Sherwood Park, AB: - Hood Group has been named among the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada.  This is the 2nd consecutive year that Hood Group has been named to the list.  In 2008, Hood placed 22nd in the Top 25 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada.  Hood improved its standing by being moved to 5th place.

The study is in its fifth year.  It is a collaborative venture by the Globe and Mail, Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates.  More information about the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada is available at the Queen's School of Business website.

Rankings are determined by information generated by Employee Opinion Surveys.  Eighteen key engagement drivers are detailed and analyzed.  The evaluation process also considers assessments of organization practices and includes perspectives from the leadership team.

But the greatest emphasis is placed on employee feedback.  Caroline Martel, Director of Business Development observes, "With a young family, I truly appreciate the value of working for a company that not only puts family first, but also encourages a good work-life balance."  She continues, "I have always been career-driven.  That helped me make the decision to return to work following my maternity leave."

The national awards program recognizes top employers of between 50 and 400 employees. The study mirrors the renowned Best Employer in Canada initiative run by partner, Hewitt Associates.  This program caters to smaller businesses.

The thriving economy of 2008 presented workers with numerous opportunities for employment making it a challenge to recruit and retain employees.  The over heated economy was recognized by Hewitt Associates which administered this survey.  Hewitt is a leading supplier of human resource outsourcing which notes that Alberta is the lowest in the country for employee engagement.

"Hood Group is a unique company that is successful because of our employees.  While we value every award, we consider this to be at the top of the list because it reflects the contributions of our employees," notes Don Quist, Managing Director.  "Our success has come through recognizing employee achievements and celebrating their contributions to what makes us truly different."

He continues, "By valuing each member of our team and letting them know it, we have built relationships based on loyalty, trust, and respect.  Employees are the assets that make us competitive and will be the reason for our success in the future.  In a soft economy, our role as corporate leaders is to equip our people with the training and resources needed to do their jobs better in what we anticipate will become a highly competitive marketplace in 2009."

"Last but not least, the real key to our success is two way communication with our employees.  We are intentional about scheduling meetings to discuss internal issues and current along with prospective projects.  We have even been able to create new business due to employee feedback and suggestions," he adds.

Hood Group is an Alberta Company with offices in Calgary and Sherwood Park.  The Canadian owned company provides Engineering, Construction Management, Environmental and Technical Consulting services to a global industrial client base.  The client base includes oil and gas, petrochemical and manufacturing companies.  Hood Group was founded in 1992.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Caroline Martel, Director of Marketing
Hood Group
Phone: (403) 539-5229
Email: cmartel@hoodgroup.ca

SHERWOOD PARK, Alberta – The Hood Group of Companies is pleased to announce that we are ranked number twenty two on the 2008 Top 25 Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada list.

The Queens School of Business 4th annual listing of the 25 Top BSME in Canada was premiered in the January 16th, 2008 issue of the Globe and Mail supplementing the prestigious Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine's 50 Best (larger) employers study, now entering its tenth year.

The main characteristic of this program is the fact that the results are based on the opinions of the "toughest critic" in employer quality, namely the employees themselves.

To be an Alberta Company with offices in Calgary and Sherwood Park during our thriving economy has presented workers with a number of opportunities and makes it challenging to recruit and retain employees.  Hewitt Associates who administered this survey is one of the world’s leading suppliers of human resource outsourcing and states that Alberta is the lowest in the country for employee engagement.

“You can not be a top employer without having top employees” says Don Quist, Managing Director of the Hood Group. "The cool thing for me is being ranked among the Top 25 Best gives the Hood employees the credit they deserve for making this an awesome place to work."

More on the 25 Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada
The study measures each organization’s employee engagement score — the degree of intellectual and emotional commitment employees have to their workplace. For more information, visit Queen's School of Business website.

About the Hood Group of Companies
HOOD GROUP is a Canadian owned company providing Engineering, Construction Management, Environmental and Technical Consulting services to a global industrial client base.  Operating since 1992, Hood has successfully serviced the needs of oil and gas, petrochemical and manufacturing companies from its offices in both Sherwood Park and Calgary, Alberta.

For further information, please contact:
Caroline Martel
Director, Business Development
Phone: (403) 539-5229
Fax: (403) 255-4238
hood@hoodgroup.ca

Expansion into the Hong Kong market.  Click here to view PDF documentation.

In an effort to maintain better communication with our clients, the Hood Edmonton office now has an FTP site for uploading and downloading files and folders.  The FTP will far out-perform the limited capabilities of transferring files and folders via e-mail.

Hood would like to start off the new year by sending out a special congradulations to it's employee Kevin and his wife Dawn on the recent birth of their baby boy Jesse.  Mother, father, big sister (Taylor) and baby are doing well. 

Hoodlums are actively gathering non-perishable food items, toys and financial contributions which will be donated to the Strathcona Christmas Bureau for distribution to families in need in our neighborhood.

Erich Ohrt (Jail Bird Joey) was arrested at the Hood office and hauled off to the annual Jail & Bail for the Canadian Cancer Society.  Fellow Hoodlums raised $585 for the release & return of their gang member.

Hood would like to send out a special congradulations to it's employees Rob and Melisa on the recent birth of their baby girl Faith.  Mother, father and baby are doing well.  Additional congradulations goes out to Hood employee Garry and his wife Cathy on the birth of their baby girl Katie.  Mother, father and baby are also doing well.

Hood Edmonton employees participated in their first ever Corporate Challenge for two weeks in May and June.  Congratulations to all those who participated in an event or volunteered.  The team did very well for their first year, winning medals in numerous events and finishing fourth overall in their division.

Hood is assisting Devon Canada Corporation with detailed baseline estimates for the Jackfish SAGD Project civil foundation packages on an individual foundation by foundation basis for the facility’s equipment, pipe rack, and building foundations, as well as retaining walls and building slabs.  Hood is also responsible for the preparation of a piping quantity takeoff for the facility’s piping system on a line number by line number basis.  These estimates will then serve as the baseline manpower requirements for weekly project progress monitoring.

Hood is pleased to announce that it has obtained its Certificate of Recognition from Alberta Human Resources & Employment following the accreditation of its health and safety program.  At Hood, all employees, including management, are committed to provide a strong safety program that protects our employees, our property, our clients and the general public from industry related accidents; this certificate acknowledges Hood's dedication to safety.

ZCL Composites Inc. has formed a strategic alliance partnership with Hood Group.  ZCL has expertise in providing the technology and manufacturing of fiberglass tank lining products.  Hood has a proven track record in construction management and site services.  The Alliance will add strength to ZCL, in bringing their innovative technology solutions to the marketplace.  Under the new arrangement customers will be able to purchase tank lining products directly from ZCL, as 'one stop shopping', while site services and construction management will be handled under the proven expertise of Hood Group.  ZCL and Hood are already working together on their first  project and the future promises to be busy.

Hood is pleased to announce that they are participating in the Long Lake Project. Hood's Technical Services division will be working directly for Nexen Inc. to provide piping design and spooling services. Hood will be responsible for producing fabrication isometric drawings for the 'off module' portion of the project.  

The Long Lake project is a joint venture between OPTI Canada Inc. and Nexen Inc. to produce and upgrade bitumen into a premium synthetic crude oil. More information about this project can be found on www.longlake.ca.