Algoma Central Corporation was named as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 2012. The winners were announced by co-sponsors The National Post, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Queen’s School of Business, and Deloitte LLP.
Canada’s Best Managed Companies, recognizing excellence in Canadian-owned and -managed companies with revenues over $10 million, was established in 1993. Every year the program announces 50 winners from the hundreds of companies that compete for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates the calibre of their management abilities and practices.
“We are extremely pleased to be selected by the judges as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies” said Greg Wight, Algoma President and CEO. “Following a game-changing 2011, Algoma’s shore-side and shipboard personnel came together with One Vision, One Purpose and as One Team to drive the Corporation forward to further success in 2012. I am a proud of the hard work and dedication of each and every one of our over 2,000 employees. Without them, this award would not have been possible.”
Algoma’s fleet of 33 dry-bulk and product tanker vessels is the largest Canadian-owned and -flagged fleet operating on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Waterway. The Corporation’s strategic vision is delivering continual growth in shareholder value while operating in a sustainable manner and always being governed by its core value, which is the guidepost by which it is managed.
Achieving sustainability means managing with a long-term perspective on the impact of day-to-day operating decisions and on long-term investment decisions. For instance, Algoma is currently investing $300 million in six new state-of-the-art Equinox Class dry-bulk vessels that bring an expected 45-per-cent reduction in emissions per tonne-kilometre as a result of more efficient engines, a hull form that produces less resistance through the water and the significant increase in carrying capacity. In addition, the installation of exhaust gas scrubbers will remove 97 per cent of sulphur oxide emissions generated by the main engines and auxiliary generators. The Equinox Class, when delivered, will fully meet Algoma’s stated objective of improving the efficiency of its fleet while at the same time reducing its environmental footprint. The first ship in the Class, fittingly named the Algoma Equinox, was launched at the shipyard in China on December 24, 2012 and is expected to be in service in Canada in mid-2013.