Construction site equipment and tools rental company Lou-Tec is acquiring its Quebec counterpart Accès Location+ in order to increase its presence in the more specific lifting equipment rental market.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
With this acquisition, according to its management, Lou-Tec is also consolidating its position as a “leader” in the Quebec market for the rental of unmanned equipment and tools for the construction and building repair sector. and infrastructure.
Established in 2004, Accès Location+ employs 70 people in three branches in Beloeil, Quebec and Laval. It manages a fleet of 1,500 lifting equipment for hire from companies in the construction and manufacturing industries.
For its part, Lou-Tec, which was founded in 1979, employs 400 people in its network of 28 branches in Quebec and in Hawkesbury, in eastern Ontario. Lou-Tec’s fleet of equipment includes 3,000 pieces of machinery for use on construction sites and in factories, as well as several thousand specialized tools for construction and building maintenance work.
Lou-Tec acquires Accès Location+ to merge it, but while retaining its trademark which is “already well established among entrepreneurs”.
“We are turning an important page in the history of Accès Location+ and it is a privilege to join Lou-Tec. Together, we will be stronger to achieve the organization’s vision and develop our market share in Quebec and Canada,” said Luc Bertrand, President of Accès Location+, during a discussion with The Press.
Mr. Bertrand will also join Lou-Tec’s senior management as vice-president and new minority shareholder.
At Lou-Tec, this growth acquisition transaction comes nine months after it substantially reshuffled and strengthened its equity capital with a group of SME development capital investment funds and companies.
Led by the Sagard Private Placements Canada fund, an affiliate of the financial conglomerate Power Corporation, this group of investors includes Walter Capital Partners, the government corporation Investissement Québec, the BDC Capital subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada as well as the Fonds of Solidarity FTQ.
“With the support of these financial partners, we are able to consolidate our position as a Quebec leader in construction equipment rental. Also, we are taking an important step towards achieving our vision to become a major player across the country by 2030,” said Jean-Marc Dallaire, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lou-Tec, during a discussion with The Press.
Among the priorities of its business plan, Lou-Tec wants to complete its expansion in all major economic regions in Quebec. And this, by adding branches, as in Drummondville at the end of June, or by acquiring companies that are already well established in the targeted regions.
Lou-Tec also has ambitions to expand into related markets, such as the rental of temporary power generation and air conditioning equipment for construction sites and industrial buildings.
At the same time, Lou-Tec’s senior management and equity investors are keeping an eye out for growth acquisition opportunities outside Quebec, particularly in Ontario and Western Canada.