The dean of AGF Steel Longueuil prepares to retire

My name is Fred Sampson, and I am site superintendent on NA30. In October, I’ll be wrapping up the project and returning home to Nova Scotia to retire.
My career at Gendron Steel began in 1969 when I came to work as foreman on the underground hydroelectric plant in Churchill Falls, Labrador.  Back then, the company’s offices were located in Montreal, on Berri Street at the corner of Sherbrooke. The Longueuil plant was across from the present-day plant, which at the time was just an equipment maintenance garage. Steel was installed much the same way, but cranes were not as readily available as they are today. For smaller projects, the steel was unloaded simply by dumping it on the ground. The labels on the bundles were made of metal, and the steel was completely black. It would be many years before we would see the appearance of epoxy-coated bars.
I remember the first time I met Laurent Gendron at one of the early oyster parties in the company’s basement. Mr. Gendron always had a wry little smile when I spoke with him, and I was convinced he was making fun of me. Au contraire! I found out later that he didn’t always understand what I was saying because of my Nova Scotia accent!
Some of the largest projects I worked on include:
– The Olympic Stadium tower in Montreal
– The James Bay LG-2 hydroelectric dam
– The Eastmain-1 hydroelectric dam
– Grand-Mère hydroelectric dam
– The Jemseg River bridge in New Brunswick
– Natural gas reservoirs in New Brunswick

And then there was the Hibernia oil platform off the coast of Newfoundland. For this contract alone, I supervised eight superintendents, their head foremen, their foremen and 600 installers. This is the most impressive project I worked on, for several reasons: the immense scope of the undertaking, the complexity of the reinforcement and the different nationalities I worked with: French, Norwegian, American, Austrian and Canadian.
Before Serge Gendron took the helm, we had the impression that the company was just treading water. We felt that with Serge, the company would grow, but we never dreamed it would become so prosperous!
Since I started at the company, I’ve been involved in projects that represent nearly 250,000 metric tons of steel!  I offer my heartfelt thanks to Laurent and Serge Gendron, who have always put their trust in me. I was well treated and I never once considered changing careers.
I thank you all and wish you the best of luck with your projects; I’ve greatly enjoyed working with you.

Lastly, thanks to all those who insist that I do one last project, but I’m going to listen to my wife … who begs to differ!