Many companies pivot in their corporate history based on changing markets and economic conditions. Pivoting was baked into Supercom Industries’ DNA.
The Fort William First Nation-based company, outside Thunder Bay, has transitioned from power line development to a whole new industry: railway maintenance.
The company was launched in 2016 as a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned partnership between communities along Lake Superior to work on the East-West Tie transmission line. Today, that partnership includes Fort William First Nation, Red Rock Indian Band, Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg (Pic Mobert), Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (Pic River), and Pays Plat First Nation.
But when the East-West Tie was complete, the partner communities wanted to find other opportunities for Supercom.
“We weren’t only looking at revenue generation; we were also looking at capacity building within our communities and our own membership,” said Marlene Sabourin, Supercom's controller and general manager.
Opportunity knocked in the form of a new product to remediate peat boils — a patch of peat that's liquefied due to pressure — around railway tracks. It was developed by TBT Engineering (TBTE) in Thunder Bay.
Called a Spring Drain or S-Drain, the patented technology works on principles similar to a vertical French drain, stabilizing the wet ground.
Traditional remediation includes filling in the peat boils, which isn’t environmentally friendly. These measures are often expensive and temporary; the peat boil will simply pop up somewhere else.
So far, the Spring Drain has proven to be a simple, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach to mitigating peat boils. It also seems to be a viable longer-term solution. Sabourin said that remediation projects TBTE has completed since 2018 are still working effectively.
Rob Frenette, TBTE's managing director, said partnering with Supercom to manufacture S-Drains under licence made sense, given their past partnership.
“TBTE developed an excellent working relationship with Supercom during completion of work on the East-West Tie project through a participation agreement,” he said. “It was an easy decision to extend the opportunity for Supercom to undertake manufacturing, marketing, sales, and installation of TBTE’s patented Spring Drain products throughout North America through an exclusive licensing agreement.”
Supercom rented space in Fort William First Nation to create an initial manufacturing assembly line.
“Our previous foreman was a millwright, so he took his knowledge and built manufacturing stations, and built some efficiencies into the installation process,” said Sarah Levesque, Supercom's business development and sales manager. “We did a pilot project with CN Rail, and it was a successful installation.”
Supercom was able to produce roughly 100 S-Drains for one remediation project this past summer. It partnered with LTL Drilling, a Thunder Bay company, for installation.
However, Supercom needed more capital to scale up the manufacturing process. That came in the form of a Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) grant of more than $195,000.
The grant helped purchase a sea can for storing completed S-Drains, and a new onsite trailer that will include washrooms and office space, peat probes and samplers, and a GPS system.
“We really wanted to keep the manufacturing local to one of our First Nations. We’re Indigenous-owned, and we want to support our communities,” Sabourin said, adding that the grant enabled Supercom to keep the venture within a partner community and hire local workers.
“When they start to see the funds coming back in, then you know your investment has paid off,” she said.
Supercom also has a Canadian distribution deal with Triton Ties, considered a leader in composite rail tie manufacturing.
Although the company itself is based in the U.S., the ties have Canadian content — literally. Levesque said that some of the recycled plastic that Triton Ties uses comes from Canada.
The environmental component with both ventures is key to Supercom, both Sabourin and Levesque said.
“The biggest reward is the fact that the revenue goes back to our communities, but the work that we’re doing has an environmental spin on it as well,” Levesque said.
“Being Indigenous, we are the Land Keepers,” Sabourin said. “We always have (the environment) in mind.”
Even though it’s early days for the S-Drain, it is already making a splash in the industry. In 2024, Supercom won the Product of the Year Award from the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA) and an Innovation Award from the Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers (CARS).
“Our mandate is to work hard for our communities,” Levesque said. “We’re making it work.”