Northgate Industries - History
Sid Braaksma: Founder and President
Sid Braaksma immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1952. After completing a four-year apprenticeship, Sid earned a Journeyman Machinist Certificate from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. It was in those early years that he turned his interest to modular structures and was able to sharpen his skills and learn the business.
In 1968, Sid invested all his assets into a supply business of trailer parts and by 1969, he was selling RVs. Sid also began renovating industrial modular buildings in a 9000-square-foot facility. He quickly recognized the potential in the modular structure market.
Northgate is Born
Northgate Trailer Industries Ltd. was registered as an Alberta company in the spring of 1970. Sid spent most of the early 70s buying, selling, and leasing recreational vehicles. In 1973, Northgate began offering field repair services to companies in the petroleum and construction industries, and by fall of the same year, he was leasing industrial modular buildings. In 1976, Northgate Industries Ltd. began manufacturing modular structures, ranging from basic industrial trailers and camp facilities to more sophisticated complexes such as offices, schools, and medical centers.
To further Northgate's growth in the 80s, operations were moved to a 40,000-square-foot facility and production was converted to an assembly-line model. In 1986, Northgate expanded to international markets by being awarded a U.S. military contract to build modular structures for a base in Nevada. Soon after, Northgate opened its Kan-Bud facility in Poland, which also accounts for the majority of the overseas work it does today.
Northgate continued to strengthen its reputation and expand its operations. In 1991, Northgate ventured into turnkey camp solutions, opening its first in Calling Lake, Alberta; and by 2004, a Montreal plant was opened to handle projects in Eastern Canada, the U.S., South America, and Africa.
Northgate is committed to meeting the increased demand for quality modular structures manufactured with the highest of safety standards. In 2005, Northgate Industries was restructured to include the current senior management team. The client-first philosophy of the early days is still an integral part of Northgate's success.
In January of 2007, the Edmonton facility welcomed a 90,000-square-foot expansion. Northgate's total manufacturing space in Western Canada now approaches 185,000 square feet.
