Manufacturing & Transport
I had imagined the trucking industry would be harried and bare-bones utilitarian. Had I badly misjudged? Lew Donald shakes his head. “No. Other trucking companies are nothing like this,” he says, refilling his coffee mug in the spacious drivers’ lounge, complete with its own Internet station where drivers can check...
Text by Jessica Werb Photo essay by Dina Goldstein Where traffic once flowed unhindered downtown and along Cambie Street, drivers are now confronted by an ever-changing spectacle of menacing machines, gaping pits and orange-clad workers. Commuters are the rats caught in this maze. They awake every morning determined to get...
Early next month, a ship carrying three huge cranes will dock at Prince Rupert, setting the stage for an economic boom in Northwest B.C. Weighing 1,800 tonnes apiece and standing 30 storeys high, these red-and-white behemoths will dominate the harbour.
Joan started looking for a new vehicle last August and quickly decided she wanted a 2007 Subaru Outback. Frustration set in when, after weeks of searching, none of the Lower Mainland dealers could get her the car. Jubilation soon replaced...
Squat concrete- block warehouses secured with razor-wire fences and steel-mesh windows stretch off into the morning light. Many appear deserted, with dust on windows and doorsills, garbage in the alley. In the doorway of one of several shabby houses, some dishevelled men gather to deal in drugs.
Until recently, at any given time, at least 10 grunged-out, pierced, tattooed and fit emissaries could be spotted hanging out outside the HSBC Bank tower at Georgia and Hornby, waiting for their next mission to be broadcast over two-way radios.
Global free trade has been all the rage for decades: APEC, GATT, WTO, NAFTA, OECD, EU… So when B.C. and Alberta spawned their own free-trade acronym, TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement), the response was an overwhelming yawn.
The drab industrial landscape of Mitchell Island in Richmond is the last place you’d expect to find occupational nirvana, but here, within the walls of new 250,000-square-foot plant, you’ll find more contented workers than anywhere else in B.C. Scheduler Carrie Dawson first arrived at GLBC as a pregnant temp in...
I have to admit I’m a little nervous. It’s my first day on the sales floor at OpenRoad Toyota in the Richmond Auto Mall and I keep thinking of Jimmy Pattison, who used to keep the sales kernels popping in his car-dealership frying pan by firing the bottom sales person at the end of each month. I’m relieved to find the mood disarmingly relaxed.
The CEO is feeling a little rattled. It’s his first business trip to Japan and he must impress potential customers, which means demonstrating some newly acquired cultural know-how. At first things go well. He bows in accordance with traditional etiquette...