Company News: Buckland & Taylor, McCormick Rankin, Roche, AECOM

Buckland and Taylor (B & T), the award-winning bridge structural engineering firm in Vancouver, has opened two new offices, one in Edmonton, Alberta and another in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Since the company was founded in 1972, these two new offices are the company’s first expansion in Canada outside of Vancouver. The company already has another office in Seattle, Washington.

The Edmonton office of B & T will be led by Dale Serink, while the Halifax office will be led by Eileen McEwen. The firm is currently doing work on the design of the $200-million rehabilitation of the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge in Halifax. In Edmonton, the firm is involved in the $100 million signature Walterdale Bridge. Buckland and Taylor won a Schreyer Award in the 2002  Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards for designing the Lions Gate Bridge deck replacement project in Vancouver.

McCormick Rankin Corporation of Ottawa has been selected to do engineering services for the Chaudière Crossing project in the National Capital Region of Ottawa. The crossing carries 28,000 vehicles a day over the Ottawa River between Ottawa and Gatineau. The crossing consists of eight separate structures built at various times between 1827 and 1978. The $750,000 engineering contract includes work on seismic upgrades and replacing the crossing’s deck, sidewalk and barriers.

Roche Ltd. Consulting of Quebec City has acquired a majority stake in Seamar Engineering of France. Seamar was founded in 1991 and is based in the Bordeaux region of France, with over 20 employees. The company specializes in marine and inland waterway infrastructure and has carried out projects in over 25 countries. Mario W. Martel, president and chief executive officer of Roche, said the acquisition would complete Roche’s marine engineering expertise, a field that may be an asset for Quebec’s Plan Nord. Click here.

AECOM has set up a global advisory board which is chaired by Sir John Major, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Others on the board include Goh Chok Tong, former prime minister of Singapore, Deepak Parekh, chairman of India-based Housing Development Finance Corporation, and Dr. Daniel Thorniley, president of DT-Global of Vienna.

Sir John Major, served as U.K.  Prime Minister between 1990 and 1997 under the Conservative Government, following Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

“I am delighted to Chair such a distinguished Advisory Board of members prepared to offer their experience and expertise in support of one of the world’s most ethical companies,” Sir John Major said in a press release.

AECOM says the board “will support the company’s efforts to enter and grow in new geographies, business lines and high growth service areas.”