North American Construction Group Ltd. provides a wide range of mining and heavy civil construction services to customer in the resource development and industrial construction sectors within Canada, the United States, and Australia.
A significant portion of services are primarily focused on supporting the construction and operation of surface mines. The company considers the basis on which it is organized, including geographic areas, to identify its operating segments.
Segments
The company’s...
North American Construction Group Ltd. provides a wide range of mining and heavy civil construction services to customer in the resource development and industrial construction sectors within Canada, the United States, and Australia.
A significant portion of services are primarily focused on supporting the construction and operation of surface mines. The company considers the basis on which it is organized, including geographic areas, to identify its operating segments.
Segments
The company’s reportable segments are ‘Heavy Equipment - Australia’, ‘Heavy Equipment - Canada’, and ‘Other’.
Heavy Equipment – Australia
Through the MacKellar Group, the company primarily provides fully maintained heavy equipment rentals at metallurgical and thermal coal mines throughout the state of Queensland. The company’s services are provided under multi-year contracts which, along with equipment, contain minimum hours, costs recoverable, and maintenance labour rates for its and its client’s equipment, as well as other contractual commitments.
The company provides full contract mining services on a large thermal coal mine, which includes the provision of a large fleet of heavy equipment, maintenance, and full operation of its and its client’s equipment, as well as technical and engineering support services.
At present, the company has material agreements with existing terms expiring between 2025 and 2030 with eight mine operators at eight different mine sites. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the company was awarded an early works and development contract under a unit-rate structure by a copper producer in the state of New South Wales.
The company provides stockpile and train loadout management services at two metallurgical coal mines. The services include the management of multiple coal stockpiles using a fleet of large dozers. The company provides both operators and full maintenance support. Both contracts are long-term in nature, with one site (under different ownership) being an existing client for over 30 years.
The company operates two maintenance and rebuild centers in Queensland and one in Western Australia. The company’s maintenance and mechanical staff perform minor and major equipment and component rebuilds and refurbishments for its light and heavy equipment fleet. The company does provide limited component rebuild services to select customers based on available capacity in its facilities.
Western Plant Hire (‘WPH’), a subsidiary of the MacKellar Group, operates in Western Australia and exclusively provides heavy equipment rentals to iron ore, gold, and lithium producers. Half of Western Plant Hire’s business is conducted through one of two Indigenous JV companies (50% ownership), Barooghumba WPH Pty Ltd. Indigenous shareholders are the traditional landholders of several large parcels of land in the northern part of Western Australia, where most of the larger iron ore producers are located. Most of the work is conducted under pure dry rental agreements, where the company’s customers take responsibility for the maintenance of its equipment. The larger iron ore producers operate under multi-year Master Services Agreements. The second joint venture company is Ngaliku WPH Pty Ltd. This company supports gold projects in and around the Kalgoorlie region in Western Australia.
DGI (Aust) Trading Pty Ltd. (‘DGI’) serves the mining and construction industry by supplying production-critical components. DGI is vertically integrated with the company’s maintenance programs, and therefore is also able to support its equipment rebuild and component remanufacturing processes. With partners in over ten key countries, DGI maintains a network of suppliers and facilities which enable a unique ability to provide these valuable components in an economical fashion.
Heavy Equipment – Canada
The company primarily provides operations support services in the Canadian oil sands region as a subcontractor of Mikisew North American Limited Partnership (‘MNALP’). MNALP has non-exclusive master service agreements, or multiple use agreements, with major oil sands producers that set out contractual terms over three- to five-year periods under time and material, rental, or unit-rate contract structures. The company’s experienced personnel and versatile fleets have operated across all eight major conventional mines in the oil sands region. Currently, MNALP holds agreements covering work at six of these sites, with terms extending through 2027 to 2029.
