Central Construction Group doesn’t “aim to be the biggest contractor” but “strives to be the best,” to paraphrase the company’s website. Headquartered in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Central also has shops in Grand Prairie, Fox Creek, and Drayton Valley. With a strong focus on quality, safety, and the environment, the company offers an array of services for the commercial, industrial, residential, and municipal sectors.
Founded in 1973, Central Construction Group’s core competencies include civil earthworks, energy services, environmental reclamation, Hydrovac and water services, and aggregate sales. As befitting its corporate name, the company primarily works on projects in central Alberta, although work sometimes takes it outside this region. Services are rendered with a vast privately-owned equipment fleet.
The company’s services within the civil earthworks segment range from asphalt paving to highway and municipal road construction, site prep and grading, concrete surfacing, mass excavation and hauling, subdivision/industrial/commercial development, and landfill construction and capping.
For customers in the energy sector, Central offers a fully integrated delivery model for construction, maintenance, and procurement. The company works on both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects. Specific services include oil and gas lease preparation and construction, well abandonment, logging and trucking, lagoon and water storage pond construction, solar and renewable energy site grading, road construction, and winter snow removal. The company’s work with solar and wind power is geared toward boosting sustainability.
Environmental reclamation and remediation are two other areas where Central Construction Group excels. Central can perform topsoil treatment and placement, lease and right-of-way reclamation, bio-treatment of contaminated soil, emergency cleanup of spills and reclamation, erosion control, facilities decommissioning and demolition, and contaminated soil excavation and hauling.
Central also boasts a Hydrovac fleet consisting of water trucks and vacuum trucks. Water trucks can be used on oilfields and other sites, while the firm’s vacuum trucks handle waste removal, fluid transfers, and land spraying, among other duties. Equipment for this segment features agitator systems, suction screens, flow meters, and pressure controls.
On top of construction work, Central is also an aggregate supplier. The company owns and manages several Alberta-based gravel pits containing an assortment of materials such as clay and topsoil, road crushed gravel, fill and bedding sand, pit run gravel, washed gravel, and sanding chips. For the convenience of its customers, Central also provides trucking services; instead of having to pick up supplies themselves, clients can place an order and then have aggregates delivered to their worksite.
Central boasts a substantial heavy equipment fleet consisting of more than 300 machines. These include roughly 100 bulldozers (including D6, D7, D8, and D9 dozers from Caterpillar), as well as excavators (capable of handling 250 to nearly 500 tonnes), graders, earthmovers, loaders, compactors, water/steamer/Hydrovac trucks, and tractors, trailers, and gravel trucks (for highway work).
The firm also has over a dozen pieces of forestry-related equipment including mulchers, lumber skidders, and lumber processors. Reclamation work can entail the use of tractors, rototillers, seeders, and other gear. In addition to Caterpillar, Central purchases vehicles from the likes of John Deere and other top-of-the-line manufacturers. Central Construction Group keeps its fleet well-maintained and serviced daily to minimize downtime and maximize productivity and efficiency, utilizing service shops and service trucks for this purpose, and aims to keep all its equipment in perfect running condition.
Regular maintenance and servicing enhance the firm’s nimbleness. Central prides itself on being able to quickly deploy to new jobsites, and such speed would not be possible with a rundown fleet.
Central Construction Group takes the same conscientious approach with both its workforce and the environment, and places a strong emphasis on health and safety. The firm runs a comprehensive Health and Safety Program and has a Certificate of Recognition (COR) issued by the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA). The latter is an industry-funded organization to which Central belongs, and the company is also involved with the Alberta Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association and the Edmonton Construction Association.
The COR program is voluntary and run by the government of Alberta. To obtain a COR, a company must have an Occupational Health & Safety Management System that meets the requirements of an external audit. The COR program is available for all ACSA members and associate members.
Field and office personnel at Central receive safety training and the company stays on top of new safety courses and regulations, with the ultimate goal of having zero workplace accidents. “At Central, we are committed to the prevention of incidents and injuries on all of our jobsites. We empower each employee to ensure the health and safety of themselves and others,” states the Central website.
In a similar fashion, Central prioritizes environmental stewardship. Employees are trained in fuel, waste, stormwater, and air quality management, as well as spill prevention. Central maintains an Environmental Management Plan and, as it does with health and safety laws, strives to stay abreast of new environmental legislation and regulatory changes.
“Our team takes every step to identify sustainable practises on our job sites to minimize our collective impact on the environment,” notes the Central website.
Central maintains an online presence with a website packed with photographs of projects, personnel, and equipment. “The pressure to produce really starts when temperatures drop to minus -30°C,” reads an Instagram post by Central regarding a wintertime project. “Our crews pulled through on this project through record cold temperatures, keeping dirt moving 24 hours a day.” A recent LinkedIn post, meanwhile, promises a “little teaser of the year to come” and features a short video of crews at work.
New hires receive thorough training in order to maintain Central Construction Group’s decades-old reputation for excellent results, and going forward, Central Construction Group is eager to attract prospective employees. The firm offers competitive wages complete with performance bonuses, plus dental and health benefits. Potential workers are encouraged to apply online, by mail, or in person at the Wetaskiwin head office to join this dynamic and growing team.
