The Vancouver Business Thread

[jollyburger]

Elevator workers could be locked out this week, affecting thousands of buildings across B.C., says union

The union representing 900 elevator maintenance workers across B.C. says its members could be locked out of their job sites as of Tuesday.

The International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 82 claims it has been served lock-out notices by four employers, and that this has the potential to impact tens of thousands of buildings and construction sites around the province.

“Our Union is facing concession demands from four giant multinational elevator corporations who have made $7.7 billion in profits in 2021, and our hard-working members are not going to accept anything less than a fair and reasonable contract,” said Mike Funk, the union’s business manager.

The union says mediated negotiations broke off Thursday after the employers tabled a wage offer significantly less than the union has bargained in other jurisdictions.

The union itself has served a 72-hour strike notice.

Funk says the strike will not affect the maintenance of elevators at hospitals and long-term care homes.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/1...rkers-lockout/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/1...rkers-lockout/

Wow, I would expect this to draw back to work order. It is untenable with so many British Columbians now having to live in highrises to allow it to continue for long.

[jollyburger]

Inside The Mass Exodus At Coromandel Properties

A source familiar with the company's operations who asked to remain anonymous says the decision to exit creditor protection was made by CEO Jerry Zhong — referred to as Zhen Yu Zhong in court documents — against what was recommended by advisors.

Publicly, the move gave the impression that the company's financial difficulties were resolved, but that was not the case. Instead, Coromandel Properties' various creditors were lining up to get what they were owed, initiating individual foreclosure proceedings that would now unfold privately rather than in full view of the public — as would have been the case with CCAA proceedings.

Around that time, Coromandel also received a $280M offer to purchase 30 properties, split across six planned projects, according to a drafted purchase and sale agreement seen by STOREYS. Coromandel and the buyer entered into the agreement on June 5, but the deal ultimately broke down in July after the buyer failed to pay the $5M deposit, despite being granted multiple extensions, according to other transaction documents.

According to internal communications from September that have been shared with STOREYS, the company had failed to pay employee salaries as of August 1.

https://storeys.com/coromandel-prope...-staff-exodus/

[whatnext]

Speaking of problems at Mainland China-linked developers, I see the empty building on NW corner of Granville and 7th is now for lease and not being developed for the time being. Was Aoyuan forced to sell or do they still own it?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Speaking of problems at Mainland China-linked developers, I see the empty building on NW corner of Granville and 7th is now for lease and not being developed for the time being. Was Aoyuan forced to sell or do they still own it?

Plans for The Granville were put on hold and then cancelled in the first half of 2021. Beginning last fall, the site was listed for sale. The listing recently was marked online as sold, but when asked to confirm the sale, commercial real estate company Avison Young, which has the listing, said “information about this property wasn’t public at this time.”

https://vancouversun.com/business/re...-bond-payments

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/1...rkers-lockout/

This post from Reddit shows how critical elevators are for highrise living in Vancouver

We have 4 elevators in our building, and two have been out of service for a month. The third one just broke last night so we have one elevator for almost 400 people....

https://twitter.com/johnny_33/status...444086/photo/1

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by whatnext

This post from Reddit shows how critical elevators are for highrise living in Vancouver

We have 4 elevators in our building, and two have been out of service for a month. The third one just broke last night so we have one elevator for almost 400 people....

https://twitter.com/johnny_33/status...444086/photo/1

That's why there's four of them...

We have 2 in ours and 1 was out of service for about 6 weeks during the peak of COVID, so we also had restrictions on how many people could ride at once. It was rough, but the delay was parts.

Elevator maintenance in this City is a complete racket. It's an oligopoly worse than telecoms.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

That's why there's four of them...

We have 2 in ours and 1 was out of service for about 6 weeks during the peak of COVID, so we also had restrictions on how many people could ride at once. It was rough, but the delay was parts.

Elevator maintenance in this City is a complete racket. It's an oligopoly worse than telecoms.

Not a racket just something that has been designed to be cost effective to the developer and only a handful of companies in the industry. So after the 10 year warranty market stratas are on the hook for repairs.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by cairnstone

Not a racket just something that has been designed to be cost effective to the developer and only a handful of companies in the industry. So after the 10 year warranty market stratas are on the hook for repairs.

That's a racket.

[Klazu]

Having 4 elevators sounds luxurious. In Metroplace tower it was common to have 2 out of the 3 elevators down, leading to 1-hour wait times. It was excruciating living at the very top.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

That's a racket.

That is Developers being cheap the same issue is common in the HVAC infrastructure. Not all choose to go down that path but a good percentage choose to use the cheapest option that just gets them past any requirements

[s211]

From what I've personally seen, the biggest issues with elevator work these days is the lack of qualified trades, and that has been going on for at least 10-15 years. From my understanding, far more qualified trades have retired than have been replaced.

I've had a number of significant elevator project upgrades well over a year delayed past the original completion date because of lack of staffing. At least that's what the companies are telling us.

[cairnstone]

Originally Posted by s211

From what I've personally seen, the biggest issues with elevator work these days is the lack of qualified trades, and that has been going on for at least 10-15 years. From my understanding, far more qualified trades have retired than have been replaced.

I've had a number of significant elevator project upgrades well over a year delayed past the original completion date because of lack of staffing. At least that's what the companies are telling us.

