Award

Construction of the new Pattullo Bridge, Surrey/New Westminster, B.C. S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 | 33 Reinforcing Steel P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y L M S G RO U P The challenges and opportunities of the reinforcing steel sector in 2022 by ROBIN BRUNET T he relationship between the reinforcing steel industry and steel prices has always been volatile. But two years of COVID lockdowns exacerbated that volatility, and now everything from inflation to the Russia/Ukraine war is making doing business in 2022 especially challenging. The situation is ironic, since many insiders report that jobs are voluminous. "We're a small company that employs about 20 people, but we've been way busier than I would have imagined," says Duane Kotun, director, administration, at Sherwood Steel Ltd. in Edmonton. "We're just finishing the Voilà by Safeway in Calgary and working on a residential mid-rise in the city. We're also involved in the mixed-use Mercury Block in Edmonton, plus a lot of rink renewal projects are requiring our attention." Voilà by Safeway is a large-scale distribution centre that uses a high degree of automation to provide online grocery delivery to a wide geographical area; Mercury Block is a seven-storey apartment building with 163 residential units, three levels of underground parking, and four ground floor retail bays. Sherwood Steel benefits from having teamed in 2020 with Salit Steel of Ontario, an integrated network of companies delivering steel solutions throughout North America. "They've been invaluable in terms of purchasing power and support," Kotun explains. That said, geopolitical circumstances such as the Russian/Ukraine conflict "have impacted the industry because both countries are exporters of steel and billets," Kotun explains. "That steel usually goes to a host of customers, but now the customers are sourcing supplies from different locations, and that puts a strain on supply in the U.S. and Canada. Plus, due to the hot U.S. economy, we've been getting less product from south of the border." Kotun and his colleagues have demonstrated skill in stockpiling steel when the prices are right, but one issue that is bothersome to him and won't go away anytime soon is labour, or lack of it. "I think the problem is we're a low-bidding industry where the work is quite physical and it's hard to attract newcomers due to the number of options available out there that are less physically demanding," he says. As for inflation, Kotun is stuck doing what all his other colleagues are doing: waiting to see how high it will go. "We'll either see an easing of pricing or a tremendous slowdown and a lot less new projects," he says. "At least we've manoeuvred ourselves at Sherwood Steel to be in a good enough place to weather the storm." Thriving In The Face Of Adversity

• Cover