• HARRY KIMURA finishes off an aluminum gillnet pin roller.
Mending hulls, engines, gear Trites Marine workers keep the fleet afloat
Harry Kimura hasn't seen too many changes to his job at Trites Marine over the last 18 years. He's still proud of the high quality aluminum stern rollers that he welds using the same welding torch he started with in 1972.
At that time, the shop was owned by NBF Marine, a company dealing mostly with maintaining the B.C. Packers fleet. Trites Marine bought the company in 1982.
Kimura makes "V" rollers, pin rollers and drums for gill-netters, and power blocks, hairpins and anchor winches for seiners. Born at Steveston Fisherman's Hospital in 1932, Kimura has spent most of his life connected to the fishing industry on the West Coast.
But most of Trites income comes from repairs. Supervisor of operations Ed Wahl says Trites deals with everything from engine repairs to hull work, both aluminum and fibre-glass. They also look after all the B.C. Packers and Canadian Fish power skiffs, and do all the maintenance on the RCMP fleet.
"We had an excellent season," Wahl says. Wahl grew up in the ship building and repair business, starting at his family's firm in Prince Rupert, Wahl's Shipyard.
About 40 workers are currently employed at the shipyard along with 12 office staff. At peak season the total workforce hits eighty or more.
"We've been busier than hell," says shop steward Glen Grant, who works as travel lift operator, getting the boats in and out of the water. He said then; were a lot of sinkings on the Fraser this season and many boats ended up at Trites.
As well as doing repairs and manufacturing custom parts, Trites builds several boats and many skiffs each year. Lead-hand Bert Schellenberg points to the shiny new 38 foot Harbour Patrol vessel in progess in
the main shed. "It's a real heavy duty boat," Schellenberg says. It has three-eights aluminum plate on the sides with a one inch keel. It should be in the water by the beginning of November."
Last year Trites built two gillnetters, a dozen dead skiffs and five power skiffs, along with the 44 foot seiner the Miss Trimar.
Henry Lasota has worked at the Trites site longer than any other worker. He started Mar. 8, 1968, before Trites bought the company, working in the machine shop. At that time there was only one old belt-driven lathe.
The repair and maintenance services at Trites Marine have been union for a long time. The original repair crews worked directly for B.C. Packers and were unionized in 1944. The shop has changed location and changed ownership many times, but has remained certified by the UFAWU.
Wages range from $16.23 aifc. hour for general labourers to $19.55 for welders and machinists. The medical and dental plan, and other benefits are similar to most unionized shore plants.
Scottie Stephen sums it up: "The wages are better and we have better tradesmen — being union really helps."
• GLEN GRANT (top right) uses travel lift to bring small gillnetter out of the water for repairs. Workers lift three-eighth inch aluminum plate into place for Harbour Patrol boat (right) being built in the main shed.
• HENRY LASOTA (below) has worked for 32 years as a machinist at the Steveston site, first for Nelson Bros. Fisheries, now for Trites Marine. Tom Perigo (bottom right) repairs the rigging on the Miss Trimar, an aluminum seiner built at Trites in 1989.
THE FISHERMAN / SEPTEMBER 24,1990 • 11