Techmation Electric and Controls will be opening an office in the Netook Business Park sometime in 2014, with construction expected sometime after December.
“We're just in the process of applying for permits and then we're probably (going to take) five months for construction,” said Derek Poisfut, president of the company.
Poisfut said moving to the business park will give the company a lot of room to operate. The highway exposure is another plus for the company.
“We have a three-acre lot there. The room is certainly a factor. The second thing is we're going to be doing some odd work, we have room to grow and the exposure is good for us,” he said.
With Techmation's head office located in Airdrie, the office near Olds allows the company to expand and have a site which the roughly 25 employees in the Olds area could call home base.
The company plans on fabricating modular electrical buildings and doing electrical and instrumentation work from the site.
“We work for a number of clients around the Olds area. We do both construction and maintenance,” he said.
Even though head office is in nearby Airdrie, the Olds location will allow the company even closer proximity to clients in the Olds area, he said.
“We want to keep it local. Airdrie would be too far away. Our clients are expecting us to be right in (the Olds area),” he said.
Techmation has 24 locations throughout Western Canada, serving clients primarily in the oil and gas industry. The company has roughly 1,100 employees.
Terrence Johnston, a senior advisor with ProDev, the company developing the business park, said he was happy Techmation will be joining the park.
“They're a very strong Alberta company, involved in the oil and gas industry, so we're very pleased to have them join us,” said Johnston.
About 10 lots have been spoken for thus far out of 31 at the park. The relocation of Mountain View Dodge from Olds has been a real boon for the park, he added.
“They've set a high standard for what we'd like to see in the park. I think people are paying a little more attention to Netook Crossing Business Park than they did before. And we're hoping it results in additional lot sales here in the not too distant future,” he said.
The outlook for the park is a bit brighter now than it was in the recent past, he said.
Johnston said the park is hoping to attract automotive and farm dealerships and other light industrial businesses.
Netook Construction purchased a lot at the site in late December 2012 and will be starting construction on its site in the near future.
"I think people are paying a little more attention to Netook Crossing Business Park than they did before."Terrence Johnston, senior advisor, ProDev
