The palm leaves of Saint-Sauveur will cover the roofs of the Maya train stations in Mexico.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Synthetic palm leaves from Palmex International have been chosen for the roofs of the buildings of the 1,554 km long railway network under construction, which will cross the Yucatán peninsula to connect the region’s tourist and heritage destinations. The Bombardier-Alstom consortium is to supply the rolling stock for this controversial project.
“We were selected for all the infrastructure roofs, the train stations, for example, describes Noémie Bond, director of exports at Palmex. It’s really a very, very big project, among the biggest we’ve done. »
The Saint-Sauveur company has developed a plastic fin that replaces natural fins.
The synthetic palms are textured by thermoforming in a thin sheet of colored polyethylene, whose brown hues streaked with black replicate the colors of natural palm leaves.
The resulting pieces look like large 0.6 m by 1 m combs, the flexible teeth of which simulate leaflets.
They are attached to the roof chords, at the rate of 8.5 sheets per square meter.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PALMEX INTERNATIONAL
A Palmex synthetic fin measures approximately 60cm by 100cm.
“The natural palm will have to be replaced after three, four or five years, while the product we manufacture has an estimated lifespan of 50 years,” argues Noémie Bond.
The idea came at the turn of the 2000s to a French entrepreneur from Tahiti. He submitted the project to Richard Maillé, who at the time owned a plastic extrusion business. “He had no product, says this one. He came to me with his idea. »
They pioneered the concept and founded Palmex International in 2003.
“I bought it and since 2007, I’ve been alone in the business,” continues Richard Maillé. And now I’m trying to transfer that to my 29-year-old boy. »
About twenty people work at the head office in Saint-Sauveur, where part of the manufacturing is done. Additional production is entrusted to two subcontractors.
“They mold and they cut for us with our machines and our moulds,” says Richard Maillé. It employs maybe fifty people. »
The company covers about 200,000 m2 of roof per year. At a rate of 8.5 fins per square meter, Palmex manufactures some 1,700,000 fins per year.
“We bundle them up like asphalt shingles and ship them to the islands by container,” describes the entrepreneur. I say in the islands because that’s where we have the most business. We are in about 65 countries. »
Palmex opened a factory in Thailand in 2012 to serve Asia, and another in 2020 in Salvador, Brazil, which is strictly dedicated to the Brazilian market.
“We make umbrellas, gazebos, hotels, bars around swimming pools, zoos, water parks, he lists. Even the train in Mexico! »
The contract was concluded in 2021 after long negotiations, through the representative of Palmex in Mexico – a Belgian, underlines Richard Maillé. “He does all of Mexico. »
So far, the order from Mexico is for an area of 8049 m2.
“The totality, we do not know yet, because it is a project that continues, indicates Noémie Bond. There is a first phase of installation, then there will be another, and another. »
The biggest of the little ones
PHOTO PROVIDED BY KANATRAC
The Rimouski branch during the unveiling of the new Kanatrac brand image on the 1erSeptember 2022
Canada’s Largest Mini Excavator Retailer. It is the result of the amalgamation, under a new brand, of four Quebec branches of the same company, all dealers of Kubota miniature tractors, but which displayed disparate identities. The Entreprises Laporte dealerships and service centers will now display the same logo, that of Kanatrac, a contraction of Kubota and Kanata (Canada and tractor, which constitutes an amalgam in itself). Originally a microenterprise specializing in the distribution of agricultural equipment, Les Entreprises Laporte was founded in 1937. Its owners acquired the Center Kubota des Laurentides in 2011, then Cam-Trac Bernières and Cam-Trac Rimouski in 2014, which had all kept their corporate name until today. Bringing together four dealerships and two service centers under one roof makes Kanatrac the largest Kubota retailer in Canada, the company says. In addition to a common sign, this homogenization will simplify the management of the company, suppliers and communications, she further argues. The specialist in mini-tractors will be able to get bigger deals from it.
Funny advertising agency
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MINIVAL
The advertising agency Minival received from the City of Lévis the mandate to reduce the footprint of waste on the environment.
Showing bins and garbage on billboards does not necessarily constitute visual pollution. This is the response of the advertising agency Minival to the interesting mandate it received from the City of Lévis: “reduce the footprint of waste on the environment”. She paradoxically responded by posting two slogans, two characters and their garbage: Do like Solange, sort your garbage and Do like Marcel, sort your trash. They appear in large format on billboards and bus shelters in the city. But these are not trash talk. “For this project, we wanted to combine business with pleasure by creating two colorful spokespersons like Solange and Marcel. The challenge was to convey an environmental message with lightness and succeed in capturing the interest of the public, motivating them to participate in the movement, ”explained in a press release Dany St-Onge, general manager Quebec and strategist at Minimal. Founded in 2006, Minimal has offices in Montreal and Quebec. It stands out in another way: it was the first advertising agency to launch its own brand of beer, Steeve Microbrasserie, in August 2021. It’s assumed that cans don’t end up in the trash.
Québec Loisirs engages in InMedia
It is not a loan, but an acquisition. Québec Loisirs, the largest French-language book club in North America, is being taken over by the library software publishing specialist InMédia Technologies. InMédia intends to invest more than 2 million in the working capital of Québec Loisirs and more than 1 million in its technology and infrastructure. This contribution of new blood will allow Québec Loisirs to accelerate its transition to digital and social networks. InMédia Technologies specializes in publishing software for the library, education, business and leisure sectors. Using artificial intelligence, the company wants to set up reading recommendations and book summaries and develop networks of influence. Ronald Brisebois, president of InMédia Technologies, indicated that his objective was to double the number of subscribers and the revenues of Québec Loisirs in three years. InMédia also wants to add a fourth store to the three already owned by Québec Loisirs. The establishment will be open near the McGill metro, with a café and work areas. We can work there at leisure.
78%
Nearly 4 in 5 small business owners, or 78%, are experiencing persistent pandemic stress, according to a recent survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The organization recalls this figure to highlight the launch of its new web page specializing in well-being in the workplace, which offers small business owners resources and tools to promote well-being in their business.