New Liskeard - New legislation for Ontario’s drinking water is keeping Pedersen Construction Co. busy.
As Ontario continues to upgrade its water treatment plants, the New Liskeard company which specializes in sewer and water construction, has hired 10 young people, increasing its workforce to 80.
The 50-year-old company changed hands in 1978 when Karl Pedersen, president, took over his father’s business. Formerly known as Helmer Pedersen Construction Limited, the company changed its name to Pederson Construction Co. in 1990. Presently, Karl and his three brothers Alec, Dennis and Terry run the company.
“We originally started building foundations and basements 50 years ago for building contractors, and we expanded from there,” Karl Pedersen says.
Located at the intersection of Highway 65 West and Highway 11, the 30-acre facility is accessible to deliver ready-mix concrete from its ready-mix plant.
Although the business has been stable for 15 years, Pedersen says the pace has increased this year, partly due to the 2002 Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act.
“We’re doing a lot of the water treatment plants and water systems after Walkerton,” Pedersen says.
Currently, they have the contract for the Larder Lake water treatment plant and the Six Mile Lake Provincial Park, near Cold water-a system just coming on line.
They are upgrading the water system for the town of New Liskeard and Dymond Township, known as Temiskaming Shores since amalgamation.
Pedersen says they will be commissioning a new upgrade at the Cobalt water treatment plant and are currently working for another company in Temagami on two new additions for existing water treatment plants.
The company also put in all the water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer services for the Hockey Heritage North project in Kirkland Lake.
Besides the flurry of activity in water plants, Pedersen Construction Co. continues to do concrete forming for foundations, as well as road work for the Ministry of Transportation.
“We do a lot of subcontracting work for Miller Paving,” Pedersen says. “We install culverts and do drilling and blasting.”
As a business that has been in the community for 50 years, he believes theyreceive a lot of local support and that it also helps to have some Northern ministers advocating for Northern companies.
