A subcontractor from a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, which has stood its ground against Chinese competition in recent years, has just obtained a $50 million investment from the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
“We went through those years where we had to compete in a certain way with China,” explained in an interview with the Log Alain Prévost, vice-president, continuous improvement and quality at CMP, on the sidelines of a visit to the Châteauguay plant last Friday.
In the heart of the county of Roussillon, in Montérégie, the ultramodern site extends on both sides of the street. Metal components are cut, welded, painted and assembled with surgical precision.
The finely-tuned factory takes the sheets of metal and makes them into frames for various products, such as those for the energy storage units of EVLO, a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, which look like wholesale containers.
But unlike other machine shops that are slow to bring in state-of-the-art machinery, CMP has it everywhere. Around every corner, one or two million dollar machines carve, slice and cut meticulously.
“They really have a vision of becoming a leader in green manufacturing,” image Dany Pelletier, Senior Vice-President, Private Equity and Impact Investments at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
“We invested $50 million in the company,” he says.
CMP’s majority shareholder is a company owned by The Steven Zimmermann Family Trust, of company chairman Steve Zimmermann, the Companies Register shows.
Employees wanted
Today, CMP is looking for about forty workers. Eight Filipinos are expected. In a few years, she hopes to create more than 250 jobs.
The SME, which was initially a metal factory, now looks like a campus with an area of nine football fields. It has two sites in Châteauguay, a factory in New York State and a warehouse in Ontario.
From EVLO storage systems to parts that go into automated warehouses, CMP has several trump cards in its deck to meet the demands of its customers.
“In a field like ours, if you don’t move forward, you go backwards,” summarizes Alain Prévost, vice-president of the company, whose turnover exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We can no longer be in a process that is artisanal,” he adds.
‘No threat’
Manufacturing design from A to Z, prototypes, manufacturing… CMP has succeeded in positioning itself over time. About ten years ago, it was she who won the contract for the doors of the Montreal metro.
When we ask his vice-president if the arrival of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ as a minority shareholder was a way to keep ownership of the company in Quebec, he says no.
“There was no threat. It was really a desire to have a Quebec partner capable of supporting CMP in its growth plan,” he concludes.
►CMP has recently automated its installations, in particular thanks to the deployment of VKS (Visual Knowledge Share).
Employees: 650
Foundation: 1969
The head office: Chateauguay
President: Steve Zimmerman
First shareholder (majority): CMP AMS (HOLDINGS) LIMITED
Second shareholder: Solidarity Fund QFL
Factories:
- Chateauguay
- Binghamton, New York)
Warehouse: Cornwall, Ontario
Source: CMP and Quebec Enterprise Register