Fabricating success: family business still serving mining industry four decades later.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: TIMMINS

Ask Mark Norkum, president and general manager of Timmins' Gorf Contracting, what the name of his company stands for, and you'll hear a series of uncertain and unlikely possibilities.

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After a minute, though, he half-seriously suggests "Generations of Reliable Fabricators," an option that might be appropriate after all.

With three generations of Norkum men now having been involved with the general contracting company, operation of the steadily growing enterprise has truly become a family affair.

The beginnings of the business began with Mark's father, Alphonse Norkum, a local carpenter and homebuilder. When the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company began operation of the Kidd Creek Mine in 1966, Alphonse correctly predicted there would be a tremendous need for more local mining-focused services, and founded Gorf Contracting in response.

Over time, the initial focus on carpentry grew and expanded into civil work to meet industry demand. Before long, the company got into structural steel and custom manufacturing, outgrowing its small shop in Schumacher to a sprawling complex on Highway 101 in Timmins proper. Norkum now operates a 28,000-square-foot custom steel fabrication shop, complete with a fully-equipped machine shop.

While construction work is still available, the general contractor primarily focuses on the mining and forestry industries, producing anything from chutes to tanks and conveyor systems.

"I find you have to be diversified if you really want to succeed," says Mark.

"It's a small community, but it's also a big area. When one industry's up, the other's down, and you have to constantly be mindful of that."

A crew of 48 employees makes up the close-knit heart of the company, though that number can ramp up to as high as 230 during particularly busy seasons or projects.

For many years, the employee list also included Tom Laughren, who has since become the mayor of Timmins.

Among that list of employees is also one of Mark's sons, Mark Jr., introducing the third generation of Norkums to the family business. While Mark Jr. works full-time in various capacities, his younger brother Brad is studying finance with the expectation of one day becoming involved.

This matches a similar path taken by the elder Mark, who studied civil technology before taking over the business from his father in 1982. Having built the company from the ground up, however, the founder, Alphonse, could never fully let go, remaining actively involved...