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With more than 40 years of experience and a large work force, the Municipal Group of Companies is the largest civil contractor in Atlantic Canada. The company maintains its leadership position through building trust, delivering quality work, meeting commitments and having the re­sources to be the best in the business – all while keeping its employees safe.

Vice President of the Municipal Group of Companies’ Newfoundland and Labrador area Micheal Mayhew oversees seven of the group’s companies in the area. The Municipal Group recently purchased three of these companies to secure its place in the area. RSM Mining, RSM Municipal and North Links Construction – three companies who had participated in a joint partnership in the past with the Municipal Group – were brought into the fold just last year. 

The company also operates RSM Safety Institute, Rockcliffe, Grey Rock Mining and Innu Municipal.

“After working with RSM Mining for several years, [the Municipal Group of Companies], saw the potential to expand throughout North America,” Mayhew says. “Since they have more than 50 years of surface mining experience, it seemed like a good fit.”

Experience and expertise are high on the Municipal Group of Companies’ list. “It’s our expertise that distinguishes us from the competition,” Mayhew explains. “We find the right people so they can focus on their particular area of expertise, which makes the company stronger.”

The Municipal Group of Companies’ foray into the Newfoundland and Labrador area has included the purchase of the three aforementioned companies and the development of the others. These strategic business moves have positioned the company to succeed not only in that particular area, but across North America, as well.

Mining Expertise

With 50 years of mining experience in northern Canada, RSM Mining Services has the capabilities to run or assist in mine development for junior and major mining companies. RSM Mining Services provides hourly, lump sum or cost-per-ton pricing for complete overburden, waste and ore extraction, which allow companies to budget efficiently and eliminate any costing surprises. RSM Mining Services offers new or existing mines many services, from the grassroots to ore shipment.

RSM Mining Services is widely recognized for its experience and expertise in overburden removal/stripping, road construction/road maintenance, grubbing and repairing railway lines, site preparation, ice bridges, material handling and various other earthmoving services.

The Labrador-based companies can provide:

• Open pit mining, overburden stripping and related services
• Drilling and blasting
• Road building, road maintenance and bridge construction
• Rentals of heavy equipment
• Production hauling of overburden, waste and ore
• Material handling
• Crushing and screening
• Calcium, sand and water delivery
• Heavy civil work
• Dikes, basins and tailings management
• Slashing and burning
• Snow clearing

To provide the area with full-service mining capabilities, the Municipal Group of Companies formed Grey Rock Mining earlier this year, which can provide a turnkey mining operation including drilling and blasting. 

“Grey Rock Mining is a non-union, full-service mining company,” Mayhew explains. “Grey Rock has the capability to build a mine and perform all the services needed to get the job done right the first time.”

He adds that Grey Rock created a partnership with the Innu Nation in Labrador (Innu Municipal), which will provide training and employment opportunities for the local community. “It’s important to work well within our community, and the Innu are part of community,” Mayhew says. “They’re part of our local economy, too. We have developed a company with the Innu called Innu Municipal where our different business units team work with this branch to perform mining and civil works throughout Labrador. 

“This has allowed us to tap into the Innu Nation work force,” he continues, “and properly train people from the community for the future, who come from the north and will remain here to live and support their communities. Community support and sustainability is very important to Municipal Group’s success.

Another Municipal Group company in the area is North Links Construction. North Links operates out of nearby Goose Bay and performs heavy civil construction and maintenance.

Rockcliffe Construction serves as a warehouse for all the company’s heavy civil equipment, Mayhew says. 

“It was a lot easier to put all the equipment in one company,” he adds. “With all the equipment in one place, it’s easier for us to be more efficient in supporting our business units in Labrador.”

Safety First

Perhaps the most important of all the Municipal Group’s companies in the Labrador Area is the RSM Safety Institute, the company says. “The Safety Institute serves as a training ground for all the Labrador-based companies and even other companies and competition in the Labrador area,” according to Mayhew. “It provides orientation and specialized training for all types of construction.” 

Run by Gary Furlong, the RSM Safety Institute fits right in with Mayhew’s philosophy of “Safety Pays.”

“We’re trying to ensure there are no accidents,” Mayhew continues. “[Safety] was my first focus when I came on board. There used to be a perception in our industry that accidents happen and it was just part of life, but we’re doing our best to change that perception. We look at all the processes to find out why it happened and develop a way to prevent it from happening again.” As Mayhew puts it, “Accidents are no longer acceptable.

“Our safety program is top-down driven,” he adds. “It was something I learned, and I want to pass that down. It all starts at the top as a core value that is preached and practiced within our companies.”

Keeping Supplied

Asphalt supply is yet another core business for the Municipal Group 

of Companies. The group has two stationary plants in Bedford and Bridgewater and two portable plants. “We have the ability and capacity to produce over 100,000 tons of asphalt per year,” the company says. 

“With today’s new technologies and design specifications, we produce a variety of different types of asphalt,” the company adds. “To ensure the strict adherence to asphalt specifications, we have on-staff quality control professionals.” 

The portable plants are used in the group’s highway paving and on international projects. Its Astec Double Barrel portable plant can produce 400 tons of asphalt per hour, and the Boeing portable asphalt plant can produce 250 tons per hour. 

The stationary plants, an Astec Double Barrel and an ADM, produce 400 tons per hour and 150 tons per hour, respectively.

Other members of the Municipal Group of Companies include Envirosoil Limited, Municipal Contracting Limited and Dexter Construction Co. Envirosoil operates a thermal treatment plant in Bedford for the remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils and offshore oilfield drilling waste. 

Envirosoil also is engaged in a significant, award-winning international partnership involved in contaminated site remediation. 

Municipal Contracting is a Nova Scotia-registered company with a focus on heavy construction in the metropolitan Halifax area, and Dexter Construction Co. is a New Brunswick-registered company focusing on all aspects of construction and civil contracting in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Nonstop Expansion

When it comes to the future of the Municipal Group of Companies, Mayhew says expansion is on tap. The company plans to grow in the Quebec market and is eyeing the acquisition of an underground mining company to add to its services.

“The market is very specialized,” he notes. “Companies have to fit into a niche to be successful. By getting into the underground mining sector, we will be able to diversify our group.”

The Municipal Group of Companies doesn’t take such decisions lightly. Mayhew likens it to the company’s hiring process. “We have a very stringent process,” he says. “We don’t just look at production, we examine their safety record, too. We want to make sure we get the right people and the right companies that mesh with our way of thinking. We want our reputation as a safety-conscious company to speak for itself.”

With its emphasis on safety and growth and its diverse services, the future does indeed look bright for the Municipal Group of Companies.