City of Calgary Selects Stertil-Koni Lifts and Westvac Industrial LTD. for Massive New Maintenance Facility

Stertil-Koni today announced that the city of Calgary, located in the province of Alberta, Canada, has selected the company’s award-winning vehicle lifting systems for its new Stoney Transit Facility bus storage and maintenance structure.

At 476,841 sq. feet, the building is said to be the largest indoor compressed natural gas complex in North America and one of the largest in the world.

Driving the demand for the superstructure were three key factors:

1.       The need for more bus storage, as Calgary phases out its diesel engine buses and adds an additional 150 natural gas-powered buses and ultimately expands its total number of buses to more than 2,000 over the next 30 years;

2.       Technologically advanced infrastructure and equipment to support cleaner-burning CNG buses; and

3.       Expanded service and repair infrastructure to support the anticipated addition of 1,000 buses to the City of Calgary’s fleet.

Construction on the facility began in the fall of 2016 with a grand opening in March 2019. The $174 million complex has 83 garage doors, 36 service bays and 25 technicians capable of handling up to 470 transit buses. The expansive shop houses two cleaning bays, diesel and CNG fueling, storage for a growing transit fleet as well as administrative office space.

In terms of daily operations – ranging from mechanical work, repair, and service, as well as the cleaning and fueling of transit vehicles – the facility is open, full-throttle, 24/7, seven days a week. 

Helping to make the new project happen was Stertil-Koni distributor, Westvac Industrial Ltd., which brings substantial expertise in vehicle lift selection and installation. The company, which now has four locations -- Calgary AB, Saskatoon SK, Surrey BC, and Acheson AB -- specializes in heavy duty vehicle lifting equipment, wheel service equipment, sewer inspection equipment, and hydro excavators, refuse collection vehicles, street sweepers, and fire apparatus.

Stertil-Koni lifting systems provided to the Stoney Transit Facility by Westvac Industrial included:

• 17 inground Stertil-Koni ECOLIFT 60 models, each with two scissors for a total lifting capacity of 60,000 lbs. per lift;
• 15 inground Stertil-Koni ECOLIFT 90 models, each with three scissors for a total lifting capacity of 90,000 lbs. each;
•  Two Washbay platform SKYLIFT models, each with a lifting capacity of 62,400 lbs.; and
•  10 Wireless Mobile Column Lifts, each with a lifting capacity of 18,500 lbs. per column.

Explained Shane Vermeulen, sales manager at Westvac Industrial, “This is the biggest vehicle lifting project in our company’s history, but we’ve completed comparably sized ventures. Calgary chose Stertil-Koni lifts because they really liked the company’s heavy duty vehicle lift designs. Especially important was the fact that Stertil-Koni engineers its products with transit vehicles and large over-the-road trucks in mind. Thus, Stertil-Koni lifts are specifically manufactured for this particular industry’s applications and use.

”Added Danny Panday, senior project manager of Transportation Infrastructure for The City of Calgary, “The City decided to require bidders to provide scissors lifts for the facility as it was deemed the best available lift. This conclusion was based on visits to other transit facilities and the recommendations of industry consultants. Additionally, the lifts were identified as the safest in the industry.”

Concluded Stertil-Koni President, Dr. Jean DellAmore, “Stertil-Koni is recognized across North America as the premier provider of heavy duty vehicle lifting systems and every single day we focus on delivering an exceptional product backed by superior customer service. We are extremely proud of Westvac Industrial, salute their dedication to this complex project and thank the City of Calgary for its business and trust in Stertil-Koni.”