It’s a variation of the old saying: If you want something done
right, you need to do it yourself.
In the case of Gord Williamson, it wasn’t so much about
getting the job done right; it was getting the job done at all.
Williamson had been working in the electrical sector in the
Calgary area in 2006 and it seemed to take him forever to find
anyone with a drill rig to get to his sites so he could proceed
with the rest of his work.
“There was a definite need in the area at the time because,
as an electrical contractor, I couldn’t get drill rigs to drill my
big, large diameter structure bases for sign structures, high
mast poles, light standards and all that hard rock drilling,” said
Williamson. “It took me a year and a half of begging and pleading
to get drill rigs to come drill my holes to complete the job.”
So, he took matters into his own hands, as they say.
“During one job, I decided to buy a rig myself and get
going,” he said.
Ten years later, he doesn’t have to wait for a rig anymore.
These days, Williamson is directing Ki International, a madein
Alberta family firm, with four rigs and ten employees,
based in Airdrie, Alta., near Calgary. (The name “Ki” is simply
a reference to the Eastern notion of energy, sometimes
spelled “chi” or “qi.”) Williamson and his crew occasionally
pick up jobs in other provinces, but tend to stick mostly to
Alberta. They do a lot of commercial and industrial jobs, from
working in the oil and gas sector around Fort McMurray, to
bridges down south and power infrastructure all over the
place.
“We’re a cast-in-place concrete specialist, so we do concrete
piles,” said Williamson on his company’s focus. “Our
largest diameter to date is 12 feet in diameter. Those are for
large power line jobs. In our area here, 80 feet deep is exceptional
but we can do 100 feet. We do a lot of power line work.
We do a lot of anchor bolt settings.”
COMPANY PROFILE
KI INTERNATIONAL
Taking matters into their own hands
By Jim Chliboyko
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KI INTERNATIONAL
PILING CANADA 49