IQALUIT - NorTerra has grown again, acquiring Braden Burry Expediting (BBE), a northern logistics company.

This is the third acquisition in two months for NorTerra, which acquired Northern Industrial Sales and Northern Metalic Sales in April.

Gary Reid, vice president of operations with BBE, stands outside of the BBE building in Yellowknife. NorTerra recently acquired the company. - Stephanie McDonald/NNSL photo

The acquisition of BBE compliments NorTerra's portfolio, which includes Canadian North, Weldco-Beales, Northern Transportation Corporation Limited, and the two industrial supply stores.

The recent acquisitions "contribute to our earnings, which is key to our strategyÖ they diversify our risk a little bit," said NorTerra president Carmen Loberg.

With an expanding portfolio, NorTerra is entering new markets and creating employment opportunities for its beneficiaries.

Through its recent acquisitions, NorTerra is on a deliberate course to expand its operations throughout Canada.

NorTerra's focus is "to carefully find areas to expand into that continue to diversify the company out of what it is at this point - somewhat of a Northern focused enterprise," Loberg said.

The company is interested in Northern operations due to the leverage it has in the area, through its two shareholders, Nunasi Corporation and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation.

Simultaneously, "we're the southern gateway for investments in other parts of Canada," Loberg said.

In a bid to decrease its reliance on the oil and gas and resource sectors, NorTerra's subsidiary, Weldco-Beales, - a manufacturer of heavy equipment attachments - recently acquired a plant in Barrie, Ont.

"It is less vulnerable to shifts in the oil and gas industry or the forestry industry," Loberg said. The company plans to continue its expansion into eastern Canada when appropriate opportunities arise.

NorTerra has no interest in expanding into the high tech or trucking industries, nor does it have an appetite for property development, Loberg said.

"We look at an investment as to whether we can add some value to it," he said.

Loberg sees potential for expansion in Nunavut. Braden Burry Expediting has an existing joint venture with Peter's Expediting in Baker Lake and this relationship will continue.

"We will continue to foster relationships like that where we work as closely as we can with local enterprises to make sure we help build capacity in the regions," Loberg said.

As business booms in Nunavut, NorTerra will investigate how BBE can participate in it.

Loberg also sees potential for expansion into northern B.C., Saskatchewan, and the Yukon.

Neither Loberg nor Gordon Stewart, former president and chief executive officer of BBE, would disclose how much the acquisition deal was worth.

"It was a number that they were happy paying and a number we were happy receiving," Stewart said. He felt that BBE had to grow and NorTerra's participation would aid that.