The Dutch company, Smit International, bought one of the West Coast's largest tug and barge companies in August.
The B.C. family firm of Rivtow Marine Ltd., with an annual turnover of more than $38.75 million U.S.*, was sold to Smit for an undisclosed sum.
Rivtow is now headed by John Cosulich, president and chief executive officer. His father Cecil founded the company in 1939, and his grandfather was also in the B.C. marine tug business.
John Cosulich said that the sale means that Rivtow will be poised for greater future growth, now that it's allied with a large, well-respected international company.
He will stay on as a consultant for a minimum of three years, with the official title of general manager of Canadian operations.
Cosulich said anyone who has worked in a family business for a majority of their lifetime would have some regrets about selling it. But he added: "This is an outstanding opportunity."
John's cousin, in charge of marine maintenance, is the only other family member still with the company, which employs about 300 people.
No layoffs are expected. In fact, Cosulich said Smit indicated they would like to keep the company operating as it is, keeping the Rivtow brand name.
In B.C., the marine company is second in size only to the Washington Marine Group, which owns Seaspan International Ltd., C.H. Cates & Sons Ltd., and other transportation companies.
The company, now known as Rivtow Marine Inc., operates a fleet of more than 110 vessels. It is involved in coastal towing, salvage, barge transportation, and log towing and sorting mainly in B.C., but also in Alaska and the rest of the U.S. West Coast.
In the forestry sector, the forest companies typically hire Rivtow to tow log booms from Howe Sound and Vancouver Island to storage grounds at Point Grey, Vancouver, and other points on the North Fraser River. From these grounds, they tow the booms to sawmills along the North Fraser.
The pulp mill companies then contract with Rivtow to transport wood chips on bin barges from the sawmills to various pulp mills located on Vancouver Island.
The August sale includes Rivtow Marine Ltd. and two affiliates, Tiger Tugz and Westminster Tugboats. The sale is complete, and not subject to any regulatory oversight on competition grounds.
Tiger Tugz began operating in October, 1997 and now has five ship-assist and berthing tugs operating in Vancouver harbor. Westminster Tugboats carries out similar duties on the Fraser River.
Smit, based in Rotterdam, was founded 155 years ago and has a wide range of marine services, including coastal and river towing, terminal assistance, pontoon chartering, salvage and diving, pipeline installation and emergency response.
Smit International (Americas) Inc. chief executive officer, Karal Kaffa, said: "For the first time, we have a platform for future development in the northwest of the Americas. We look forward to developing fresh opportunities to expand our marine services along the West Coast."
[*i.e. $57 million Cdn.] |