As awareness of the need for a healthy and safe work environment grows, so too does the role of Ottawa-based Inflector Environmental Services. They are helping the city grow and transform in a safe and sustainable manner.
Inflector has experienced a meteoric rise as it provides environmental contracting services for many of the large projects currently underway in the city. From 30 employees just eight years ago to over 250 in the region now, Inflector is playing a major role in preparing many of the federal government’s buildings for retrofits or demolition and rebuild.
Inflector is an expert in hazardous material remediation and selective demolition. They provide specific services like asbestos and lead abatement, remediation for commercial mould and soil, fireproofing and firestopping, and emergency response.
Inflector is currently involved in the retrofit of numerous federal government buildings, including the Parliamentary Precinct Centre Block and East Block and the Federal District Energy Project (in particular the Energy Services Acquisition Program). Other projects include the Ottawa Hospital’s new campus, the Advanced Medical Research Centre and the Ottawa Health Innovation Hub for the University of Ottawa.
“There is definitely a focus on the awareness of working in a healthy environment, especially with workplace initiatives” says CEO and president Jeffrey Clarke. “We attribute the growth of the company to the quality of work and service that we provide, and our ability to innovate through environmental engineering and other methods to provide cost-competitive solutions for people’s environmental nightmares and problems.”
Inflector’s extensive involvement in the Ottawa region is exemplified by the work on the government’s Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP). Two of the main aspects of this program are the Confederation Heights and Cliff Heating and Cooling Plants (CHCPs). These projects are undergoing rebuilds and renovations to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on future costs. Inflector is providing abatement and demolition services to these plants as they undergo their transformation. This creates a safer work environment for renovations and rebuilds to be completed, and ensures any future use of the space is safe whether it be to work, play or live in.
On time and on budget
Jonathan Isenor, P.Eng., is Inflector’s Project Manager for ESAP, and says that the company has successfully removed hazardous materials on time and on budget, thereby positively impacting the future of health and safety both at the plants and throughout the heating and cooling distribution network. “Health and safety are paramount to Inflector, as we are continually striving to ensure that our workers, as well as all workers, make it home safely to their families at the end of each day,” Isenor says.
The company was founded in Ottawa in 1994, and now has offices in Halifax, St. John’s, Moncton, Toronto, Kingston and Edmonton, with over 600 employees. And Clarke is seeing the fruits of the company’s hard work in Ottawa as the city enjoys the change in becoming a bigger, more sophisticated city.
“I think we have a great economic impact on the city,” Clarke says. “Our projects are not just about removing hazardous obstacles for construction, they are about creating job opportunities and fostering economic growth.”
The company and their care for the safety of their people, is supported by several recent awards, including as an Excellence Awardee in two categories for the 2023 Canada’s Safest Employers awards, and as a winner of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies program since 2022. The company was also awarded the Keystone Award for job creation in Ottawa.
This article first appeared in the September 2024 special “City Building” issue of the Ottawa Business Journal. That publication is available in its digital edition below:
