In nine years, Newfoundlander and Labradorian Michael Critch has fought tooth and nail to transform his small engineering firm into two handfuls of companies with more than $50 million annual turnover. Now, NSB-Omega Group – a multifaceted technical services, project management, and staffing company with connections, contacts and clients all over the world – is on the move again.

The Guyanese subsidiary (NSB-Omega Guyana) he started with a local businesswoman in 2018 continues to grow, serving an expanding roster of the region’s developing oil and gas Industry. This venture has risen to the top in Guyana and is now stepping out and expanding into neighbouring Suriname. Meanwhile, he’s working hand-in-glove with Janice Larocque, the founder of Calgary-based Spirit Staffing & Consulting, an indigenous firm based in Calgary that is rapidly growing. He acquired part of that enterprise just before the pandemic hit and rebranded it as Spirit-Omega.

What’s more, he says, “we’re moving into the United States, where I’m doing an acquisition. It won’t be completed until the fall, but I can say that when it comes to clients in our main fields of business, these days all roads lead to Houston.” To help with its global diversification and U.S. expansion, Critch has hired well-known local business leader, David Billard, as Vice President to lead the international expansion effort. Mr Billard has both a P Eng and PMP designation which when coupled with his international and local experience makes him the right candidate to lead this initiative.

Expansion and diversification have played a key role in NSB-Omega Group’s business strategy from the beginning. But it’s also fair to say that the current global health crisis has fired up a new urgency under it, a point that’s never far from Critch’s thoughts these days.

“There’s no way to sugar coat it,” he says. “Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, industry has slowed considerably in the last few years and the Pandemic has worsened the economic situation. However, our diverse expansion initiated just prior to the pandemic, has made us a much stronger company poised for the future. Right now, we’re laser focused on finding more work – and providing our clients with world class service quality.”

 

 

 

 

NSB-Omega’s business model revolves around the strong relationships it has built over the years. Its recruitment team, for example, provides 24/7 support to clients and has proven results in enlisting top-tier technical personnel across a wide range of disciplines. Its website and partner channels receive over 220,000 unique visits each month, and over 7,000 candidates subscribe to its Job Alerts email service.

At the same time, one of its companies – Fast Labour Solutions – offers clients high-quality occupational health and safety training to ensure that all legislative and regulatory standards are met. Its comprehensive training programs are adapted to meet the needs of each client and are specific to the requirements of individual jurisdictions. Delivered by experienced instructors, its training can be offered both in-house and onsite.

In fact, NSB-Omega provides first-class workforce solutions tailored to each client’s needs, with professional teams supplying comprehensive workforce services that result in significant efficiencies and greatly reduced risk exposure. With an unwavering focus on quality and safety, its partnership with Omega365 globally and its subsidiary companies such as Seabase, Fast Labour Solutions, Spirit-Omega and M3 Project Solutions, the NSB-Omega Group is well positioned for growth.

Says Critch: “I remain firmly convinced that Atlantic Canada is a great place to build a global business. We have the drive, desire, know-how and entrepreneurial vigor to get things done right, regardless of circumstances. My focus right now is on doing all of those things and continuing to diversify our businesses, making them even more resilient in the future, despite how tough things have been.”

In other words, this Newfoundlander and Labradorian won’t be pulling any punches anytime soon. •