“I am confident that things will turn around, but it’s going
to take more time. And that’s what’s really hurting because
time is money,” he said.
Still, something very positive did come out of this past
year for ARHCA. A big focus of the board was to bring more
young people into the industry, and Arnill was directly
involved in some positive steps in this direction.
“ARHCA recently formed a partnership with the
University of Alberta and its Integrated Road Research
Facility (IRRF),” he said. “I met with Dr. Bayat at the university
and got the ball rolling. This partnership will help
elevate the profile of our industry and allow our members
an opportunity to get in front of the next generation of
rising stars.”
The IRRF was established in 2012, committed to sustainable
roadway construction through investigation into the use
of recycled and waste materials in roadway projects. When
West-Can Seal Coating hired an engineer who had done his
masters in engineering through the University of Alberta,
Arnill became aware of the facility and connected with
professors involved in the IRRF to begin working towards
a partnership.
“I toured the multi-million-dollar facility and the first
thing I thought was that these are the exact people we want
to attract to our industry – young, smart and passionate students
who are interested in road construction. A partnership
with the university will allow us to find and hire these rising
stars, work alongside them and focus on new initiatives
and innovative ideas. Before, a lot of these students were
going into the energy sectors – roadbuilders weren’t getting
noticed. We’re hoping that’s going to change.”
Arnill says that this is an important accomplishment for
ARHCA. The partnership with the university will provide
an environment where the association can invite members
and government officials to see the hands-on research being
conducted by masters and Ph.D. students directly within
the province.
Looking to the year ahead
Arnill is very hopeful that the red tape reduction committee
will remove some unnecessary burdens within the industry
and is already starting to see change in that direction with a
more streamlined process that is friendlier to the roadbuilding
industry.
But at the end of the day, he believes that the best way to
help drive change is to be part of it.
“It’s important to know what’s going on, and this is a very
active association with 950 member companies,” said Arnill.
“Everyone on the board…has the backs of all the members.
There’s a lot of passion around the table, and it’s good to
expose yourself to that. On that note, I would like to thank
all the staff at ARHCA – especially Ron Glen, chief executive
officer. There’s a lot of leadership in that office. They’ve
been an enormous help to me, especially as a first-time chair,
offering their mentorship and support throughout the year.”
Arnill feels that meeting members at committee meetings
and functions, being surrounded by people cut from the same
cloth, has been the best part of his experience on the board.
“At the end of the day, we’re all contractors – we all think
alike; we all ride the same wave through the bad times and
the good.” n
O U T G O I N G C H A I R
An ARHCA meeting in Didsbury, Alta.
Andrew Arnill has been in the roadbuilding industry since he was 15
years old
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