And the union restricts the number of members. You cannot become an elevator mechanic without being invited so 100% nepatism

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by cairnstone

And the union restricts the number of members. You cannot become an elevator mechanic without being invited so 100% nepatism

Make them an essential service?

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/1...trike-avoided/

[whatnext]

Big news on the mining front:

Vancouver mining giant Teck Resources agrees to sell coal assets for US$9B
Consortium led by Glencore will be slicing up the Vancouver mining giant's coal assets
By The Canadian Press | November 14, 2023, 6:51am

The CEO of Teck Resources Ltd. said its decision to sell a majority stake in its steelmaking coal business to Swiss commodities giant Glencore represents the best possible outcome after nearly a year of battling over the future of the Vancouver-based miner.

Jonathan Price said in an interview he "couldn't be happier" about the deal his company announced Tuesday, in which Glencore has agreed to pay US$6.9 billion for a 77 per cent stake in the coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources.

In addition, Japanese company Nippon Steel Corp. will acquire a 20 per cent stake in exchange for its interest in one of Teck's coal operations and US$1.7 billion in cash, while South Korean steelmaker POSCO will swap its interest in a pair of Teck's coal operations for a three per cent stake in the overall steelmaking coal operations....

https://biv.com/article/2023/11/vanc...al-assets-us9b

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Big news on the mining front:

Vancouver mining giant Teck Resources agrees to sell coal assets for US$9B
Consortium led by Glencore will be slicing up the Vancouver mining giant's coal assets
By The Canadian Press | November 14, 2023, 6:51am

The CEO of Teck Resources Ltd. said its decision to sell a majority stake in its steelmaking coal business to Swiss commodities giant Glencore represents the best possible outcome after nearly a year of battling over the future of the Vancouver-based miner.

Jonathan Price said in an interview he "couldn't be happier" about the deal his company announced Tuesday, in which Glencore has agreed to pay US$6.9 billion for a 77 per cent stake in the coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources.

In addition, Japanese company Nippon Steel Corp. will acquire a 20 per cent stake in exchange for its interest in one of Teck's coal operations and US$1.7 billion in cash, while South Korean steelmaker POSCO will swap its interest in a pair of Teck's coal operations for a three per cent stake in the overall steelmaking coal operations....

https://biv.com/article/2023/11/vanc...al-assets-us9b

EVR will maintain its Canadian head office in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will have regional offices in Calgary, Alberta, and Sparwood, British Columbia, that will oversee and support EVR’s operations. EVR’s offices will perform a wide range of functions in Canada including finance (management reporting and budgeting, internal controls and assurance, financial reporting and accounting), logistics, research and innovation, technical services, community and government affairs, legal, ESG engagement, stakeholder relations, human resources, compliance, regulatory and public affairs.

https://www.teck.com/news/news-relea...-coal-business

Glencore is currently based in the Scotia Tower (?)

[Changing City]

A billion dollar battery factory announced in Maple Ridge. E-One Moli will produce lithium-ion battery cells useable in products such as vacuums, power tools, garden trimmers and medical devices. They're already in operation - this will be a big expansion.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Changing City

A billion dollar battery factory announced in Maple Ridge. E-One Moli will produce lithium-ion battery cells useable in products such as vacuums, power tools, garden trimmers and medical devices. They're already in operation - this will be a big expansion.

Interesting they used to employ around 400 people but downsized.

The 150,000 square foot Moli plant opened on Stewart Crescent in Maple Ridge in 1987, churning out two million cells per month on a fully automated robotic assembly line and employing 400 people. Most of the cells went into consumer products such as laptops, and only Moli and Sony were manufacturing them at first..

Now there is more competition, including Samsung, LG and Panasonic.

The Molicels are produced in Taiwan, in a plant that will soon be producing eight million cells per month. The Maple Ridge operation is down to some 70 employees who support North American sales and do research and development, customizing cells for applications.

Federal/provincial governments are kicking in around $300 million.

https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news...levate-1055521

Another recap of their history.. They downsized in the 1980s due to a battery cell in a phone catching fire. And they had some loans from the BC government at the time as well. Only mentions around 200 jobs though.

In October, with Moli’s sales halted and its cash depleted, the Toronto Stock Exchange suspended trading of its shares. Moli laid off 56 of the company’s 192 employees. In February, the province of British Columbia called in a loan and the company went into receivership.

However, within 48 hours of its loan call, the government announced a deal that saw Moli bought by a consortium of Japanese tech companies for just a fraction of its earlier value. The translated into a $5-million price tag for a company that had received $120 million in investments and still held more than $58 million in assets. An article in The Province called it a “B.C. government giveaway.”

“I am still mad about the role the B.C. government played in this,” says Haering. “B.C. had given Moli a loan of some $20 million and had received Moli’s patents as security. When they called the loan, Moli was driven into bankruptcy. Less than two days later they proudly announced that they had saved the jobs at Moli by making a deal with the Japanese.”

https://electricautonomy.ca/2020/09/...ry-technology/

[jollyburger]

Seems like they cut jobs back in 2009 when their manufacturing got moved to Taiwan leaving mostly R&D here and North America distribution/sales.

https://www.hilltimes.com/wp-content.../021721_PB.pdf

[s211]

^ What does it say about me if a post talks about Moli and for the life of me I think Molly. That can't be good.