Two key companies in the local marine sector have completed a purchase agreement that will expand ship repair resources in the region.
The Ralmax Group of Companies – the parent company to Point Hope Maritime – and Esquimalt Drydock Company Ltd. (EDC) are joining forces to expand ship repairs and maintenance at the Esquimalt graving dock.
Under this transaction, EDC will now operate as a new division of Point Hope, under the Ralmax umbrella.
EDC will continue to operate under the same name and will also keep serving their current clients as part of this new division.
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Sage Berryman, co-CEO of the Ralmax Group, said the company is proud of the purchase agreement because the new relationship will ensure continued quality service.
“This agreement retains important local jobs and will provide essential expansion and skillsets to our growing team at Point Hope,” Berryman said in a statement. “This investment continues our commitment to growing a sustainable marine sector which is essential to our local, regional and provincial economies.”
Joe Sansalone, EDC president, noted the agreement is in the best interests of everyone involved — from the marine industry itself to the families of the employees.
Sansalone’s connection to Point Hope runs deep.
“We share a mutual respect and a commitment to support and empower a generation of talented workers who have expertise and knowledge to share,” he said. “I will continue to be involved in running the operations of EDC, now a division of Point Hope Maritime, and am grateful that my employees will join me in working to ensure the continued success of the business.”
Riccardo Regosa, Point Hope general manager, is looking forward to welcoming Sansalone and the EDC staff.
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“Their skills and expertise working in and around a graving dock will be essential to our ability to continue to service our customers,” he noted.
Regosa added the B.C. Government, Service Employees’ Union and the Operating Engineers were integral to the negotiations.
The EDC has been servicing Canadian ships on the south end of Vancouver Island since 1998 and Point Hope Maritime has been repairing and refitting all varieties of vessels since 1873.
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