With its sixty million cubic feet of freezers, Congebec annually receives the equivalent of $2 billion in food in its facilities, from turkey to cranberries and certain bakery products. And with the recent arrival of National Bank Private Placements as a minority shareholder, the Quebec company intends to expand abroad.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The entry on the scene of this new shareholder means that “we are here to stay”, affirmed Nicholas-P. Pedneault, President and Chief Executive Officer of Congebec, during an interview with The Press by videoconference. The announcement concerning National Bank Private Equity’s participation was made by means of a press release.
“There is a big consolidation war in my industry, it’s much easier today to sell than to continue, observes Mr. Pedneault. We made the choice to continue, but we wanted to be better equipped in terms of capital to do that. That’s why we made this transaction, to have partners who will accompany us in our growth. »
“We are looking at the possibility of leaving the country and deploying our expertise elsewhere”, he indicates, without however giving details on the countries where he wishes to extend his tentacles. “We are probably among the best in the world to manage the type of equipment we operate. »
Concretely, Congebec – which is one of the leaders in its field in the country – enables various producers in the agri-food industry to stabilize their stocks to meet consumer needs all year round. His main working tool: the freezer. “Obviously the consumer does not know us, explains Nicholas-P. Pedneault. We do magic behind the scenes. »
The company, whose head office is in Quebec City, stores fruits, vegetables, meat, ice cream and even certain bakery products, for example, in its huge freezers. “There’s not much in the grocery store that doesn’t come through our freezers. »
“The cranberry processor wants to process all year round, but the harvest lasts three weeks,” explains the company’s CEO. He can’t process all that in three weeks, he has to freeze them first. We are going to freeze them. »
Same scenario for the turkey, he adds. To ensure that a majority of consumers can place one in the center of the table at Christmas, the peak period in demand for this poultry, processing must begin in January. “There is no one who could produce enough turkey a few weeks before Christmas.” The same goes for the logs, which must also be frozen since it is impossible to wait until the beginning of December to make the traditional dessert.
Congebec has 12 facilities in five Canadian provinces. A thirteenth, currently under construction in Mascouche, will be added to the list next year.