Operations support services include a wide variety of services, but are mostly dedicated to the removal and handling of muskeg, topsoil, and overburden volumes in accordance with the site's overall mine plan. The company’s operations support includes, but is not limited to, overburden removal, infrastructure construction within mine site boundaries, initial tailings infrastructure construction, and subsequent operational support, heavy civil construction within mining areas, reclamation projects, ore hauling, and other essential tasks that are required for mine site operation. Notably, the company’s heavy civil projects involve haul road construction, stream diversions, and other critical infrastructure developments.
Additionally, to support overburden management and mining operations, the company provides fully maintained long-term equipment rentals, ensuring clients have access to the necessary machinery for efficient project execution.
ML Northern Ltd., a subsidiary of NACG, offers field maintenance services to oil sands clients. Their team primarily comprises certified fuel and lube truck professionals who operate a specialized equipment fleet, ensuring optimal on-site support.
Other
The company provides mine management services for a thermal coal mine in Texas, USA. A multi-year service agreement is in place to provide the framework for the supply of mine management services, as well as labour, equipment, and back-office supplies and services.
The company provides heavy equipment maintenance, component remanufacturing, and full equipment rebuild services to mining companies and other heavy equipment operators. The company’s maintenance personnel have specialized skills in working with equipment subjected to the difficult operating conditions of the mining industry. Those specialized skills, combined with the company’s new purpose-built facilities, provide the company with the ability to provide a high level of maintenance services in a cost-effective manner to its external customers.
Joint venture ownership
Nuna Group of Companies (‘Nuna’), of which the company owns 49%, is a well-established incumbent contractor in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Nuna’s construction revenue relates to commodities, such as base metals, precious metals, and diamonds, as well as infrastructure-related projects that involve major earthworks. Nuna continues to successfully complete major projects in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. Nuna’s peak business activity occurs during the summer months, generally from June to September.
As part of the Fargo-Moorhead flood diversion project, the company entered into two joint ventures, each with specific roles and responsibilities. The company owns a 15% interest in the Red River Valley Alliance, LLC (‘RRVA’), which is party to the agreement with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority to design, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the diversion channel and associated infrastructure that forms part of the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. The company owns a 30% interest in ASN Constructors, which entered into the design and build contract for the project with RRVA. Based in Fargo, North Dakota, the flood diversion project completed its first full year of construction in 2023 and has now surpassed the 50% completion mark.
Fleet and Equipment
As of December 31, 2024, the Heavy Equipment - Australia segment directly operated a heavy equipment fleet of 334 units; approximately 98% were owned and 2% were leased. This fleet is supported by over 300 pieces of ancillary equipment. The Heavy Equipment - Canada segment directly operated a heavy equipment fleet of 566 units; approximately 67% were owned, 30% were leased, and 3% were rented. This fleet is supported by over 800 pieces of ancillary equipment. In addition to this, in the Other segment, the joint ventures the company operates owned and leased fleets totaling 255 heavy equipment units for a combined total, excluding rented equipment, of 1,134 units.
The company has a modern, well-maintained fleet of equipment to service its clients' needs. The company operates a significant number of trucks larger than 240 tons in capacity, which gives the company a distinct advantage over competitors with respect to both specialized skill base and equipment availability. The size and diversity of the company’s fleet give the company the ability to respond on short notice and provide customized fleet solutions for each specific job. The company’s equipment strategy allows it to meet its customers' variable service requirements while balancing the need to maximize equipment utilization.
