Knight Piésold, whose Canadian offices are in Vancouver, B.C., and North Bay, Ontario, works on projects all over the world, including in Greenland. —
Knight Piésold, whose Canadian offices are in Vancouver, B.C., and North Bay, Ontario, works on projects all over the world, including in Greenland. — photo courtesy Knight Piésold
Knight Piésold, a well-known international engineering and environmental consultancy, celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2011. The company has an intriguing history, having been founded in South Africa in 1921 as a one-person consultancy by Dr. Francis Edgar Kanthack. In Canada, Bruce Knight established Knight & Piésold Ltd. in Vancouver in 1975. He previously worked for the company in Rhodesia and moved to Canada in 1964 to work on the Mica Dam.
Jeremy Haile, president of Knight Piésold in Canada, said that the Canadian offices—located in Vancouver, B.C., and North Bay, Ontario—now have approximately 160 people working on projects across Canada and around the world. Internationally, the company has more than 700 employees.
Haile, who has worked for the company since 1972, attributes the company's success and longevity to its focus on long-term client relationships and high-quality services. He said the company focuses on continuous professional development to retain its long-term staff and specialists, and emphasized that Knight Piésold is always striving to improve to meet the needs of its clients.
“We work with most of our clients for many years, depending on the evolution of their projects,” said Haile. “We have several very long-term associations that have extended for over 20 years. One of our longer associations is with Hunter Dickinson Inc.—we have worked as part of their team on over 17 different projects since 1990.”
Knight Piésold has steadily progressed since its first major assignments in Canada, which included the tailings storage facility for the Key Lake Mine in Saskatchewan and the Kelowna Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in British Columbia.
Haile is proud of the Knight Piésold's 20-year association with the Mount Milligan Mine near Fort St. James, British Columbia. This year, the mine's waste management plan, designed by Knight Piésold, won a Consulting Engineers of BC (CEBC) Award of Merit.
“We first started working on the Mount Milligan project in 1990,” said Haile. “Last year it received provincial and federal government approvals and became one of only two mines permitted in British Columbia in the past 15 years. We are continuing to work closely with the owner now that it is under construction. After 20 years it's very exciting that the project is close to commercial production."
Haile said that Knight Piésold's biggest celebration for its 90th anniversary was the launch of the new global website in April.
“In Canada, we have no plans for a specific 90th anniversary function," he added, "but our staff functions and client reception at the end of the year will continue the anniversary theme. The big party will be on our 100th anniversary."
