The current passes between Nationex and Courant Plus.
The Quebec parcel delivery company has acquired its young Montreal counterpart Courant Plus, which relies entirely on electric vehicles of all types for its services.
A support, we dare say, which will help Nationex to decarbonize its services across Quebec.
“It obviously starts with the electrification of our fleet,” says Catryn Pinard, President and CEO of Nationex. “We got a lot of expertise and know-how with Edwin and Clément’s team. »
Co-founded by Edwin Richard and Clément Sabourin in 2019, Courant Plus set up the first green delivery zone, guaranteed oil-free, on the island of Montreal. “Since the beginning, we have been 100% electric,” says Clément Sabourin. We have all types of electric vehicles: cargo bikes, cars, vans, heavy trucks…”
The acquisition, completed on September 1, concretizes a reflection on sustainable development underway for several years at Nationex.
“It’s a process that comes from a desire to do good for society,” explains its president. We came to partner with Edwin and Clément for the same reasons. They do it for real, they don’t do what we call greenwashing. »
The offer came from Nationex, but it comes at the right time for Courant Plus.
“On both sides, we were looking to establish a partnership,” relates Clément Sabourin. “And at the same time, at Courant Plus, we were in a financing phase to accelerate our growth. While talking, we realized that we had the same intentions, that is to say, to create the first carbon-free distribution network in Quebec and Canada. »
Founded in 1980 by Normand Pinard and his associates, Nationex has been managed since 2015 by his daughter Catryn. With some 500 employees and 400 vehicles, the Longueuil company delivers nearly 10 million packages per year, from 22 depots across Quebec and Ontario.
The acquisition of Courant Plus allows it to accelerate its shift towards electrification – a delicate maneuver, as every driver will tell you.
“That turn is something we want to do fairly quickly,” says Catryn Pinard. “In concrete terms, the people at Courant Plus will help us speed up. »
The shift is sharp: “By 2025, everything that is electrifiable at Nationex will have to be electrified,” she announces.
Courant Plus will receive 10 new electric trucks within a month, an order which preceded the transaction, but which is in line with the almost simultaneous delivery of 30 identical trucks to Nationex.
This contribution of 40 new electric vehicles, bringing its total to 70, will support the ambitions of Nationex, which plans to extend the green zone principle created by Courant Plus elsewhere in Quebec. In a few weeks, a green zone will be established in Quebec. The main cities in the network will quickly follow.
“We’re probably going to have some around each of our depots, so at least 22 green zones,” predicts Catryn Pinard.
Once well in the saddle, Nationex will also add electric bikes to its fleet.
“We don’t use bikes at the moment,” she informs. That too is great expertise that they will be able to share with us. »
Courant Plus, which has around thirty employees and subcontractors, delivers approximately 1,500 packages every day in a territory which currently covers the entire central part of the island of Montreal, from the St. Lawrence River to the Rivière des Prairies, about a third of its area.
“With more resources, the guaranteed carbon-free delivery zone that we offer in Montreal will expand,” rejoices Clément Sabourin. He remains in the company he founded, with the title of Director of Sustainable Development at Nationex.
“What will change in my life is that all the Nationex teams are behind us now,” says the start-up manager. “For example, as I speak to you, all of Nationex’s operations management is in my warehouse meeting our people, understanding the processes, seeing how they’re going to make our lives easier right away. »
“What I appreciate is that they are like us,” he adds. They do not wait to have the perfect recipe and the strategy validated by three firms to move forward. They are moving forward sincerely because they know that there is a climate emergency which is forcing us, the transporters, to really reduce our oil consumption, they have seen that the technology is there, the interest of customers too, so here we go. That, I like that. »
Their respective foundations date back more than half a century. Specializing in deep foundations, CBF Drilling, founded in 1950, has just acquired ETPO Geodex, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. Now united, the two companies have barely less experience than employees: some 120 years and 200 people. They are both specialized in deep foundations (piles, caissons, boreholes) and retaining systems. The transaction constitutes a repatriation of ownership: founded in 1973 by Mario Giacomo, Geodex was acquired by the French group ETPO at the end of 2016, to become ETPO Geodex. By doubling its staff and combining expertise, CBF Drilling is consolidating its “position as market leader in Eastern Canada”, commented its president David Blais. The Chaudière-Appalaches company had notably acted as deep foundation advisors to the managers of the Samuel-De Champlain bridge construction project.
It is not a veterinary clinic, but Doyle Opticians and Optometrists called on Chien Champion to adorn its Verdun branch with a wall work that inevitably catches the eye, whether before or after vision correction. Montreal artist Felipe Arriagada-Nunez, aka Chien Champion, created a work for the establishment on Wellington Street where the artist’s touch can be recognized in the bright colors and expressive characters. The work was carried out during an expansion and redevelopment of the Verdun branch at a cost of 1.2 million. By calling on local artists, Patrick Doyle, president of Doyle, wants to “surprise [his] customers while remaining relevant and dynamic for the community,” countering the trend toward online shopping. Chien Champion has also designed a limited version of the new Verdun frame, distributed in all Doyle branches.
The announcement was made on September 6, a day to be marked with a white stone. The Quebec group Polycor has completed the acquisition of Rocamat, the main producer of natural stone in France, whose project was mentioned last February. Founded in 1853, Rocamat has 30 limestone quarries in France, four processing plants and employs nearly 160 people. Solidly established in natural stone, Polycor had already been a minority shareholder in Rocamat since 2018, when it took over the operations of five of its quarries in Burgundy and Gard. Founded in Quebec in 1987, Groupe Polycor employs more than 1,500 people and has more than 80 quarries and 24 manufacturing plants in Canada, the United States and France. The acquisition allows it to further expand its activities in France and further deepen its niche in the market for the extraction and working of natural stone.
It has 10 candles on its cake, but 67 branches: the Quebec chain Éconofitness reached this peak in its tenth year of existence. It aims for a hundred (gyms) by 2026.