Aecon

Aecon Group Inc. is a construction company in Canada, providing services to private and public sector clients across its three core segments of Infrastructure, Industrial, and Concessions.

Not to be confused with AECOM.
Aecon Group Inc.
TypePublic
TSX: ARE
IndustryConstruction, Infrastructure Development,
Founded1877
Hamilton, Ontario
Headquarters
Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver
,
Canada
Key people

Jean-Louis Servranckx President and CEO
John Beck Executive Chairman
David Smales CFO
Yonni Fushman Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
ProductsAsphalt
Number of employees
12,000+
DivisionsAecon Infrastructure
Aecon Industrial
Aecon Concessions
WebsiteAecon Group

Aecon produces construction materials including asphalt and aggregate materials,[1] and pre-construction and pre-fabrication materials developed in eight company-owned fabrication facilities across Canada.[2]

Aecon has been involved in the building of some of Canada's landmarks, including the CN Tower, St. Lawrence Seaway, Ontario Highway 407, Vancouver Skytrain, and the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.[3]

History

Aecon's history began in 1877, when Scottish immigrant Adam Clark started a plumbing and gas fitting business in Hamilton, Ontario. Aecon's predecessor companies include The Foundation Company of Canada, Jackson Lewis, Lockerbie and Hole, Banister Pipelines, Nicholls-Radtke, Pitts Engineering Construction, and Armbro Construction.[4]

As a group, Aecon's origins go back to 1957 to Prefac Concrete of Montreal, a company started by John M. Beck and his parents.

In 2010, Aecon acquired over 500 physical pieces of mining equipment and assets previously owned by Cow Harbour Construction, a large mining and land reclamation contractor located in Alberta's oil sands.[5]

Chinese SOE takeover attempt

In October 2017, Aecon and CCCC International Holding Limited (CCCCI), the investment arm of the state-owned China Communications Construction Company, announced that they entered into a definitive agreement under which CCCCI would acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Aecon for $20.37 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $1.51 billion.

In May 2018, the federal government of Canada blocked the sale, citing national security concerns.[6][7]

Divestment of mining business

In November 2018, Aecon announced the closing of a definitive asset purchase agreement to sell substantially all of the assets related to its Contract Mining business to North American Construction Group for $199.1 million in cash.[8]

Operations

In 2013, Aecon reorganized its operating structure into three core segments.[9]

Aecon Infrastructure is responsible for the design and construction of large transportation projects, including airport terminals, highways, hydroelectric dams, subway tunnels and utility corridors. The Infrastructure segment represented 41% of 2012 Revenue.[10]

Aecon Industrial covers a range of services to numerous projects, from new and existing mines to hydroelectric facilities, natural gas power plants, oil and gas facilities, cogeneration plants, and nuclear plants.[11]

Aecon Concessions specializes in the development of domestic and international Public-Private Partnership (P3) projects as well as other infrastructure development projects requiring private finance solutions.[12] The Concessions segment represented 1% of 2012 Revenue.[13]

Challenges

The company has faced challenges, however. In 2017, Aecon Construction and Materials Ltd was found in violation of the Ontario Water Resources Act relating to a construction contract in northern Ontario in 2013.[14][15] Prior to this, Aecon was fined $225,000 (CAD) in 2011 after being judged liable for a 2008 natural gas explosion that killed a homeowner in an Ontario town.[16] In 2005, they faced a $300,000 (CAD) fine for an earlier gas explosion at a job site in Windsor, Ontario that killed two employees.[17] The company has been accused of misrepresenting the severity of workplace injuries, although in this they were not alone among large Canadian employers, several of which were discovered engaging in similar practices.[18]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "AECON - History". www.aecon.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Press Room". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  6. May 23, CBC News ยท Posted; May 24, 2018 6:06 PM ET | Last Updated; 2018. "Federal government blocks sale of construction giant Aecon to Chinese interests | CBC News". CBC. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2019-02-12.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. John Manthorpe (5 January 2019). Claws of the Panda: Beijing's Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada. Cormorant Books. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-77086-539-6.
  8. Inc, Aecon Group. "Aecon completes sale of Contract Mining business to North American Construction Group". www.newswire.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  9. "Aecon to hold information meeting with analysts". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  10. "AECON 2012 Online Integrated Report - Infrastructure". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  11. "AECON - Aecon Industrial". www.aecon.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-02-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "AECON 2012 Online Integrated Report - Aecon @ Work". Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  14. "Toronto business fined $120,000 for Ontario Water Resources Act violations in Rideau Lakes Township". Inside Ottawa Valley. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  15. Lombardi, Paula. "$120,000 Fine for Ontario Water Resources Act Violations". Siskinds Law Firm. Archived from the original on 2017-06-13. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  16. "Aecon Construction Group Inc. Fined $225,000 After Explosion". news.ontario.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  17. "Aecon fined in relation to jobsite explosion in 2003". Aecon (Press release). Archived from the original on 2017-06-27. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  18. "Hiding injuries rewards companies". The Star. Archived from the original on 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
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