Port Coquitlam, British Columbia-based Empire Industries celebrated this week its $70-million contract from the federal government to contribute in the construction of one of the largest astronomical observatories in the world.
Empire Industries owns Dynamics Structures, the lead contractor for the Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT), and is responsible for the steel enclosure that will protect the telescope from temperatures and winds in the 22-story tower at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano, in Hawaii. Construction is expected to be complete in 2023.
Guy Nelson, CEO of Empire Industries, said that Dynamic Structures has built about half of the world's mega telescopes including the Isaac Newton Telescope, plus attractions such as the Vancouver Olympic ski jumps in Whistler, the Lougheed SkyTrain station, and Disney’s Soarin’ Over California and Space Mountain.