1993 - North Shore News - 27 Tug company C.H. Cates and Sons Ltd. an enduring port force In this final instalment of a series profiling North Vancouver water- front companies, the North Shere News takes a look at the opera- tions of C.H. Cates and Sons Ltd. By Surj Rattan News Reporter “WHEN YOU do something, do it right.” That has been the long-standing business motto of one of the oldest industrial operators not on- ly on the North Shore waterfront, but in the entire Port of Van- couver. And by all accounts, C.H. Cates and Sons Ltd. has, and continues to live up to, that mot- to. The company specializes in ber- thing everything from freighters to cruise ships in the Port of Van- couver. It was established in 1889 in the City of North Vancouver at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue, next to the Lonsdale Quay Market, by its founder, Capt. Charles Henry Cates, The company was bought by Missoula, Montana businessman Dennis Washingten on Oct. I, 1992, Washington owns several com- panies and is involved in railways, mining, trucking, construction, pollution control, heavy machin- ery and other industries. Today, the local tugboat firm Operates a fleet of 15 tugs. The company also owns a se- cond firm, Port Moody-based Seaforth Towing and Salvage Ltd., which operates three tugs. Seaforth berths vessels east of the Second Narrows Bridge, pro- vides a general towing service and Operates a freighting service up Indian Aim: Last year it made most of its revenue from its extensive work with pollution-control booms. The two companies employ a total of 115 people. Claire Johnston, president and general manager of C.H. Cates and Sons, said he was initially concerned when he first learned about plans for the Lonsdale Quay Market, especially since the development, which opened in 1986, included a hotel. Johnston noted that C.H. Cates ‘dispatchers, and Sons operates year, 24 hours a day. “Ten years ago this (Cates’ location) was a very lonely place. We were in the boondocks. Then along came the SeaBus terminal, the ICBC (Insurance Corp. of B.C.) building and then the Lons- dale Quay Market. “Wow it’s like working in a fish bowl. We were very concerned when Lonsdale Quay was going to be built. 1 thought the hotel patrons would be angry at hearing our activity at night,’’ said Johnston. But he said C.H. Cates and Sons has never received a com- plaint from the neighboring mar- ket and hotel. Johnston added that the tug company has actually received let- ters of compliment from hotel guests who said they enjoyed watching the tugs come and go. Cates’ equipment includes a 500-ton-capacity Syncrolift that is used to repair tugs on dry land. The lift has decreased vessel down-time by an average of 35% and helped increase the expected working life of each tug by 10%. C.H. Cates and Sons, as its name implies, has been operated as a family business. Cates’ three scns, Charles War- ren, John, and Jim, were added to the company’s workforce after the business was established. Charles Henry Cates was a sea- farer from Maine who had sailed ona square-rigger as a ship’s boy and arrived in the Vancouver area in the 1880s. Following the fire in 1886 that destroyed the recently incor- porated City of Vancouver, Cates bought a 240-foot (73 m) steam scow called the Spratt*s Ark to haul stone from Squamish and Gibsons to help in rebuilding the burned-out city. Cates, who became a tugboat pioneer with the small steamer tug Swan, won another tug, the Stella, from a rival skipper who bet the vessel in a race. By 1900, Cates had owned and disposed of three tugs and then built a wharf where C.H, Cates and Sons is located today. Cates currently employs everyone from executives to masters and 365 days a deckhands. In the company’s employee ori- entation handbook, Capt. John .-. THE RETIREMENT SPECIALISTS MONTHLY INCOME ON $50,000 INVESTMENT R.B.LF Minimum [ Femaie [doit | tot ye [tom ye_ horny. Fund value 60 | $404.55 | $381.03 | $360.35 | $139.00 | $295.00 65 | $433.42 | $408.06 | $381.92 | $167.00 | $412.00 $373.00 ; $49,884 “Rates subject to change without notice. RSP / GIC Rates 4 For your Annuity or RRIF illustration or a copy of our Guide, $74,418 $64,157 6.55%) 7.36% | 7.375 3 YR. 4 YR. 5 YR. Bonus Rates may be available. Ste. 401, Kapilano 100 Park Royal South, West Vancouver SOLGUARD FINANCHIA: LTD. Consultonts & Brokers since 1974 Gy 2 Pemberton Burrard inlet Dollarton Hwy. A VISITOR to the Lonsdale Quay Market stops to view some of the work going on at C.H. Cates and Sons. The company has been on the North Vancouver City waterfront at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue since 1886. Cates laid down the following principle. “The person cleaning the wharf is no fess important than the president of the company.” Johnston said public interest in - the operations of C.H. Cates and Sons has grown over the years. Visitors to the Lonsdale Quay NOTICE TO MOTORISTS Market, he said, will hang over the company’s railings from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day watching the activity at the local tugboat company. Johnston said Cates had plan- ned to offer hourly tours of its facility during the recent Port Day festivities put on by the Van- ‘ 3 + PS couver Port Corp., but the com- pany could not keep up with the demand. It was also a popular place for photographers, . “We had one of our tugs up on the Syncrolift. Kodak must have made a fortune that day,’’. said Johnston. PORTEAU BLUFFS ROCK SCALING PROJECT SEA-TO-SKY HIGHWAY 99 The Ministry of Transpcrtation and Highways advises that there will be two and a half hour closures on the Sea-to-Sky Highway 99 at Porteau Bluffs, 25 km north of Horseshoe Bay, from Monday, June 7 to Friday, June 11, 1993. The closures are needed for slope stabilization work and will be in effect as follows: Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM - 12:36 PM 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM Friday 10:00 AM - 12:30 Pl For further information, please centact the 24-hour road report at 525-4997 (Greater Vancouver); 938-4997 (Whistler); 858-4997 (Abbotsford); 371-4997 (Kamloops); 860- 4997 (Kelowna); 490-4997 (Penticton); 558-4997 (Vernon); 380-4997 (Victoria); *4997 (BC Cellular & Cantel). {n ail other communities, please cail 1-860-663-4997. Province of British Columbia j Ministry of Transportation and Highways