A joint venture company with Wahpeton Dakota Nation is doing clearing work on SaskPower lines.  Courtesy Mato Industrial Construction

By Doug Lett

Wahpeton Line Clearing

New company at Wahpeton cutting path to growth

Feb 3, 2023 | 3:00 PM

A new development company for Wahpeton Dakota Nation is clearing a path to a brighter future.

Mato Industrial Construction is cutting vegetation along power lines for SaskPower.

Crews from Wahpeton doing work on clearing power lines. Courtesy Mato Industrial Construction.

“It really meets our objectives,” said Robert Fincati, who is CEO of Wahpeton Dakota Developments.

“We’ve been…running three crews since October…they’re up and going really fast and we’re adding another crew,” he said.

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He said eight people are working in the field, in addition to some front office and management support.

Mato was formed in 2021. It’s a joint venture between Wahpeton Dakota Developments, and Threeosix Industrial Services, which has offices in Saskatoon and Calgary. The company has decades of experience in the energy sector, among other fields.

Fincati said for Wahpeton, it’s the chance to people to develop skills, and learn to thrive in a business culture. It also helps Wahpeton in its goal of developing wealth sovereignty.

“About a year ago we started to explore the possibility of doing the line clearing….and it’s just awesome because SaskPower was in alignment with us, and really supportive,” he said.

Fincati added the crown utility is planning to do more line clearing in the next few years, and Mato is hoping to be part of it.

“We knew that we could put together the right team….get the right equipment to be able to do it and, and have the right management to run it,” he said.

Although the work sounds simple, Fincati said it can get pretty technical, and potentially dangerous.

“You’re dealing with very high voltage transmission lines, so safety is paramount…but there’s the ability for us to be able to train Wahpeton Dakota nation citizens to be able to do the work and then work their way up to…the more senior kind of position.”

For its part, Threeosix Industrial Services said the partnership fits.

“We’re looking forward to working together for a long time,” said Scott Longmuir, CEO of Threeosix Industrial. “The goal of this relationship is to participate as one team in all aspects of the project.”

Finacti added while they are looking at some longer-term projects for Mato, line clearing was a way to get operating quickly, and provide immediate cash flow.

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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @DougLettSK