Ivanhoe Group

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Ivanhoe Corporation Founder, CEO and President Michael Carriere left home in northern Manitoba at about 14 years of age.“I had about $20 bucks in my pocket that my uncle gave me and came out west” he says.

“I went on my own when I was 16, and have come a long way to what I have today which is a multi-million dollar corporation.”

The company has been in the waste handling game for almost 15 years and today offers a diverse spectrum of operations from working with residential and commercial wastewater to the oil and gas industries.

“I started on my own back in 1979 in the water and sewer business as well as acreage and the farming community for septic systems and disposal fields” Carriere says. Ivanhoe began as sewer contractors in 1995 “but also doing on site systems on acreage.”

“We’ve taken Ivanhoe from a one-person outfit to a staff of 60 with a reputation for having an excellent product and excellent service wherever we go” Carriere says. As Ivanhoe has grown, it remains a family run business with Carriere and two of his three sons, “The Next Generation.”

“Michael Scott is our VP of marketing based in our Calgary office. He looks after all of our marketing for our corporate customers in the oil and gas industry primarily. My middle son Sean has a degree in biological science followed by a master’s degree in environmental engineering and is the General Manager of the Grande Prairie head office” Carriere says.

“In about 1997 we started to explore package wastewater treatment plants. The acreage industry was changing as was the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry has been very good to us over the years. So we got into package wastewater treatment plants for acreages, then we started to manufacture portable wastewater treatment plants to service the oil and gas sector. That was back in 1999. We are now the largest rental company in Northern Alberta and B.C NWT.  We have always had very high performance expectations and that’s carried on through the years.  Integrity is very important in all that we do, not simply in the business. We strive to be a good corporate citizen.”

This industry foresight continues at Ivanhoe today. “We’re always pioneering, researching and developing new technologies. We’re known for that. We’re always striving towards greener innovation. We have acquired the rights for a new product we’re really excited about” Carriere says.

On May 15th Ivanhoe announced this exciting new product; The Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor, or C-MBR.

The C-MBR arrives
Put simply, the Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor takes the conventional Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) and enhances its ability to process waste using a ceramic membrane filtration. There is no need for more than one clarification of the treated water. The ceramic membranes are submerged into the sludge and the treated water is sucked lightly through vacuum pumps.

These ceramic membranes and controls are provided by SJE Rhombus, a leading North American water and wastewater controls provider.

There are a lot of economic and environmental benefits with the C-MBR  - Its 10 year guarantee and 20 year estimated life expectancy, resistance to caustic chemicals, wet or dry conditions and thermal resistance to name but a few. It offers a reduced footprint due to a limited need for land and construction and the components are totally suitable for integration into packaged plant systems too.

“With this new product (C-MBR) we have the capabilities to design and build large scale systems (1500 man) for camps in the oil and gas industry. We also design for smaller decentralised systems” Carriere says.

“We’ve always been known as leaders in the industry because of our commitment to improving the natural world around us through our environmentally responsible systems. We reduce the environmental footprint impact wherever we go” Carriere says.

Future developments
When it comes to greener innovation, Ivanhoe have done it again and are already way ahead of changing government focus towards the issue.
The Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor is central to Ivanhoe’s ever growing plans here. 

“Now we’re (the industry) looking at greener innovation and that’s what we’re already bringing to the marketplace with the new (CMB-R)” Carriere says.
“Our short term goal is to develop a prototype system for the oil and gas industry to service ever increasing remote camp sizes. The next step is to take the C-MBR to decentralized system applications. It is ideal for small de- centralized principalities such as Native North American communities. Water conservation is becoming an issue worldwide but in the smaller Native North communities it’s tantamount.”

And there it is again; Ivanhoe strives to provide solutions that transcend on both a localized and worldwide scale.

Carriere explains that they have learned from economic down-turns of the past and know how to diversify while also sticking to what they are good at doing.
“We learned from the last bust in the early 80’s when the markets took a tumble here in Canada. It was a tough time so we learned back then to be diversified with what we do. We are good at approaching different markets and that’s what this new product better allows us to service” Carriere explains.

As the company looks upon the coming year, Carriere considers the worldwide current economic climate and the Alberta-regional benefits.

“It (the global economy) had an effect in the last quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 due to the financial upset that’s going on worldwide however in western Canada and Alberta in particular the opportunities are still very good and the forecasts are very positive for growth in the last quarter on 2009 and carrying on into 2010” he says.

“Our primary focus will be on markets of up to 300,000 gallons per day. With the CMB-R technology we can exceed that, however that’s our primary focus for development.”

“What if someone were to tell you that in the future you would be able to process residential sewage as a recyclable resource? That’s what Ivanhoe is doing. What if I told you the future is now?”

Ivanhoe offer diverse operations, strategic-planning, first class expertise and an exemplary focus on “greener innovation.” Supported by a strong management team and years spent building their excellent reputation, the arrival of their Ceramic Membrane Bioreactor technology should make 2009 and beyond very exciting.

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