RPMGlobal has upped the ante in Canada in response to strong customer demand for its Software, Consulting and Advisory business, prompting the company to build up its Toronto and Calgary presence.
The company’s North American Consulting and Advisory division has been experiencing a surge in customers on the back of product improvements and more firms are turning to RPMGlobal as they seek alternative offerings from current suppliers.
Philippe Baudry, RPMGlobal’s Executive General Manager—Advisory Services, said the company recently took the opportunity to undertake a milestone strategic review of its offerings and services in Canada.
“With 2019 marking RPMGlobal’s 50 year celebration, it was an opportune time to carry out a business review of how our customers use our services around the world while also assessing where additional investments could help our clients into the next decade,” Mr Baudry said.
“It became apparent that our recent product enhancements and superior consulting services had been translating to new customers in North America, particularly throughout Canada.
“As industry leaders, RPMGlobal prides itself on providing our customers with high quality and timely local support so it’s encouraging to see more demand stemming out of Canada and surrounding regions.”
RPMGlobal has been active in Canada for more than four decades, initially under Pincock Allen & Holt (PAH) prior to the takeover of the group by RPMGlobal in 2008.
With the strategic review complete and with commodity prices stabilising, Mr Baudry said now was the right time to accelerate the company’s Canadian investment strategy.
“Our strong presence in Canada has seen us complete hundreds of consulting projects in addition to a significant amount of work for leading mining industry financiers across the region,” he said.
“We are very excited about the opportunities in Canada, as well as supporting Canadian-based companies operating in countries where RPMGlobal has deep domain knowledge.”
The first phase of the growth strategy has resulted in new strategic hires into Canada across the engineering and technology disciplines.
RPMGlobal has also bolstered its North American management team, welcoming Sandeep Sandhu as General Manager, North America for its technology division, with Jackie Wheeler appointed to the role of Manager—Canada within the Advisory arm. Ms Wheeler brings with her a strong technical background across the Americas as well as a number of years working for one of Canada’s largest private equity groups.
RPMGlobal has a unique and superior offering over its competition, assisting companies through the entire mine lifecycle. The company is principally focused on enhancing its offerings into Canada across three areas. These are financial services, mining studies and operational improvements.
RPMGlobal’s Canadian growth plans are aided by the fact the company’s Advisory division has played a critical role in helping many mining organisations in the region take that next step in their business.
“RPMGlobal partners with companies across the entire life cycle—from geology and exploration through to operational scenario analysis and technical site support,” Mr Baudry said.
“This enables us to have a strong understanding of our customers’ needs and requirements across exploration, development and operations to in turn provide tailored solutions that create real value.”
While the equity finance market has remained relatively flat this year, RPMGlobal is looking past any short-term fluctuations thanks to Canada’s strong reputation as a leading global centre for mining finance.
According to the Mining Association of Canada, 50% of the world’s public mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSX-Venture Exchanges. Canadian-listed mining companies also have a strong global focus, which RPMGlobal is keen to leverage.
In 2018, there were 997 TSX and TSX-V mining companies involved with over 5,000 mineral projects worldwide.
“RPMGlobal operates a truly global model with offices across eleven countries that regularly work hand in hand to deliver projects for our clients. This global collaborative approach requires strong communication between our teams and our clients and is something we are recognised for around the world,” Mr Baudry said.
For example, RPMGlobal recently completed work on the preliminary economic assessment for TSX-listed Erdene Resource Development which is focused on advancing its Khundii Gold Project in southwest Mongolia towards construction in 2020.
“This is a client RPM has worked with for more than a decade across a number of projects and the length of this relationship is a reflection of our Mongolian know-how (having had an office in Ulaanbaatar since 2010) but also of the strength of our relationship with clients and our ability to accompany them as they take their projects from the exploration through to the study stage,” Mr Baudry added.
RPMGlobal is excited about the momentum going forward. The company plans to continue to add further expertise to its Toronto team in underground engineering and metallurgy.
“We strive to provide depth and breadth in our service and technology offerings that not only deliver tangible productivity improvements but deliver a step-change in the value chain and our expansion activities in Canada align with this commitment,” Mr Baudry said.
“Our 50 years of rich history, combined with ongoing investments in operational and technology improvements, positions RPMGlobal for success in the next phase of its expansion in the Canadian market,” he concluded.