By Graham Chandler

Just offshore from Cambridge Bay, there is a small bit of land called Jago Island. It’s a happy place for Wilf Wilcox, owner of Jago Services Inc. “When you are boating past it you are happy because you are going on a trip,” he says.  “And when you are boating towards town on the way back, you are happy because you’re coming home.” That’s how Wilcox explains his company’s name, Jago Services, which specializes in mechanical and electrical contracting in and around Cambridge Bay. He started the business in 1991, happily sold it in 2000, but then bought it back in 2007. “So I thought that would be a good name for our company,” he says.

Before 1991, Wilcox had worked for Government of the Northwest Territories for 13 years, where he apprenticed as a plumber. After an injury, he went into the training field for a few years. “I then did a diploma in business administration,” he says. His timing, background and new diploma suited a trend happening in the early ‘90s. “There was a drive to develop a bit of a private sector economy in the North,” he recalls. So he decided to try a new business. It was a success, and in 2000 he sold it. When he bought the company back in October 2007, his timing again was right on. After the division of NWT to create Nunavut in 1999, there had been some lean years with little construction activity. “In 2006 or 2007 lots of (housing) units started to be built,” he says. “And in a small community, it takes a combination of construction and maintenance work to keep a company viable.” 

Although occasionally diversifying from its mechanical and electrical core services, Jago doesn’t do general contracting, for good reason. “We try and stay as a subcontractor simply because if we were a general contractor then we are competing with a lot of our clients,” explains Wilcox. “We operate as a general contractor where it is mechanical or electrical specific jobs.” Employing somewhere between 14 and 24 employees, Jago Services can boast a good list of accomplishments, including Umingmak Lodge and several housing units in Cambridge Bay, Kugluktuk and Taloyoak. “We’ve done offices like the KIA (Kitikmeot Inuit Association) in Kugluktuk, and we helped finish off their new offices here in Cambridge Bay,” says Wilcox. The company is now working with a local general contractor installing new runway lights at the Cambridge Bay airport. “We just finished doing two triplexes at the CHARS (Canadian High Arctic Research Station) and we have a joint venture on the main building itself.” 

Going forward, Wilcox sees a plateau. “There’s going to be some more housing but unless there is a strong commitment to addressing housing shortfalls we may just see a more routine level of construction work,” he says. But he says they’ve always been able to equip and inventory themselves to be responsive to community needs and available scenarios in Kitikmeot Region. Logistics, supervision and supply lines make it difficult to cover all of Nunavut. “We know our area and our comfort factor is in our area,” he says. It’s just like passing Jago Island. CN