Desjardin steps in to let Quebec manufacturer stay home

An investment from the bank has allowed the manufacturing company to stay open in its home province

Desjardin steps in to let Quebec manufacturer stay home
The Norbec Group, a manufacturing company in Quebec, has received an investment from Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD). The investment makes CRCD a majority shareholder in the business and has allowed the founders to keep the firm in its home province.

“I applaud the decision of Ms. Majeau and Mr. Gingras to keep this flagship company in Quebec,” said CRCD Chief Operating Officer Luc Ménard. “The founders will retain ownership in the company and management will have an opportunity to become shareholders in the coming years.”

The decision is also favorable for the province. Norbec, a leading Canadian maker and installer of prefabricated walk-in coolers, as well as a leading manufacturer of architectural steel panels in Quebec, employs 200 people in its two plants, located in Boucherville and in Saint-Hyacinthe.

“We share the same values of promoting regional development [that CRCD has],” said co-founders Jean-Pierre Gingras and Dominique Majeau; Gingras is the outgoing president of Norbec and Majeau is a member of the board of directors. “We foresee a transition that will respect the culture and the way of doing business that has made this company the leader it is today.”

Jan Lembregts, who has been appointed to head the company and is an investor himself, sees the value of keeping the firm’s plants safely secured to their roots. “It allows us to keep Norbec's ownership and operations in Quebec. Most importantly it provides stability for the business, its employees and its customers,” he said. “This partnership creates the winning conditions to continue the growth.”


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