Startec Team

Joe Cawthorn
Chairman of the Board of Directors

Joe Cawthorn founded Startec Engineering Ltd. in 1976 with another well-known refrigeration engineer. In 1983, Joe purchased his partner's interest and established Startec Refrigeration Services Ltd.

Joe served as President and General Manager until 1996 and in response to the needs and the growth of the business he elected to pass on the duties of General Manager in order to focus on his role of President.

In 2006 Joe executed his management transition plan and announced that he would now be taking on the role of Chairman and provides leadership to the Startec Board of Directors.

The success of Startec today can be attributed to the customer first philosophy that Joe instilled in the company he founded. From Joe's early beginnings as a Journeyman Refrigeration Mechanic through to his completion of the Owner Manager Program at the University of Calgary, his dedication to the industry and to the ongoing success of his company has set an example for everyone at Startec to follow.

Compression & Process Divisions

Kristi Cawthorn Zadderey, CA
President, Compression & Process

Kristi Zadderey joined Startec in 2002. Kristi holds a Chartered Accountant designation and a Bachelor of Commerce (With Distinction) Degree from the University of Calgary.

Prior to joining Startec Kristi held management positions within a large national public accounting firm where she was able to gain valuable business knowledge and management experience. Subsequently, Kristi held a management position at a publicly traded oil and gas producer, providing her with insight into the workings of an oil and gas company and an understanding of our customers' perspectives.

In her role, Kristi is leading the expansion of the Compression and Process operating division with the goal of providing our customers with industry leading compression and process solutions. As a shareholder of the company she also serves on the Startec Board of Directors.

Michael Tearoe
VP Corporate Development, Compression & Process

Mike brings to Startec a 15 year career in the Oil and Gas market along with a strong history in the Processing Industry.Since Mike joined Startec he has contributed to our success in establishing Startec's position in the market place for custom designed Liquids Recovery Plants.

As the VP Corporate Development he leads the sales function for our Compression and Process operating division, and Mike is responsible for driving our growth for our diverse product lines in the Oil and Gas market. As a member of our senior management team, Mike also plays an increased role in planning and executing our business operations.

Will Van Den Elzen
Technical Sales, Compression & Process

Will has been active in the compression and process industry for over 20 years. He is able to utilize his vast experience to craft solutions specific to our customer's needs. Will focuses on designing solutions ensuring a proper balance between economy and functionality, while keeping in mind the total cost of ownership for customer's operations.

Will has led Startec to expand our product lines to include Centrifugal Compressors and Liquid Ring Pump/Compressors. He is always on the lookout for new ways to provide solutions to our customer's compression and process needs.

Dominic Gaudette, P.Eng.
Engineering Lead

Dominic holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Quebec and has over 8 years of experience in the design of custom gas processing and refrigeration equipment.

Dominic has knowledge in all aspects of simulating, sizing and designing gas plants. His solid background on the process simulation side combined with his good equipment packaging experience allows him to generate adequate and functional solutions capable of suiting the customer needs.

Michael Harrison
Senior Compression Applications Technician

Michael has knowledge in all aspects of sizing, designing and packaging equipment for use in natural gas and process applications, and has a solid background in both screw and reciprocating compression.

Michael has extensive experience gained during his 28 years in gas compression and has developed compressor solutions that are versatile and can fit a large number of design conditions. His experience extends to both Domestic and International (Europe, Russia, China, Africa, Australasia) applications and this enables him to understand our customer's needs, including high specification requirements, and work to bring effective, practical solutions to light.

Malcolm Campbell
Production Manager

Malcolm has extensive experience in all aspects of production, with over 19 years of progressive management experience within the industry. In his most recent position he was responsible for production, quality, safety and cost control for over 400 shop staff and supervisors within major production plants .

Malcolm oversees our Compression and Process production, including our QC and QA functions. He is focused on streamlining our production processes to ensure our customers can count on superior product quality and "On time" delivery. Malcolm has previously been involved in several shop expansions, and will be instrumental in helping Startec to execute our growth plans as we move forward.

Refrigeration & Service Divisions

Joel Cawthorn - B. Sc. Ch. Eng.
President, Refrigeration & Service

Joel has over 20 years of industry experience. A combination of hands on involvement in the business from the ground up and an engineering degree from the University of Calgary, are further complemented with his strong management skills. In keeping with Startec's steady growth over the years Joel has taken on new roles and increased responsibilities and now provides leadership within the organization.

As the President, Field Services, Joel oversees the operations and performance of both the Industrial Refrigeration and Field Service Divisions.

Joel is also a shareholder of the company and serves on Startec's Board of Directors.

Brad Barros
VP Field Services

Brad brings to Startec more than 20 years of experience in the service industry for heavy equipment and the Oil and Gas market. As a heavy duty technician Brad gained a great deal of field experience before taking on a technical role with a company specializing in rotary screw compression. Subsequently Brad moved to a large compression provider where he held a number of management roles.

Brad has a solid track record of establishing, building and enhancing a professional service organization. As the VP Field Services, Brad leads the execution of our business plans to support our growth strategy in the Refrigeration (Recreational and Industrial) and the Oil & Gas service market. He is currently in pursuit of his Executive MBA designation at the Haskayne School of Business (UofC) in Calgary and this learning will further enhance his ability to effectively develop our strong service presence.

Terry Wudrich
Service Sales Manager

Terry Wudrich has been with Startec since 1983 and offers +30 years of industry experience. His direct involvement in the maintenance, repair and commissioning of compression equipment in field settings has provided Terry with an intimate understanding of rotating equipment.

Terry's current role is to work with the service team to improve our sales process and efforts. His experience as a technical support, service technician and service manager as well his sales knowledge are used to boost our growth strategy in the service market.

Alan Briggs
Southern Service Manager

Alan has over 19 years of experience in natural gas compression manufacturing and field service. In addition, he had spent many years in the Auto/Marine and heavy transport truck repair industries as a journeyman Automotive Mechanic.

As the Southern Alberta Service Manager Alan's responsibilities include directing and coordinating Startec customer service activities, including customer care, corporate services, relationship management and human resource management.

Neil Eastwood
Southern Alberta Sales Representative

Neil started with Startec in 2002 in the shipping, receiving and parts department. After few years, he moved into Construction and eventually into the Refrigeration apprenticeship program, receiving his journeyman certification in 2009 and operating in a field service role since 2004.

Neil’s broad experience from recreational and industrial refrigeration to the Oil and Gas market helps him to provide reliable technical solutions for our customers.

Trevor Christensen
Northern Service Manager

Trevor has over 17 years of experience in ammonia and propane refrigeration. Many of these years were spent in gas compression field service.

As the Northern Alberta Branch Manager Trevor oversees Startec’s customer service activities in the region, providing technical support in a timely manner to satisfy our customer's requirements and specifications.

Chris Reinhardt
Northern Alberta Sales Representative

Chris has over 8 years of comprehensive experience in all aspects of field service from Gas Process/Compression to Industrial/Recreational sectors. A willingness to put the customer first and provide custom solutions to their unique problems. Whether it's providing technical support to field mechanics or customers, he is always available to help.

He brings a customer driven approach complimented with field service experience, assisting our customers in locating areas in their facilities for improvement to increase their potential revenues (Gas Plant Optimization).

Damien Breton
Construction Manager

Damien has been with Startec since 1994 and offers many years of experience as a Journeymen Mechanic. His experience and knowledge are utilized in bidding tenders and to provide oversight in new construction projects, existing facility modifications and start up and commissioning. He also deals with ongoing construction issues and providing assistance in troubleshooting difficult process related problems.