Flatiron Celebrates 10 Years in Canada

Kicking Horse Canyon Bridge, in British Columbia, Flatiron’s first project in Canada.

This April, Flatiron celebrates 10 years in Canada. In 2004, Flatiron opened a small office in Richmond, British Columbia, hoping to bring our transportation infrastructure expertise to our neighbors to the north. The original two-person staff included Blair Brandon, now President of the Canadian Division.

In ten years, Flatiron’s Canadian presence has grown from a two-man team to more than 1000 employees. The Canadian Division accounts for more than 40 percent of Flatiron’s total business, and we have permanent offices in British Columbia and Alberta.

Flatiron’s Northeast Anthony Henday Drive projects in Edmonton, Alberta.

Flatiron’s first project was the Kicking Horse Canyon Bridge in Golden, BC. The Civil Division supported the Canadian team with estimating support, and played a crucial role in winning this work. Kicking Horse was a complex endeavor—the first curved incrementally launched bridge in North America—but was completed 21 months ahead of the owner’s schedule and cemented Flatiron as a builder and partner of choice in the region.

Northwest Anthony Henday Drive in Edmonton, Alberta.

The $125 million Kicking Horse project, a public-private partnership project, was the first of many delivered by Flatiron under the alternative contract model. Flatiron is now one of only a few contractors in North America with a proven, and extensive, track record of PPP success, delivering nearly $2 billion in design-build services for PPP projects. Other notable PPP projects we’ve built in Canada include Northeast Stoney Trail in Calgary, and the Northwest Anthony Henday Drive in Edmonton.

The Port Mann Bridge/Highway 1 Project in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We are an industry leader in transportation infrastructure and oil-sands infrastructure work, building 30 projects worth $2.8 billion in a decade. We are currently constructing four projects on Canada’s Top 100 list compiled by ReNew Canada, including the Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver, Northeast Anthony Henday Drive, Ruskin Dam and Powerhouse Upgrade in British Columbia and the Interior to Lower Mainland Transmission Line in British Columbia.

Despite complex projects and rapid growth, Flatiron has maintained an exceptional safety record in Canada, working more than 6.4 million man hours in Canada without a lost-time injury from 2007 to 2011.

Flatiron has also become an employer of choice, winning six employer awards since 2012. Flatiron earned a spot on the prestigious Best Workplace in Canada list in 2012 and 2013 from the Great Place to Work Institute. The editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers named Flatiron a Top Employer for Young People in 2014 and 2013, and a Top Employer in British Columbia in 2013 and 2014.

Congratulations to everyone at Flatiron in Canada for their work in making the past decade there such a success.

Flatiron’s Northwest Anthony Henday Drive Project