ron Mannix: Distinguished business [title] leader • [section] • Cover
He also realizes that in today’s world there is no real privacy but everyone is part and parcel of the big picture so we should, in all of our activities, endeavour to be good examples for others to follow. Mannix also believes that it is appropriate that the University of Calgary and Calgary Chamber of Commerce should recognize and honour leadership as an encouragement for others to demonstrate ethical leadership not only in the corporate world but also within the community. Mannix is the founder and director of Coril Holdings but his involvement in business and support of the arts and philanthropic initiatives goes well beyond a single company title. While he traces his personal commitments back to family influences, his business savvy may have started with his grandfather, Frederick Stephen Mannix, who as a teenager trekked from his home in Manitoba to Alberta in 1898. He formed a construction company that grew from laying branch lines for the Canadian Pacific Railway to being responsible for much of the infrastructure of Western Canada. Its construction projects – besides being a major factor in the building of the Trans-Canada Highway – have included the St. Lawrence Seaway and the subways in both Toronto and Montreal. Frederick Stephen Mannix’s son, Frederick Charles, diversified the construction company into several other divisions. He created the Loram Group of Companies, continuing to build many parts of Canada’s infrastructure, that soon had successful operations in coal, pipelines, oil and gas exploration and production, and construction as well as a railroad division. Under Ron Mannix’s leadership, a key element in the diversification of the family business was the expansion of Manalta Coal with seven active mining operations in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan that became the country’s largest coal producing company. However, by the mid-1980s, Ron felt that the construction industry was getting harder to compete in and was too capital intensive so he held back on that business and in 1985 wound it down selling off all of the equipment – right down to the picks and shovels. The third generation of the family business – Ron and brother Fred – also divested the company of most of its energy assets in 1997 selling off Manalta Coal, Pembina Pipeline and Pembina Resources to the public markets via an income trust, a royalty trust and an asset sale respectively. In 1998, Ron Mannix established Coril Holdings to continue the railroad activities and pursue real estate and other investments. Its principal focus today is in five areas: railroad maintenance and services; industrial oil and gas services; real estate development, ownership, management and advisory services; global investments; and personal health and wellness activities. 46 • June 2015 BUSINESS IN CALGARY | businessincalgary.com
The Doll Block along Stephen Avenue.
Keynote Urban Village in Victoria Park.
Mannix is certainly keen to talk about railroads. “Transportation is a great business to be in and rail is right at the top,” he says. “Through the hard work and expertise of our corporate office staff located in Hamel, Minnesota, we have become one of the leading suppliers of track, maintenance machinery and services in North America and to the global market.” Coril Holdings’ railway maintenance subsidiary, Loram Maintenance of Way, has certainly made a name for itself worldwide. It is involved in services such as ditching, rail grinding and shoulder ballast cleaning for clients throughout the U.S., Canada and beyond to rail companies like the metros in Beijing and Delhi, Turkish State Railways, Network Rail U.K., Australian Rail Track Corp. and Saudi Archirodon. But Coril is also making big strides in the real estate sector through its independent subsidiaries – Triovest Realty Advisors and Balboa Investments. Balboa earned a lot of respect in this community when it managed the design, construction and development of the Hyatt Regency Calgary. Its purchase and redevelopment of the adjacent historic Imperial Bank Building which houses Catch Restaurant and the Doll Block along Stephen Avenue would go on to be transformative for the entire block. Elsewhere in downtown Calgary and the adjacent beltline district, Balboa has purchased and restored other important heritage buildings including several on Stephen Avenue. Collectively this demonstrates just how much Mannix cares about this city’s history and his passion for saving and making good use of heritage buildings. He says, “Far too many have been lost already when they could have been saved with a little thought. I still get frustrated thinking about the Crown Building that was demolished to make way for the new north block of the convention centre that the owner was prepared to move.” Another Coril project and one of Calgary’s newest developments is the Keynote Urban Village, a development spanning an entire city block that is a prime mixed-use development made up of office, residential and retail that has changed the face of Victoria Park.