ARVIAT
A recently-signed deal has sewn up some much needed revenue for the community of Arviat.
AgnicoEagle Mines (AEM) and the Nunavut Development Corp. (NDC) have agreed to a deal which will see the Kiluk Sewing Centre provide AEM's Meadowbank gold mine in Baker Lake with a range of commercial sewing services.
Recent staff addition Linda Nutarasungnik repairs a piece of work clothing from the Meadowbank gold mine at Arviat's Kiluk Sewing Centre this past week. - photo courtesy of Sherlyn Kadjuk |
Kiluk will do sewing repairs to workwear, embroider AEM employee names on uniforms, and produce new promotional products with AEM's logo, such as sealskin vests, mitts and computer bags.
AEM and NDC are also exploring having Kivalliq Arctic Foods in Rankin Inlet provide Meadowbank's kitchen with Arctic char and caribou to help serve Agnico's growing Inuit workforce.
Kivalliq Arctic Foods has already forged a good working relationship with AEM through its previous supply of char and caribou to the Meadowbank kitchen.
The new contract will also see the Kiluk Sewing Centre invest in new embroidery equipment and the training of employees.
The sewing centre has four full-time employees from Arviat, and is looking to increase that number as production to Agnico expands.
General manager Sherlyn Kadjuk said she's been with Kiluk for seven years and is looking forward to the new contract helping the centre to employ more local people.
She said it's a good opportunity for Kiluk, and she hopes to see new employees hired by sometime in January.
"The deal has just been signed, so I'm not too sure at this point exactly what the volume of work we can expect from Agnico will be," said Kadjuk.
"With Meadowbank having about 500 employees, the amount of work we receive should be significant."
Kadjuk said negotiations between the companies began this past summer.
She said the news of a deal being reached was good news for Arviat.
"All four of us at Kiluk were excited by the news, too, because we mostly work on sealskin products, so it will be nice to have the chance to work on different things and produce different designs.
"This deal is a really good opportunity for us to do something different."
Kadjuk owned her own small embroidering machine at one time, and said she's looking forward to having a new machine at the centre and working with other businesses.
She said the machine has already been paid for, and she hopes it will be in Arviat by the end of this month.
"We ordered the material for repairing the workwear and it arrived this past Tuesday (Nov. 27).
"We're already in the process of repairing outfits and zippers.
"We can't wait until we start work on the embroidering end."
