bout de papier, Vol. 3, No. 3 (1985) — Fall 1985 // Automne 1985, p. 28
By Paul F. Kelly
Stanley Associates Engineering Ltd. was a one man operation when formed in 1954 by Dr. Donald R. Stanley in Edmonton, Alberta. Today, the firm has 14 branch offices throughout the west, some 500 employees, and a worldwide reputation for the export of quality consulting engineering services.
Stanley Associates specializes in water supply, sanitation, solid waste management, transportation and urban and rural development projects, providing the spectrum of services from initial feasibility studies, through detailed design, construction supervision, start up, operational guidance and surveillance. Its first international assignment was in Ecuador in 1963 followed by assignments in The Philippines, Malaysia and Tanzania, and a large water supply study/design in Jamaica in the early 1970’s. Since then its international work has mushroomed to incude projects in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Belize, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Somalia, India, Iraq, South Korea and Vietnam.
In South Korea for example, Stanley has been responsible for the study/design/ supervision of construction of water supply facilities to serve more than eight million people, and also for the provision of some 66 sewage treatment plants to serve 109 municipalities throughtout the country, which was the largest sanitation undertaking in the history of Korea.
In Zambia, the firm is providing full project management services for the design and construction of 600 km of road. The five year program has been a major success story for both the firm and for CIDA.
The majority of Stanley’s international work is financially assisted by international agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, World Health Organization and so on. Stanley has established a sound reputation with these agencies and is now often called upon to provide experts to directly assist the agencies on their own missions, such as a recent overview of Solid Waste Management in Baghdad for the United Nations, and a pollution control report in Vietnam for the World Health Organization.
Stanley has recently won two major export awards. In recognition of outstanding export performance, the firm received the Canada Export Award from the Honorable James Kelleher, Minister of International Trade of the Government of Canada, and was selected as Export Company of the Year for continuous and outstanding achievement in international marketing by the Government of Alberta.
In a period of economic recession worldwide, Stanley has managed to quadruple its export market volume since 1980. One of the main reasons for Stanley’s success in a highly competitive market has been a concentrated effort to provide appropriate technology in designing systems suitable to the local situation, not with preconceived’ developed world’ methodologies. “I am proud of the innovative thinking of our engineers”, says Dr. Donald Stanley, chairman and chief executive of the firm.
Stanley staff also makes every effort to transfer technology to their developing country counterparts. This is done by the introduction of training programs either in the developing country or back in Canada. This technique has also enhanced the Stanley reputation for providing a complete service.
Stanley expects to further expand its international operations into other parts of Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia and Mainland China, and also hopes to be exporting new higher technologies such as L.R.T. (Light Rail Transit) expertise presently being provided in Edmonton and Calgary.
“We are mindful of the invaluable support provided by the trade oficers in our embassies” ’, says Ron Triffo, president of Stanley Associates, “and we look forward to continued assistance as we develop new markets”
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 3, No. 3 (1985) — Fall 1985 // Automne 1985, p. 28. Read the rest of this issue →
