To better respond to an expanding market and continue to grow, Entreprises forestières NT is working on a factory-warehouse project which will require investments of a few million dollars.
Tenant and cramped in its current premises on Boulevard Saint-Michel, the company is studying the possibility of relocating on Avenue de la Friche, not far from Rémabec and Liebherr.
“The idea is to build a large building where we could manufacture and renovate our modules for our modular camps for housing workers on construction sites. We can also make modules for kitchens, dormitories, etc. », Explains the CEO, Louis-Philippe Nault.
The plant will be used to optimize the management of equipment, tools, construction materials and kitchen supplies on a daily basis. It will also serve as a warehouse for electrical equipment, plumbing, generators and other equipment.
The future building will also accommodate the new offices with a storefront.
If all goes as its owner wishes, the future factory of more than 20,000 square feet could become a reality within a year, at the beginning of 2023.
The factory will also consolidate jobs.
Long-term vision
“This project is part of our long-term vision. Since 2014-2015, we have made a major turning point in the development of our camps. We are much more aggressive on the market and we have added the mining sector in Quebec and more recently in Ontario. With the many mining developments, the demand to house and feed all of these workers is growing rapidly. “
The high prices of traditional metals such as gold, silver or even copper and metals linked to the electrification of transport explain this strong mining activity.
Louis-Philippe Nault admits that the development of his company over the past few years has gone faster than expected. When he founded the company in 1986, it was very modest. Forest engineer for the company Domtar, from 1986 to 1993, he decided to relaunch the activities and gradually, he saw the number of employees increase to 40, then to 50 and more than a hundred today. In the early years, the company did a lot of work in the forestry sector.
As everywhere else, the recruitment of labor is the sinews of war. However, NT Forest Companies has been doing quite well so far. It employs carpenters and joiners to manufacture its camps, but also workers to operate the camps, including cooks and maintenance staff.
“We offer good working conditions and this is not unrelated to the stability of our workforce,” said Jimmy Pronovost, director of operations.
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