The story of New Liskeard company WB Melback is as much about the power of community as it is about the business acumen of an industry veteran.
Launched in 2013, Melback provides project management and general contractor services to the mining, forestry and energy sectors across Canada, specializing in large and small-scale turnaround maintenance services.
It’s just the latest venture for founder Mel Peddie, who’s spent close to 40 years in the industry with heavyweights like GDC and Wabi Development. After purchasing Wabi with former partner Brian Skeoch in 1995, the company grew from a $5-million-a-year enterprise to a top industry player, grossing $500 million annually and employing more than 1,500 across Canada by 2008.
When he left Wabi, which by then had been sold to KBR, Peddie was just looking to continue the work he loves.
“The intentions were to stay fairly small and really work Northern Ontario,” said Peddie, who works out of a small office in his home garage. “We don’t want to cut other people’s grass, the other contractors. Just get a little bit and we’re happy with that.”
But new and former clients were soon seeking him out, and in February 2014, he got an offer he couldn’t refuse. In Prince Rupert, B.C., SANDVIK needed someone to refurbish two 30-year-old stacker-reclaimers, which load coal onto ships heading for China, and the company had identified WB Melback’s work proposal as its preferred option.
Within four days, Peddie was in Vancouver, shaking hands to seal the deal.
“I got back, and in one week I had to buy all my tools, hire men, and get them on the road going out there for the following week away,” he recalled. “That doesn’t happen; the big companies can’t make it happen that fast.”
That’s when his plan hit a snag: unable to secure a letter of credit to guarantee payment to SANDVIK, Peddie was left scrambling to get his supplies and employees in order before the job started.
He decided to take a grassroots approach, visiting local businesses in search of a 90-day grace period, which would allow him to secure the job, purchase his supplies, and start work on time.
“I said to them, ‘If you can’t do it, I totally understand, but here’s what I need to do to be able to get this job,’” Peddie recalled. “The business people in Western Canada and in our community stuck behind me and gave me the 90 days I needed to be able to meet my payroll before I could start paying my suppliers.”
His solid reputation in the industry spoke for him, and time and again, suppliers agreed to wait the 90 days to receive payment. Peddie also received assistance from Lorne Hillcoat at the Temiskaming Development Fund Corp., who helped convince the board to give him a $250,000 loan.
Peddie made good on his promise, in the Temiskaming area alone spending money on vehicles, small tools, equipment, consumables, legal advice, living allowances, and payroll for a grand total in excess of $2 million.
“$2.374 million in a community of this size doesn’t seem like that much, but take it away and it’s a lot,” Peddie said.
That confidence landed WB Melback the job, which was a success, and all Peddie’s creditors have been paid. Now, he’s being contacted for more work on the West Coast; the company is currently up for a job in B.C. which is estimated to last two to three years.
Northern Ontario won’t be far from his thoughts, though. Grateful for the confidence of local suppliers and energized by his home community, Peddie said he’ll always maintain a presence in the North.
“We haven’t forgotten where our roots come from in this community,” Peddie said. “This is where I was born and raised, where my family is. This is where I’m going to be buried.”
