Company News: Ausenco, Hatch Mott MacDonald, Halsall Associates

Ausenco has acquired Projex Technologies, a company involved in the Canadian oil sands business. The Australian company says the $15-million acquisition helps it expand into the growing North American oil and gas market. In a statement, Ausenco chief executive officer Zimi Meka explained their new direction: “The global energy market is significantly larger than the global minerals and metals market and we are focussed on capturing a far greater share of this market.” Projex has a staff of 220 people providing end-to-end engineering and development services specifically tailored for in situ oil sands recovery and heavy oil customers. The company also works in brownfield redevelopment.

Hatch Mott MacDonald is providing detailed design and construction management services for the tunnels in the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown subway project in Toronto. HMM is also providing design, project management and technical services for the P3 procurement process. The new 19-kilometre LRT line crosses the city between Mount Dennis station in the west end, and Kennedy Station in Scarborough. It includes 10 kilometres of twin-bored tunnels in soft ground, 1.5 kilometres of cut-and-cover tunnels, 0.5 kilometres of elevated guideway and 7 kilometres of surface guideway.

Peter Halsall, P.Eng., has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Urban Institute. The institute is a Toronto-based not for profit organization established in 1990 that supports the development of sustainable urban regions across Canada. Peter led Halsall Associates of Toronto for many years, during which it became a firm of 300 people located in eight offices across Canada. When the company was purchased by Parsons Brinckerhoff Brinckerhoff in 2010, he served as the company’s Global Sustainability Lead.