Driven by a purpose to preserve and propel the Fort McKay First Nation and better the lives of Indigenous peoples, Fort McKay Group of Companies is an industry leader in oil sands. We learn more about the company’s history, services, and prosperous future.
DEVELOPING A FLOURISHING FIRST NATION COMMUNITY
Beginning in 1986 with only six employees and a single janitorial contract, Fort McKay Group of Companies (FMGOC) has progressed leaps and bounds over the course of the past 40 years, evolving into a leading, multi-million-dollar entity in oilfield construction and services.
With now more than 2,000 employees under its reins, FMGOC has offices in Fort McKay, Fort McMurray, and Edmonton, Canada. Despite its growth, the company still maintains its core purpose of preserving and propelling the Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN) community and bettering the lives of Indigenous peoples throughout the country.
100 percent owned by the FMFN, FMGOC generates revenue by bringing opportunity, resources, and capacity to the community. Specifically, the company offers its clients strategic and mechanical services, logistics, joint ventures (JVs), and high-quality products to meet their needs in a competitive and crucial sector.
With years of experience in the oil sands industry, FMGOC is backed by its priority focus on quality, cost, and safety.
The company is also adamant that diversity is the key to growth and values the relationships it builds with clients, partners, and the community as a foundation for successful collaboration.
FMGOC channels its profits directly back into the FMFN people to support local employment, infrastructure, health benefits, recreation, and community centers to meet the needs of its growing population.
As such, the company’s continued success has been made possible through its collaborative partnerships, core values, and a strong leadership team.
A LOCAL LEADER IN OIL SANDS
FMGOC’s strategic services is a specific division of the company that offers a diverse range of solutions, providing reliable and cost-competitive advantages to its clients in the oil sands sector. The company’s expertise includes earthworks, site services, heavy equipment, fuel and lube services, client-embedded equipment operators, and reclamation support services.
For FMGOC’s logistics services, the company offers an integrated supply chain to all businesses, regardless of size. It collects materials and equipment from suppliers and manages them through the supply chain process to the end user. Although primarily focused on North America, the company can manage materials from anywhere in the world via truck, rail, marine, and air solutions.
FMGOC works directly with its customers to adjust its service levels and meet their needs and expectations every time.
Fort McKay Mechanical Services (FMMS) is a new division owned and operated by FMGOC, providing code-regulated, specialty mechanical, and heat-treating services. It was established to deliver high-value, leading technologies to its customers, alongside increasing the number of skilled tradespeople on the team.
FMMS aims to deliver an ethical and comprehensive service, emphasizing high quality, precise execution, effective scheduling, and a focus on Indigenous employment. As an Alberta Boilers Safety Association (ABSA)-certified company, it combines a leadership team with over 130 years of combined expertise across the oil and gas, power, mining, forestry, and petrochemical sectors.
FMGOC has a proud history of forming JVs with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous local entities, whereby the company holds the majority stake and oversees operations through Board involvement.
These various JVs provide opportunities for the economic diversification of FMGOC’s business portfolio while enhancing its partnerships with local organizations.
Specifically, the company has established JV partnerships with Birch Mountain Enterprises, an industry leader in fluid hauling, pressure and vacuum, and waste management, and FMP Group, a company with a proven record in large-scale project delivery, from bidding through to construction.
SUPPORTING AND DEVELOPING THE COMMUNITY
Having proudly worked for nearly four decades to support and develop the FMFN, FMGOC ensures that the community has the financial independence to make its own decisions, as well as providing for itself and its members.
The FMFN consists of approximately 800 Dene, Cree, and Métis community members and is located 65 kilometers (km) north of Fort McMurray along the banks of the Athabasca River in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The First Nation roots run deep through Fort McKay, extending back to 1820 with the establishment of the Hudson Bay Company trading post in the area. It was named in 1912 after Dr. William Morrison MacKay – the first resident doctor of Alberta and President of the Alberta Medical Association.
This deeply embedded historical background to the land and culture remains prominent today. Also crucial to FMGOC and its current standing as an industry leader is its commitment to safety.
The company believes that safety is everyone’s responsibility and can only be achieved through the active participation of the entire organization. Ultimately, FMGOC is dedicated to ensuring no harm comes to its most valuable asset – its people.
To balance safety, production, and client demands, the company employs eCompliance – a cutting-edge environment, health, and safety (EHS) management system that promotes transparency and worker engagement, and provides leadership with real-time safety performance data. Equally, to support FMGOC’s continuous improvement, it maintains strong relationships with industry safety partners, associations, and service providers.
TAKING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THE FUTURE
With Indigenous prosperity, growth, and community development such a crucial part of FMGOC’s origins and vision for the future, the company continuously supports causes that bring prosperity and equity to First Nations peoples living in Canada.
FMGOC aids local initiatives and provides economic opportunities for FMFN through its contributions to health and wellness in the area. Specifically, in June 2021, the company assisted in the development of Fort Edmonton Park and had a bison statue named in honor of its work in preserving Indigenous culture.
Equally as important to FMGOC are its efforts toward an environmentally sustainable future. The protection of the environment is an integral element of the company’s business, and it actively works to ensure adverse effects are minimized through careful planning, implementation of effective protection measures, and monitoring of operational activities.
Notably, the company’s rules and procedures for environmental protection comply with government regulations and standards and are consistent with industry codes and guidelines.
Looking ahead, the team continually seeks opportunities for new ventures, growth, and prosperity, enabling FMGOC to remain an industry leader while supporting both the community and its customers. This will be the ongoing focus as the company steps into a bright, prosperous, and supportive future.
FORT MCKAY GROUP OF COMPANIES PARTNER
