Timeline
1996
Bowringer Engineering Limited was founded in February by owners Marty Gregory (P. Eng), Ralph Hillyard, and Val Hickey. The company provided industrial mechanical and fabrication services to the mining and pulp and paper industries with offices and plant in St. John’s, Corner Brook, and Labrador City, NL. With 15 employees, the company completed over $1 million of work in its first year of operation. Their first contract came on June 6, 1996 for Richmond Mines, valued at $750,000.00 and involved designing, fabricating, and constructing a material handling system at Nugget Pond Gold Mine, NL.
1999
Bowringer is awarded a $2.1 million contract to design, fabricate, and construct surge towers for Newfoundland Power Inc. Bowringer employed 60 people on this and its other projects throughout the province.
2003
In addition to its project work at IOC, Bowringer continues its growth in Labrador by securing projects at Wabush Mines and Churchill Falls. Bowringer constructs a new office and fabrication plant in the new Labrador City industrial park. Company operations are structured into Island Division and Lab West Division with construction, maintenance, and fabrication departments in each division. The company employed 120 people at this point and had established a multi-trade collective agreement with the United Steel Workers of America for its maintenance services, as well. Founding partner, Val Hickey, retired during this year.
2006
Bowringer was awarded the $18 million Spiral Expansion project at Iron Ore Company of Canada. The company employed 175 employees throughout its operations. Founding partner Ralph Hillyard retired during this year.
2008
Sole owner, Marty Gregory, relocates Bowringer’s head office to its new facility on a 4 acre site in Paradise, NL.
2009
The company underwent a major restructuring during this year. Bowringer’s Construction Division was incorporated under the banner of Vytrell Engineering Limited. Vytrell voluntarily recognized the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Building trades as its labour partner for construction. Vytrell entered into a limited liability partnership with an Innu Partner and establishes UNAAN LLP. UNAAN is awarded its, first of many, mechanical, piping, electrical, and instrumentation (MPEIW) capital works project at Vale’s Voisey’s Bay Mine Site. Vytrell established an electrical division to complete the electrical portion of the contract.
2011
Vytrell is awarded the AG 14 Mill and Ball Mill 105 contracts on the Expansion Project at Iron Ore Company of Canada and employs 300 trades in the execution of the projects.
2012
Vytrell established a 4000 sq. ft. pipe spooling facility adjacent to the company headquarters in Paradise, NL to service the growing offshore oil industry in NL. Bowringer continues to grow and expand its Maintenance Division in Labrador West, employing 150 people.
2014
RothLochston Constructors Inc. is incorporated as the parent company of Bowringer and Vytrell Engineering Limited. Vytrell is awarded its first of four large-scale SMPEIW contracts at the Vale Long Harbour Processing Plant. At this point, RothLochston employs 700 people throughout its subsidiaries.
2015
The manufacturing operations of Bowringer and Vytrell are consolidated under the name RothLochston Subsea to offer the offshore industry fabrication, pipe spooling, and protective coating services, all from the Paradise Industrial Park facilities. RothLochston Industrial was incorporated to provide construction services to Western Canada.
2016
Bowringer Engineering Limited, the founding corporate entity, operates as a subsidiary of RothLochston, still providing maintenance services to the mining sector throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. After 20 years in business, RothLochston employs 1000 people in its operations throughout Canada.