City of Pickering - Archive - Veridian Centre Officially Opened

At a ribbon cutting ceremony held today, Veridian Corporation officially opened the 'Veridian Centre' - a new landmark building located in the heart of Pickering. The facility contributes over 36,000 square feet of prime office space to the City of Pickering's downtown core. It is the new home of Veridian's billing and call centre, which serves over 90,000 customers in Ajax, Pickering, Clarington, Uxbridge, Brock Township, Port Hope and Belleville.

"This building provides the space needed to consolidate seven billing and call centres into one central location", said John Wiersma, the President and CEO of Veridian Corporation. "We now enjoy the economies of scale necessary to meet the demands of the new electricity market, while improving customer service and reducing costs."

Wiersma adds, "Our choice of downtown Pickering was a strategic one. Its location provides us with access to an exceptional talent pool from which we can draw the people we need to grow our business. We are also very impressed by the convenient transportation links to this location, including Highway 401, GO Transit and Pickering Transit."

Veridian's operations currently occupy the entire second floor of the building, and employ about 50 full-time staff. A second high profile tenant for the building has been secured, with an occupancy date of fall 2002. When fully occupied, the Veridian Centre is expected to bring over 150 jobs to Pickering's core business area.

As part of the ribbon cutting ceremony, Mr. Pierre Guèvremont of Natural Resources Canada was on hand to present a plaque recognizing the energy efficient design of the Veridian Centre. Through features such as reflective exterior glass cladding and a dynamically balanced heating system, the building will use 25 percent less energy than a typical new building. According to Wiersma, "These features will dramatically reduce our operating costs and more importantly, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change."

Left to right:
City Councillor David Pickles, Regional Councillor Rick Johnson, City Councillor Dave Ryan, Thomas Oldman, Pine Ridge Properties Inc., M.P. Dan McTeague, Mayor Wayne Arthurs, Robert Oldman, Pine Ridge Properties Inc., Jim Mason, Chair Veridian Corporation, Jim Witty Chair Veridian Energy, Ajax Regional Councillor Jim McMaster, Regional Councillor Mark Holland and City Councillor Bill McLean.

Through its subsidiary, Veridian Connections Inc., Veridian Corporation is responsible for distributing electricity to more that 90,000 customers in the cities of Pickering and Belleville, the Towns of Ajax and Port Hope, and the communities of Uxbridge, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Beaverton, Sunderland and Cannington. The Corporation also owns Veridian Energy Inc., a Pickering, Ontario based company that provides business-to-business and fibre optic communications services, and has a 43% stake in First Source Energy Inc., a Mississauga based energy retailer.