Loans needed, recession is no time for Atcon to stop growing: CEO

The New Brunswick government's decision to provide loan guarantees worth $50 million to Atcon Holdings will help keep people working in northern New Brunswick, said the CEO of the construction company.

Robbie Tozer said in an interview on Wednesday that companies like his are having difficulty getting bank loans as credit markets are drying up.

Even with the global economic problems, Tozer said his Miramichi-based company should not have to stop growing.

"We do create a lot of jobs in northeastern New Brunswick. Northeastern New Brunswick is hurting right now, I would say, from an economic standpoint," Tozer said.

"We do our best to create a lot of jobs. We do our best to pay reasonable wages and benefits and health plans and all this stuff to our employees. I think that's a positive thing."

Tozer denied suggestions that he hasn't been able to pay his suppliers.

Atcon keeping plane

He also said the corporate plane that Atcon leases is an important tool for getting to projects in remote areas such as Baffin Island and northern Manitoba.

Opposition Leader David Alward has suggested Atcon should part with the plane to save money if it wanted to be considered for financial assistance from the government.

Even though Atcon is keeping the plane in its hangar, the Liberal government tied the money to a series of unprecedented conditions.

To maintain a level playing field in New Brunswick's construction industry, Atcon won't be able to bid on in-province contracts from the government.

On big decisions, Atcon will have to consult an advisory board that will include a government representative.

Acting Business New Brunswick Minister Jack Keir said the province won't be running Atcon despite the strings being attached to these loan guarantees.

"We're not going to get involved in the middle of a private-sector company. There's going to be a board of directors that's going to do that," Keir said.

"But what we are going to make sure is that we have somebody on that board to make sure our conditions are met."

Keir repeatedly stressed on Wednesday that no provincial money is being handed to Atcon in these deals, the province is guaranteeing the money to banks so the company can move ahead with its projects.

Restrictions won't hurt Atcon

Tozer said New Brunswick contracts make up only four per cent of his business so the restriction on bidding won't hurt the company.

He said he doesn't mind getting advice from an advisory board on running the company better.

"We work every day to try to run this company today [better] than we did yesterday, and better tomorrow than we did today. That's just standard business practice," he said.