ATCO
Encyclopedia
ATCO Ltd. is an Alberta
based corporation with more than 7,000 employees operating across three main business divisions: Power Generation; Utilities (natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution) and Global Enterprises, with companies active in industrial manufacturing, technology, logistics and energy services.
ATCO Ltd. controls its operations through Canadian Utilities
. It owns 74% of Canadian Utilities' voting shares and 40% of non-voting shares. Canadian Utilities' registered head office is in Edmonton, and the main corporate office is in Calgary.
and his father S.D. Southern, under the name Alberta Trailer Hire, renting utility trailers in the Calgary
area. As the company's operations grew, they also began to sell trailers, first becoming the Alberta Trailer Company, then ATCO. By the early 1960s, the company had operations across North America and in Australia
.
ATCO Industries Ltd. became a public company
in March 1968, with shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
. During the 1970s, the company expanded into the natural gas and petroleum industries, and into the electricity industry in the 1980s.
In 2004, with the deregulation
of the retail energy industry in Alberta, ATCO sold the retail operations of ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric to Direct Energy Marketing Ltd.
; ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric still operate as "distributors" (owning and operating the infrastructure that delivers natural gas or electricity in its service territories) but are no longer in the retail market. As part of the sale to DEML, DEML contracted call center and billing services from ATCO I-Tek. This split between "retailer" and "distributor" has proved to be confusing to many Alberta consumers, many of whom have interpreted the change as meaning that Direct Energy now owns ATCO.
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
based corporation with more than 7,000 employees operating across three main business divisions: Power Generation; Utilities (natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution) and Global Enterprises, with companies active in industrial manufacturing, technology, logistics and energy services.
ATCO Ltd. controls its operations through Canadian Utilities
Canadian Utilities
Canadian Utilities Limited is a member of the ATCO Group of companies. Canadian Utilities Limited is a Canada-based worldwide organization of companies with assets of approximately $7.3 billion and more than 6,500 employees, actively engaged in three main business divisions: Power Generation,...
. It owns 74% of Canadian Utilities' voting shares and 40% of non-voting shares. Canadian Utilities' registered head office is in Edmonton, and the main corporate office is in Calgary.
Subsidiaries
The ATCO Group of Companies includes the following subsidiaries:- ATCO ElectricATCO ElectricATCO Electric is an electric utility company. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, ATCO Electric transmits and distributes electricity to two thirds of Alberta, namely in north and east-central Alberta, as well as communities in the Yukon and North West Territories...
(delivers electricity in Alberta, YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
(as Yukon Electrical CompanyYukon Electrical CompanyThe Yukon Electrical Company Limited is an investor-owned private electrical utility based in Whitehorse serving most Yukon communities as well as Lower Post, British Columbia...
), and the Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
(as Northland UtilitiesNorthland UtilitiesNorthland Utilities is an investor-owned company that, through two operating companies, provides electricity to customers in the Northwest Territories, Canada....
) - ATCO Frontec (project management and technical/logistical services to NATO and other western military operations in countries such as the former Yugoslavia and Afghanistan)
- ATCO Gas (delivers natural gasNatural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
in Alberta) - ATCO I-Tek (information technology, billing, customer care)
- ATCO Midstream (natural gas processingNatural gas processingNatural-gas processing is a complex industrial process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as pipeline quality dry natural gas.-Background:...
and storage) - ATCO Pipelines (transports natural gas throughout Alberta)
- ATCO Power (electricity generation)
- ATCO Structures (manufactures, leases, and sells modular buildings)
- ATCO Travel (corporate and vacation travel services)
- ATCO Noise Management (industrial noise-reduction services)
History
ATCO was founded in 1947, with matching cash investments by Ron SouthernRon Southern
Ronald D. Southern, CC, CBE is a Canadian businessman. He is chairman of Calgary-based ATCO Ltd. and is also the founder of the Spruce Meadows equestrian center....
and his father S.D. Southern, under the name Alberta Trailer Hire, renting utility trailers in the Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
area. As the company's operations grew, they also began to sell trailers, first becoming the Alberta Trailer Company, then ATCO. By the early 1960s, the company had operations across North America and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
ATCO Industries Ltd. became a public company
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
in March 1968, with shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange
Toronto Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Canada, the third largest in North America and the seventh largest in the world by market capitalisation. Based in Canada's largest city, Toronto, it is owned by and operated as a subsidiary of the TMX Group for the trading of senior equities...
. During the 1970s, the company expanded into the natural gas and petroleum industries, and into the electricity industry in the 1980s.
In 2004, with the deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
of the retail energy industry in Alberta, ATCO sold the retail operations of ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric to Direct Energy Marketing Ltd.
Direct Energy
Direct Energy is a North American retailer of energy and energy services. The company was founded in 1986. With over six million customer relationships in Canada and the United States, it is the largest energy and home services retailer in North America. The current President and Chief Executive...
; ATCO Gas and ATCO Electric still operate as "distributors" (owning and operating the infrastructure that delivers natural gas or electricity in its service territories) but are no longer in the retail market. As part of the sale to DEML, DEML contracted call center and billing services from ATCO I-Tek. This split between "retailer" and "distributor" has proved to be confusing to many Alberta consumers, many of whom have interpreted the change as meaning that Direct Energy now owns ATCO.