One stop shop for Tulloch: Thessalon survey-engineering firm picks up two Sudbury firms.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: TRANSPORATATION - Survey

One of Northern Ontario's largest survey and engineering firms has gotten bigger.

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Tulloch Consulting Group acquired two Sudbury-based companies in 2008; first with Great Lakes Environmental Services last January, followed by Del Bosco Surveying in November.

"It was just a good fit for us," said president Mike Tulloch of the Thessalon-based firm. "We're striving to become a full service stop for land development" with well-rounded specialties in civil, environmental and geomatics (land surveying) engineering, plus contract administration.

Great Lakes Environmental Services, located on Regent Street in Sudbury, specializes in fisheries and stream rehabilitation work for municipalities on Manitoulin Island and across the region.

Tulloch said adding expertise in environmental engineering fills an important niche for his larger company after sub-contracting work to Great Lakes for years.

The six-person Sudbury firm will remain a stand alone company. With an already established clientele, they will keep their name for marketing purposes.

"We're using them exclusively on our highway projects," said Tulloch. "Virtually every project requires an environmental monitoring component."

Del Bosco, a land surveyor company on Lorne Street, is one of the bigger firms for residential and land development in Sudbury. They've partnered with Vale Inco and Xstrata Nickel on a number of contracts.

"That's a new market for us," said Tulloch. The plan is to merge the two offices together at one location.

Though mineral production has tailed off and some projects have been deferred, Tulloch said there remains a good volume of mining-related work.

The acquisitions enable the Thessalon-based company to fill certain niches and offer a broader range of services to government and private sector clients.

The Tulloch group employs 150 people in four offices at its Thessalon headquarters and at branches in Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Huntsville.

The company works in areas such as public infrastructure, subdivision design, environmental base line work for mining companies, wind development, and Aboriginal land claims.

Tulloch is very involved in highway four-laning work in northeastern Ontario having done the survey work for the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) on the massive Highway 69 and 11 road-widening projects. Now they handle its project management.

The company is overseeing the inspection and quality of work for five highway contracts...