for both companies’ long-term partnerships and expand our reach through significant projects nationally and in international markets, bringing focus on the United States and overseas. »
With this acquisition of CWA, which will be integrated under the name Norda Stelo after six months of transition, the combined workforce of the Quebec-run company is expected to be around 850 employees.
Following this transition, CWA CEO Raymond Chu will assume the role of Vice President of Norda Stelo for Western Canada and the United States, out of CWA’s former offices in Vancouver.
“Our new combined entity is as complementary as it is revolutionary for our businesses,” Raymond Chu said in the press release announcing the transaction with Norda Stelo.
“We are strengthening our growth strategy and will be able to achieve our objective of expanding our presence from coast to coast, but also improving our offering in the mining and port sectors globally. »
As for the Caisse de dépôt et placement, which is lending 12 million to Norda Stelo to acquire CWA, the first vice-president and head of investments in Quebec, Kim Thomassin, says she is “proud to support the expansion of this Quebec company and to support its entry into the Western Canadian engineering market”.
According to Ms. Thomassin, “this first investment by CDPQ in Norda Stelo will help propel the company’s activities to the next stage of its growth. In addition to promoting its expertise in industrial engineering more widely, this transaction will open the doors to the international market with new contracts in various geographies.