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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A company with a long and storied history in the North has merged with an Edmonton-based firm with a global operation.

FSC Architects and Engineers, a company that has a reputation as a leader in cold-climate and remote-location architecture and engineering projects, has merged with global giant Stantec.

The deal was finalized in June and announced on Sept. 1, according to a media release issued by Stantec. The formal transition will take place Oct. 1, yet terms of the merger weren't released.

The deal was a year in the making and FSC fulfilled all of Stantec's Strategic Plan requirements to grow in the North.

"FSC has been in the North for quite some time," chief executive officer at FSC Rod Savoie said. "With changes we saw in the market, we saw an opportunity for growth by expanding the services we could offer our clients with a merger with Stantec," he said.

The merger with Stantec provides both companies with things they have been lacking. For FSC, it is the ability to provide expertise on many speciality-type projects such as airports, hospitals and labs that may only come along once in a decade.

For Stantec, the company gets the cold-weather engineering architectural expertise that FSC has gathered.

"FSC is one of the leading architecture/engineering practices in the Canadian North," Stantec vice-president Leonard Castro said. "The acquisition of FSC will make Stantec the market leader in Canada's North and provide an instant opportunity to leverage Stantec's additional service offering across the North's diverse client base."

Stantec is global operation with 170 offices worldwide and employ more than 11,000 people.

On the surface, it appears FSC has been swallowed whole by Stantec, but Savoie said that isn't the case. He said his compliment of 82 employees will expand to meet the merger.

"With Stantec's expanded resources, we have access to more capital for expansion and strategic hires," Savoie said. "With Stantec, we are part of a continuing evolution toward becoming a top-10 global firm, something we couldn't compete for a small private company," Savoie added.

Castro said the unique positioning in the community that FSC holds was part of the attraction for the acquisition of FSC. The understanding of culture and community that has entrenched FSC into the community fabric of the North was appealing.

"FSC's expertise and intimate appreciation of the North and its culture makes their employees the stewards of all the services Stantec would offer," Castro said.

"Stantec wants to be part of the communities we serve and our move into the North requires not only that intimate understanding but ensures we are part of the Northern social fabric supporting communities that our merger with FSC will provide."

Savoie said that the "North is growing in importance nationally and its infrastructure requirements need to keep pace with its resource, public and commercial development."

"Stantec/FSC has the necessary expertise to respond to the wide range of infrastructure solutions from its public/commercial facilities, transportation requirements as well as mining and other resource developments."

With the merger, Savoie won't be riding into the sunset of retirement, he will heading the Northern Business Unit for Stantec and oversee the company's growth and development that will parallel the North's.

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