Not since 1984 have we had year so infamous that simply uttering the number brings feelings of unease. Requisite acknowledgement of the 2020 meme aside, this was a year like no other for Arcose. From early-year boom to mid-year trials to a strong finish, we faced a number of new challenges – both as individuals and as a team – but we have all emerged from 2020 stronger and ready to keep on growing.

The Company

2020 started out like each year prior. The bar was slanted up and to the right and all parts of the company were growing. Year-over-year sales in January and February increased and clients were continuing to request proposals for projects to fill out the coming months and into 2021. When the initial COVID-19 orders went into effect on March 17, we had already had our busiest month in terms of proposals submitted.

After the shutdown, things slowed dramatically. The lack in sales was certainly noticed but the newly available time presented an opportunity to grow our online training services at www.learn.arcose.com. Karena Davidson took the lead and hammered out Mould Awareness and Asbestos Awareness courses while Barbara Yu developed the New and Young Worker course. Additionally, a major client contracted Arcose to develop an internal training course which has been completed and is currently in regular use by our client.

After Karena left for (SPOILER ALERT) parental leave in June, new team members (DOUBLE SPOILER ALERT) Administrator Deb Duffy and EHS Consultant Marybeth MacDonald have taken over www.learn.arcose.com and they continue to grow it so keep an eye on our website and LinkdedIn for new courses coming in 2021!

The Team

Marybeth MacDonald, EHS Consultant: Marybeth started a new position at Arcose in June.

Deborah Duffy: Deb initially joined Arcose for administrative support during Alasdair’s parental leave. During this time, Deb proved an invaluable team member so has stayed on, stepping into managing www.learn.arcose.com along with Marybeth.

Terence Tang, Senior EHS Consultant: Terence continued to grind out his professional development and reached a major milestone of attaining his Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) designation. Terence and his wife Vivian closed out the year by welcoming their first child, Louie, on December 26.

Karena Davidson, EHS Consultant: Karena began her parental leave after signing out at 5:00pm on June 12 – just in time to get home, eat dinner and go into labour. She and her husband Roberto welcomed their first child, Ayla, early the following morning.

Alasdair Phillips, Senior Administrator: Alasdair welcomed his second (and absolute last) child, Kasumi, in early August. Alasdair expertly navigated the 5-minute drive to hospital so his wife, Nanako, could seamlessly take over the rest of the process.