Business earns prestigious ULC certification

BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

It was a challenging process, but LRB Fabricators Limited of Port Williams has achieved Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC) certification and now stands among the top manufacturers of fire trucks in the country.

President Lewis Benedict says he started fabricating fire trucks about 26 years ago and his company is now the only fabricator of new and rebuilt fire department pumpers, tankers and mini-tankers in the province with ULC certification. The company received certification this summer following a lengthy process.

Benedict said it wasn’t that difficult getting the certification, but there was a lot of detailed paperwork and red tape to work through. They hired a consultant to help in the process. He said they have to have the documentation and paperwork to back up every nut and bolt that goes into a piece of equipment. However, he said they always built their trucks to ULC specs.

ULC is the only laboratory accredited by the Standards Council of Canada for the testing of firefighting equipment. ULC monitors manufacturers of fire trucks, pumpers and tankers to ensure the same material standards are used as with all other certified manufacturers. With the certification, the Port Williams business can now accept truck orders from across the country. Lewis said they hope to be able to expand the business and eventually hire more workers.

“They can come and grow with us,” he said about the possibility of hiring more employees. “I’m really fortunate with the guys I have. They’re very adaptable and there’s lots of variety here to keep them interested and busy. We’re self-sufficient. We do everything ourselves. It’s a team effort.”

The company does more than build and refurbish fire trucks and other firefighting equipment. They’ve refurbished rescue trucks for 14 Wing Greenwood and huge mobile power substations for Nova Scotia Power. They’ve even refurbished a well driller and they’re willing to take on smaller jobs that other similar operations sometimes don’t have time for.

LRB will go out into the field and service fire trucks and equipment if they break down as well. They’ve travelled to service broken-down trucks before and had them back up and running before the fire was out.

“I like to help people,” Lewis said. “Customer service is important.”

Process was stressful

LRB Secretary and Treasurer Debbie Benedict said the ULC certification is important to Lewis and is therefore important to her because she is his back-up and support.

“Going through the process was stressful to everyone because of the paperwork involved but we made it through,” she said, pointing out that their initiative to get certified came in under budget and their workers deserve as much credit as they do for the certification. “If we make a gain, they make a gain.”

Benedict, a former chief of the Port Williams Fire Department, got into fabricating fire trucks when his department was in need of a new tanker and didn’t have any money. He said why not build one, so he went to work fabricating the unit in his backyard.

The initiative started snowballing when another department saw his work and wanted to know if he could build one for them. He has never had to advertise as the orders kept coming through word-of-mouth. The original truck he built is still a part of the fleet in Hall’s Harbour.

As an extra service, he said, they put photos up on their website, www.lrbfabricators.ca, of jobs in progress so that departments from away can track the progress of their orders. One example is the refurbishing they’re currently doing on a 1994 truck from Liverpool. Benedict said the refurbishing would give the unit another 12 to 13-year lifespan.

As an interesting side note, a man in Ontario who saw the Liverpool refurbishing photos on the website has contacted LRB to let them know their department has the “sister” truck and they might be interested in having LRB refurbish it as well.

Best bang for the buck

He said most of their fire truck customers have been small departments without a lot of money to spend. They have to get the best bang for their buck. Benedict said the concept of “buy local” isn’t exclusive to agriculture. There are departments across the province that have LRB trucks, including several in the Valley region. Berwick, Kingston, Greenwich, Wolfville, Windsor, Walton, Brooklyn, Summerville and Noel are examples of departments that have or have had LRB trucks.

One example of a piece of equipment fabricated recently by LRB that has received a lot of attention is the New Minas Fire Department’s “Smoky”. The truck, the only one of its kind in the Valley, was originally a log skidder.

Benedict said “Smoky” is the brainchild of New Minas Fire Chief James Redmond. The department was dealing with a lot of fires in more remote areas and, after getting a traditional truck mired down, the department decided it needed something else.

Benedict said a man involved with aircraft crash investigations saw a photo of the truck in the paper and said he would recommend that the airport he works for purchase one. He felt it would be ideal for situations where planes overrun runways or somehow spark fires in nearby woods.

“I hope every airport in Canada gets one,” Benedict said.