Community first: WB Melback finds success with local support.

AuthorKelly, Lindsay
PositionTEMISKAMING & REGION

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...

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