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As we come to the end of 2005 and review the past year, we can celebrate our victories and (hopefully) learn from our failures.

The year has seen a marked improvement in business over the previous three years. We had hoped and indeed anticipated seeing an industry turn around sooner, but present signs are good and things are happening. Although a number of large and small steel fabricators were lost to bankruptcies over the past three years, we have survived, having built in safeguards to preserve our cash flow.

Special thanks are due to Ewen Dobbie, Executive V.P., Wayne Morrison, V.P. Operations, Malcolm Muir, Manager Maple Ridge, Rick Station, Manager Burnaby, and Eric Lee, Manager Mississauga. Walter Skwarchuk has done a stellar job in Estimating and working with Wayne Morrison to land our detailing projects. Ken Mussato has met the challenging task of maintaining our Quality Control and ISO Registration and Patrick Salitra has dedicated his time to organizing the staff in India, with the assistance of Sanjay Prasad for training.  Thanks also to Thomas Cetnarowski, our graphic artist for his creative production of our 2006 calendar. Without the support of Project Leaders, Checkers, Tech Support and our entire staff, this year would not have been as successful as it has been. Thank you all.

The rise in value of the Canadian dollar in respect to the American dollar has cut deeply into our margins. This rise is expected to continue with respect to the US dollar, fueling our need for improved productivity, through continual training and improvement of our staff.

We have projects on hand to take us well into the New Year and anticipate having some excellent opportunities to continue our growth in 2006. We are looking for an additional 25 staff in Maple Ridge and are exploring opportunities in Langley for additional office space. We can double the size of the Kolkata office by adding a second shift and avoiding major expenditures for equipment and software.

Despite the fact that we are the largest fully automated detailing company in North America, we have less than 3% of the market available. Therefore we have lots of room to grow and we look forward to some exciting times ahead.

My wife Susan and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. 

Susan & Hugh Dobbie