enjoyed growth of about 40 per cent between 2003 and 2012
and saw its employee base double in size from 60 full-time
staff to its current level of 120.
“That was largely attributable to the growth in Lethbridge
and the market at the time,” Hamilton said, adding the com-pany
does the majority of its work within a 150 kilometre
radius of Lethbridge. “The economy was on fire in the early
2000s and there was a huge opportunity.”
Safety first
As part of its commitment to those 120 employees, Tollestrup
continues to review its safety policies and procedures to ensure
that “people are going home safe” every day, the company’s
COO says. Some of its more notable safety-related initiatives
includes a safety committee that includes representatives from
both staff and management and oversees safety training for all
staff, the adoption of safety protocols for all of its drivers and a
recent move to the use of web-based safety forms.
“Our industry is ever-evolving, and safety is not some-thing
you can sit by and say you’ve done enough,” Hamilton
said. “What we’ve learned with some of the speciality equip-ment
we own and the mining and the asphalt production…
is that we’re constantly learning new things from the labour
to the lead hands to management in the office.”
Something that’s not quite so new is Tollestrup’s involve-ment
in the Alberta Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction
Association (ARHCA). The company is coming up to 45 years
as a member of ARHCA and Hamilton says that involvement
is just as valuable today as it was nearly a half century ago.
“Being involved with ARHCA provides an opportunity
to hear the needs of the people and the government about
what’s going on in the province and what needs to be
improved. It gives us a snapshot of what we need to be inno-vators
and know where we’re excelling or how we can help
our clients locally.” n
M E M B E R P R O F I L E
Matty Reber & dan hochhausen
780-878-4340
• Excavation & demolition
dozers, graders, loaders, trackhoes,
scrapers, backhoes & skidsteers
• Road construction & ditching
• Brushing & dugouts
• Equipment hauling
• Sand & gravel hauling
• Contaminate hauling
• Removal - commercial
• Oilfield access matting
• Welding services
BOX 29, BAWLf ab t0b 0j0 - ironaddictsconstruction@gmail. com
ALBERTA HEAVY 1 2019 15
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