NEAS creates new Nunavik shipping division

NEAS has created a new division, Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc., which is majority-held by Makivik Corp. and aims to capitalize on “emerging opportunities” from Quebec’s Plan Nord to develop northern Quebec. (FILE PHOTO)

NEAS, the Valleyfield, Quebec-based shipping company, now has a new subsidiary for clients in Quebec to deal with: Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc..

Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc., majority-held by Makivik Corp., aims to capitalize on “emerging opportunities” from Quebec’s Plan Nord to develop northern Quebec, NEAS said in a Nov. 4 news release.

“These changes bring us closer to our customers as we get set to capitalize on new opportunities,” said Michael Gordon, NEAS chairman and Makivik’s vice-president of economic development, in the release.

NEAS first set up shop in Valleyfield, located to the south of Montreal, in 2000.

Over the past five years, cargo heading north from Valleyfield has grown to more than 50,000 tonnes.

A new 50,000-square-foot warehouse went up in 2009, and the construction of new $35-million dock infrastructure is in the works.

NEAS says having three divisions — Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc., Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc. and NEAS Inc. — will allow the company to better focus on the different regions it serves.

“Since we started 12 years ago, our service is much bigger,” said Suzanne Paquin, NEAS president and chief executive officer. “We thought we should separate and focus more on those regions.”

Changes to the corporate structure of NEAS won’t change its reliability, she said, or the ownership of the other two divisions.

Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc., continues to be Nunavut Inuit majority-owned: Tukimut, a locally-owned, Inuit business, holds 51 per cent of the voting shares, while NEAS Inc. holds the remaining 49 per cent.

NEAS Inc. continues to be owned by Makivik and Transport Nanuk Inc., a joint venture between Logistec Corporation and the North West Co.