Feature woRDS: ChRIS gILSON phoToS: CORDeLIA NOBLe All. ToGEThER. now. Interfleet will officially become part of the SNCLavalin brand in 2016. Chris Gilson caught up with Richard George and Marc Rivard at the opening of its new Derby office I ts been a long journey for Marc Rivard, SNC-Lavalin Executive Vice-President, Infrastructure Engineering, to be sitting in the office of Group Managing Director Richard George, in Derbyshire. In terms of mileage, he has covered 3,170 from Montreal, Canada but when it comes to the integration of Interfleet into the SNCLavalin (SNL) brand, its been a voyage of discovery and progress thats reached this point today. Richard and Marc are in Derby to celebrate the opening of the recently completed SNCLavalin House building. Later on, there will be an official ceremony, complete with barbecue and live music but for now, there is a story to be told. Following the takeover of Interfleet, back in 2011, the integration of Interfleet into the SNCLavalin brand was put on hold but the time is now right, begins Richard. Over the next few months, we arecreating a rail and transit division, of which Interfleet will be the absolute heartbeat. Its the same people as before, but with a bigger and brighter future. Leveraging and working together is the big advantage. Weve been here since 2011 and continued to work in isolation, which has its strengths, but doesnt utilise the skills that Interfleet possesses. At this point, Marc nods and joins in: When I first joined SNC-Lavalin, and met Richard, I thought to myself: Wow, this is really specialised, and I was very impressed with the offering here. What I soon noticed, though, was that everyone was working on their own; nothing was integrated and that needed to change. One of the great things with Interfleet is that its so well positioned, and has an ability to leverage the portfolio of the wider business across the globe. This integration means we can now bid not just for the consultancy side of things, but also engineering, operation, and maintenance and construction. Its very exciting. Just think, when we bring all our rail and transit engineering people together, thats a thousand people. Its a significant offering. Significant is an apt word to describe the doors that are opening for Interfleet since the integration process began. Richard explains some of the theory behind the moves. Why is it a rail and transit division? Well, thats a good reflection on what brings us together. In Canada and the US, most of ourclients are transit authorities. Were dealing with some big P3 transit schemes in Canada its what we have a fantastic reputation for. However, transit means something quite specific, while, in North America, the term rail is equally specific, and subtly different. There, the word rail indicates a mainline railway such as Amtrak not light rail as we know it. Given that this has to be a global offering, we needed a name that ticked all the right boxes in both a European and American context. We could have just called it rail in Europe and people would have understood, but that wouldnt work in North America. We want everybody, including staff and customers, to feel engaged. An amazing investment The global rail sector is enjoying unprecedented amounts of spending on big-league projects, with regions such as the Middle East and North America leading theway. Marc expands on Richards comments: Right now, in Toronto, the amount thats being invested in rail is amazing. The Eglinton Crosstown P3 project is worth CAD$5bn, and that doesnt include rolling stock. Richard nods: Yes, thats right. Canada has got the rail bug in the way the USA hasnt. Its important to remember here that were not building a rail and transit division for convenience; were building because theres a global market, which is growing. Look at the Middle East, where theyre building significant new infrastructure. There are massive contracts there. One of SNC-Lavalins acquisitions in the past year was the Irish Kentz group, which has a substantial presence in the Middle East, with 5-6,000 personnel in the area. As Marc points out: Thats very strategic, and weve now got bases to work with that we didnt have before. Marc and Richard both laugh at the fact that until the brand integration SNC-Lavalin had more than 100 different company names. All those brands diluted our offering, says Richard, but now were a big-tier player and were going to have a fantastic outlook for the next decade. Currently, the SNC-Lavalin name is not well known in the UK, although all our major international competitors know it. What this gives us is the excuse to go out and promote ourselves, and promote the bigger picture. Interfleet had excellent relationships, but SNC-Lavalin ticks a lot more boxes and can open more doors. Richard and Marc agree there will be a lot of challenges ahead, with the key issue being the amassing of resources. Both, however, feel that any issues wont last for long, and will soon be solved by the integration process. As Marc listens, Richard has the final word: This is like sticking a big flag in the sand and saying SNC-Lavalin is here, in a way that we could never have done with Interfleet alone. Until now, theres always been a What would we lose? attitude, but now the concentration of thought is on What do we gain? Richard smiles. Thats a good quote, remember that. With this parting line, he and Marc head off to declare the new office and new world of opportunities open. n For more information, go richard.george@snclavalin.com www.interfleetgroup.com This is like sticking a big flag in the sand and saying SNCLavalin is here, in a way that we could never have done with Interfleet alone Richard George