Marc Myers
Lead Mentor Driver-Trainer

I’m looking after the mentorship program for the Medicine Hat and Estevan regions. In short my role is to ensure that new employees have a good start with the company. The biggest part is driving: I help the Class 5 drivers become safe Class 1 drivers. Beyond that my role includes recruiting and hiring people who will become new equipment operators and showing them the ropes before they go into the field. I take them through orientation in the shop, explain Canyon’s policies, vision and values, and then I provide hands-on training to make them safe, proficient drivers. Once they have completed all the job-specific orientation they need, I match them up with a field mentor with whom they’ll “buddy” with until they’re ready to work as a team member.

I joined Canyon in late 2008 after working in the oilfield service and supply sector for about nine years, where I operated equipment and then became a driver-trainer and mentor. I like interacting with people, introducing new things to them and helping them gain knowledge and skills they didn’t have before. The look on their face when they come back from their driving test and they not only have their Class I, but the government evaluator told them they had everything just right – that’s the high point of my job.

It’s also about making Canyon a stronger company. Implementing efficiencies to make the job go smoother, and making sure our guys do a safe job in everything they do, contributes to the quality of the job that we do for the customer. My time at Canyon has even affected what I teach my kids about safety around the house. If you’re not going to be safe at home, you’re not going to be safe at work.

Brett Swanston
Division Manager, Chemical and Remedial Cementing Product Lines

The hydraulic fracturing and well completions sector gives you a chance to do a lot of different jobs. It’s an amazing career path. Within each job there’s knowledge, skills, theories and abilities that need to be grasped and acquired. I came from a farm background, and I had no idea of the world of opportunity that was about to open up.

I joined Canyon in the late summer of 2005 after working nearly 12 years for another company. I had post-secondary education in both business and electronic engineering, and so they put me to work in different jobs. I supervised cement pumping crews, did remedial cementing and acidizing, and worked as an electronic technician, fracturing supervisor, equipment operator, quality control technician and data van operator.

At Canyon I’ve been a field crew supervisor, field coordinator and manager. Right now I’m overseeing the building of equipment for the division I manage. I’m constantly thinking about what the equipment needs to be able to do and the features it should have, and I’m thinking ahead to 2012 in our equipment needs and the supporting equipment we’ll need, like tractor units from Peterbilt.

I love the autonomy that Canyon offers, the freedom and opportunity to think about things. Underneath all that, I like putting effort into showing the guys in my division that I care about every one of them, how the division does, and so that people are happy at their jobs.

Working at Canyon has also had a huge effect on my personal life outside work, because the company has given me the support I needed to deal with some dramatic changes that were taking place in my life. It comes from that family-oriented attitude that you’ll find here.

Gary Lamb
Division Manager, Coiled Tubing

I like everything about my job at Canyon. The pay and compensation are good, but the money is not the main reason. I enjoy the atmosphere, the people, the thinking outside the box mentality, and I enjoy the fact that we’re not just a number. I like to help people succeed in our company and among our customers.

After nearly 20 years with a major oilfield service and supply company, where I worked mostly in coiled tubing as well as in drilling and snubbing, I joined Canyon in the spring of 2009, and I’m stationed in Red Deer. My roles and responsibilities surround new equipment builds, overall department management and dealing with customer concerns.

I love seeing new equipment being put to use in the field and people being happy with it. Our approach is to get high-quality, fit-for-purpose new units that we need to keep expanding our horizons. Our new-generation coiled tubing equipment is pretty exciting, like the highly capable new mast unit that’s entering service in the spring of 2012. We also work continually to incorporate new technologies into our existing equipment.

I came from a large international corporation with a very structured environment. Working at Canyon has been a breath of fresh air. You’re given free reign to make decisions, to do the best job you can, and to try new things. When you work here, you feel supported and respected.

Craig Jensen
Technical Training & Development Coordinator

For the last two years I was a Frac Field Service Coordinator. In that role I looked after the needs of approximately 110 people. I organized holidays, sick days, promotions, discipline, and a large part of my job is to be out on the job helping people, mentoring, teaching, and sharing my knowledge. I received calls at all hours, whether it’s a phone call, or helping someone who needed something – my role was to ensure they had what they needed to get the job done.

Just recently, I have been promoted to a Technical Training and Development Coordinator. Another example of hard work paying off and getting an opportunity to use my field experience to directly benefit new and existing employees within our group. With this new role I am responsible for working with operational managers and determine the training needs of their people. I have a lot to learn in my new role but I am confident, as with my past experiences with Canyon, I will be supported and trained to be a part of a effective long term valuable group member.

Linda Hoffer
Manager, Human Resources

I joined Canyon in early 2006 after 16 years in the service and supply sector, of which about 10 were in human resources.

It’s people who make a company, not the other way around. So finding and recruiting good people, and contributing to ways that help them be satisfied and happy in their work, that’s going to show in the job that they do in the field for the customer.

In my career I started out as a receptionist. Today as HR manager my job includes everything from implementing policies, systems and processes, to overseeing recruitment, and working on workforce planning, compensation and benefits. I’ve been at Canyon since it had only 96 people. To be able to help shape what Canyon is, and work towards making Canyon the employer of choice, that’s been very rewarding.

I like the fact that you have the opportunity to meet and work with everyone in the company, from the field folks to the president, and that gives it a friendly feel. The people are great here, the team is close-knit, and we brainstorm ideas together. Meetings are like getting together with a bunch of friends.

That personable atmosphere extends to other parts of the company. As we grow, we’re working hard to keep that small-company feel. We don’t have employee numbers – that’s huge for people who come and work here. And the doors to people’s offices are always open.

Conner Hillier, P.Eng.
Senior Field Engineer

Canyon is a company that provides a lot of opportunity for professionals. There’s great scope, great freedom, both because of the nature of the company – the way it’s run, the people who make it up and the values we have – and because it’s growing.

After I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2001, I initially worked as an engineer with an oil refinery in Regina. Four years later I started with Canyon as an equipment operator, and from there I went on to working as a technical assistant in quality control. I spent most of my time in the field.

Today I manage the quality control department. The people who work for me keep track of all our chemistry while we’re doing our work. We troubleshoot chemical issues, and we spend time with customers and also with other contractors on the well site, to make sure everyone understands what the customer is trying to achieve with the well stimulation job, and how the chemicals are going to contribute to that.

The technical group in Calgary are always there for us in providing technical advice, it’s a real team atmosphere. But I’m still given a lot of freedom to do what I think will be the highest-quality job.

There’ve been lots of great personal aspects to the job. The people I started working with back in 2005 have become my best friends. We’ve got strong after-work relationships, we spend a lot of time together and we’re all raising our families together. The company itself has become like a big family.