Expansions Mean More Opportunities for More People
While many people view PotashCorp's capacity expansions as numbers in a spreadsheet, Clark Bailey sees the impact on a much more personal level every day.
As Senior Vice President, Projects and Technical Services, Bailey has ongoing contact with the companies and people who are essential to – and benefiting from – the projects in Saskatchewan.
"We have more than 700 extra people at our Cory site today," he says, reviewing the list of people who passed through the facility gates. "That doesn't include our employees or full-time contract employees. That is how many additional people were at the site working on things connected to our expansion. And that's just one day, one site."
With PotashCorp investing CDN $7.0 billion on projects in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, abundant opportunities are being created in the communities where we operate. This benefit goes beyond large-scale manufacturing and extends to a wide range of goods and services required to support these major construction projects: paint for steel, propane to heat construction offices, food and accommodations for work crews, transportation, equipment maintenance, security, couriers – the list goes on.
"Where we can, we try to engage local talent and suppliers," says Bailey. "Our keys are safety and performance. We know that people who are disciplined in these areas tend to run their jobs better and have lower costs. Anybody who is performing with high standards of safety and quality has a chance to do pretty well on these jobs and may become a repeat contractor or service provider."
As part of the supplier development process, PotashCorp spends significant time outlining expectations and providing safety training to prospective contract employees. It not only benefits PotashCorp now; it adds to the knowledge base and skill set of industry in the province for the future.
"We intend to be operating in Saskatchewan for a long time – and the work we are doing now will strengthen our supplier network," says Bailey. "Both the training and purchasing will benefit the entire province for years to come."
According to independent economic analysis conducted by SJ Research Services, PotashCorp's projects in Saskatchewan will generate an estimated CDN $3.2 billion in new gross domestic product during the construction phase (2007-2012). Once operational, the expansions are expected to increase the province's economic output by CDN $3.8 billion annually.
In simpler terms, the expansions are forecast to create more than 32,000 person-years of employment during construction and directly or indirectly support more than 14,500 jobs after ramp-up.
At current operating levels, PotashCorp pays royalties and taxes to the Government of Saskatchewan that represent approximately 10 percent of the province's total revenue. With the investments in these projects and the potential of the company's capacity expansions, it is evident that PotashCorp has a significant role in Saskatchewan's economic development – now and in the future.
"These expansions are a huge undertaking," says Bailey. "We have a good strong industrial base in Saskatchewan – and these types of projects help it grow and get even stronger."