Inspiring Change - Creating Opportunities
by Scott A. Sumner
Thunder Bay Business
TBEDC President Steve Demming with the financial help of the Investors Group brought in successful business owner Eugene Nowlan, Vice-President, Sunny Corner Enterprises to speak to an audience of business people in Thunder Bay which included many members of the Thunder Bay Oil Sands Consortium. Eugene and his team of 760 employees brought the integrated, full service construction, fabrication and industrial sales provider with the corporate office located in Miramichi, New Brunswick from a dependence on the pulp and paper
industry to it’s growing stature now.
“ We are in heavy metal mostly in the fields of power generation, oil and gas and nuclear and made the transition from pulp and paper and mining into nuclear which has been successful. We supply tradesman, pipe fitters and welders to large construction projects with most of our work in Eastern Canada,” said Eugene Nowlan, Senior Partner and Vice President of Business Development with Sunny Corner Enterprises Inc. “ One of our goals was to be a major player in all of the major projects in Eastern Canada. We were involved in the oil sands until the bust in the economy doing mainly heavy piping. In New Brunswick the Atomic Energy of Canada is doing the first nuclear rebuild in the world. We are the guinea pig for the rest of the world and have 250 individuals working there right now. We are the first New Brunswick
company to be certified to work in the nuclear industry.”
“ We are a major employer and never intended to be that big but we are proud of it. All of our key staff are from NE New Brunswick area. One of our keys in our company success was we were doing over 75% of our business in the pulp and paper industry and started to rebrand
ourselves in industries of the future like power generation, oil and gas and nuclear. Today pulp and paper is 1% of our business with most of this change in the last 5 years. We are privately held country with sales of $130 million.”
It was motivational to hear Eugene speak about his philosophy in business. “ I read to relax for 1 to 2 hours each night and read about 50 books a year, all motivational in nature. Are you working on your business or in your business. When I am working in my business I am
worried about what we are building for the customer- are we meeting the specifications, are we paying our bills. When we work on our business we look at personal development, the vision of where are we going, where we should be how are we going to get there. When you working on your business you are not doing anything to affect the current product. It is strategic planning. We have our key product managers and controllers to handle the day to day activities.” said Nowlan, who was born in Thunder Bay.
Another topic for Eugene as taking the lid off. The lid in an organization is an individual who controls the direction. The organization can only go as far as that person’s passion, dream or
capabilities. If any of the areas are not there you are the lid. If we are the lid we can change through personal development. Interesting ways of looking at business.
Eugene’s career spans many sectors including mining, manufacturing and the heavy construction industry. Eugene directed the establishment and development of the Fabrication Division at SCEI and was instrumental in SCEI obtaining their certification to work in the
Nuclear Industry. He has gained tremendous respect in industry and community circles in Atlantic Canada. He is known for his integrity, practical knowledge and calm approach to inspire learning and development. Eugene’s caring for family, church, community and industry
demonstrates his values and defines Success as doing the best for others.