Major Suppliers
The company has long-term relationships with the following suppliers of equipment, parts, components, consumables, labour, and hauling/lifting services:
Heavy Equipment – Canada
Finning International Inc. (over 53 years), the Caterpillar heavy equipment supplier in Alberta for the majority of the company’s mining fleet, including repair parts. The company’s primary supplier of parts and components for CAT equipment;
Wajax Corporation (over 28 years), the supplier of the company’s mining and construction Hitachi excavators and shovels;
Brandt Tractor Ltd. (over 38 years), the Alberta supplier for the company’s construction John Deere excavators;
SMS Equipment Inc. (over 13 years), the Canadian supplier of the company’s Komatsu mining trucks;
Cummins Western Canada (over 17 years), the supplier of parts and engines for the Hitachi and Komatsu mining equipment;
Brake Supply Inc. (over 13 years), a supplier of Caterpillar powertrain components, hydraulic cylinders for the company’s Caterpillar mining fleet of haul trucks, ranging in carrying capacity from 100-tonne to 400-tonne, and for dozers, ranging from D8T to D11T models;
Hydraulic Repair and Design (over 13 years), the company’s prime supplier of hydraulic cylinders and pumps for its Hitachi mining shovels and excavators;
Strongco (over 10 years), the Alberta dealer for Volvo construction equipment, 60T trucks, and excavators;
SRC of Lexington (over 6 years), a supplier of Caterpillar re-manufactured engines for the company’s Caterpillar mining fleet of haul trucks, ranging in carrying capacity from 100-tonne to 240-tonne, and for dozers, ranging from D10T and D11T models;
Independent Rebuilders (over 5 years), the company’s prime supplier of Caterpillar re-manufactured engines for its Caterpillar 793F and 797B fleet of haul trucks, ranging in carrying capacity from 240-tonne to 400-tonne;
Imperial Oil (over 18 years), the company’s prime supplier of lubricants for its mining and mobile equipment fleets;
H-E Parts International (over 5 years), a supplier of non-OEM parts and components for Komatsu 240T and 320T haul trucks;
Heavy Equipment - Australia
Hastings Deering (Australia) Ltd (over 50 years), supplier of Caterpillar heavy earthmoving equipment for most of its mining fleet, including repair parts and service labour;
Liebherr Australia Pty Ltd., supplier of Liebherr mining excavators and dump trucks, including repair parts and service labour;
DMS Fire Services Pty Ltd., supplier for fire suppression and portable fire equipment for the company’s heavy earthmoving fleet;
Hoses 24 Pty Ltd., supplier of hydraulic and pneumatic parts and breakdown hose repair service; and
DavKat Heavy Haulage, a transport company providing haulage of all the company’s heavy equipment fleet throughout Queensland.
Finning, Wajax, Brandt, and SMS are also major suppliers for equipment rentals and service labour.
Seasonality
The company’s operations are subject to seasonal variations, primarily driven by weather conditions that affect ground access and equipment utilization in its reportable segments. This variability in seasonal conditions influences its quarterly revenue and operational planning across geographic and project segments.
In the Heavy Equipment – Australia segment, operations are impacted by the rainy cyclone season from November to February in the Queensland region. However, demand for support equipment rises during these times to facilitate recovery activities, including road clean-up, dewatering, and civil construction scopes. Activity generally returns to full capacity as weather conditions improve from March onwards, supporting a rebound in equipment utilization and project execution.
In the Heavy Equipment – Canada segment, oil sands operations experience peak activity from December to March, when frozen ground conditions facilitate heavy equipment-intensive work, such as reclamation and muskeg removal. Conversely, from April to June, seasonal thawing makes such work more challenging, leading to a decline in mine support revenue. For other resource mines in Canada outside the oil sands region, activity typically peaks from May to October, coinciding with favorable summer conditions.
In the Other segment, Nuna’s contribution through equity income is highly seasonal and dependent on project scope and geography. Activity typically peaks in the third quarter (year ended December 31, 2024), coinciding with favorable summer conditions in remote Northern regions of Canada, where construction seasons are often limited to less than 14 weeks. Southern projects, with longer execution windows from June to October, are less impacted by extreme seasonality. Winter road construction and maintenance work typically occurs in the fourth and first quarters when frozen conditions allow for site access.
History
The company was founded in 1953. It was incorporated in 1953. The company was formerly known as North American Energy Partners Inc. and changed its name to North American Construction Group Ltd. in 2018.
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