Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 7

19 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 7 FORBES BROS . GROUP OF COMPANI ES During the boom in the market, the company was able to develop some very innovative techniques for powerline construction. The funding for this innovation was driven by the sheer amount of transmission work that was occurring. “Our most significant investment that we made was into using helicopters to erect really large transmission line structures,” says Forbes. “Through partners, Erickson Air Crane, we developed an efficient technique for erecting lattice towers.” It’s this drive that keeps the company’s services at the cutting edge. Currently, Forbes Bros. Group is one of the fastest and largest transmission and line contractors in North America. As the firm identified that Canada was about to experience a slowdown period for linework, Forbes Bros. acquired Interlake Power Lines, who were contracted for the exciting hydro construction on the Bipole Three Project. After successfully purchasing Interlake, Forbes Bros. were now contracted to Canada’s largest integrated electricity and natural gas distribution utilities. Soon afterwards, they began efforts to expand into the United States. “We expanded organically down into the U.S. with some focus on renewable scopes,” says Forbes. “Developing a corridor between Edmonton and Houston, which was our first focus.” The company started their mergers and acquisition strategy around 2016 by acquiring non-union SP Timberland. In 2017, they purchased a union entity called Payton, and followed that in 2018 with the Titan acquisition – a smaller startup with a substation division. Since then, Titan has rebranded to Forbes Bros. Utility and Construction, and has seen substantial growth in the U.S. Looking back at the Canadian powerline market, the company identified British Columbia Hydro as a large client. Rolling out an inorganic strategy, Forbes Bros. bought a company called Valley Powerline to secure contracts. They have