The shipyard that got back on its feet

How Davie, once in agony, became a key player for NATO countries.

(Ottawa) James Davies had barely arrived at the Canadian-American border, one beautiful fall evening in 2012, when he was already being told about his intentions to buy the Davie shipyard.

When he told the customs officer assigned to the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing that he was going to Quebec because he planned to buy this company, he was flatly told that it was a bad idea.

A decade later, James Davies remembers this exchange as if it were yesterday. And he congratulates himself on not having followed this warning.

“The first time I visited the site, I was going to Quebec from the United States. When crossing the border, the customs officer asked me what I was doing in Canada. I explained that I had come to visit the Davie shipyard, which was for sale, and that I was considering buying it. The customs officer immediately frowned and told me that it was a very bad idea, that the shipyard was moribund and perpetually on the verge of bankruptcy,” says the British businessman in a long interview with The Press.

“Luckily, I didn’t heed his advice!” »

An empty shell

Certainly, in 2011, Davie’s financial situation was catastrophic. The yard had fewer than 25 employees and had lost what was considered at the time its only chance to participate in Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSCS). His days seemed numbered.

For years, this shipyard was considered an empty shell in power circles in Ottawa. Davie’s competitors also liked to remind anyone who would listen when their lobbyists set foot in the federal capital.

Despite this unfavorable context, the shipyard piqued the curiosity of James Davies and his business partner Alex Vicefield in 2011. The founders of Inocea believed that the Davie offered “unique potential” due to its size, its past activities and location.

They were confident that the shipyard could once again become the country’s “primary hub” of shipbuilding, as it had been for long periods during its 200-year history. However, the stars had to align. Patience and determination were also required.

The financial abyss in which the site found itself is nothing more than a bad memory. Not only was the company able to rejoin SNCN through the front door in spring 2023, but it also now has 800 employees.

By acquiring the Finnish shipyard Helsinki Shipyard Oy last November, with the support of the government of Quebec, which has become a minority shareholder, Davie is a key player in a supply chain considered essential and strategic by NATO.

In several respects, the comeback of the shipyard is impressive. The turnaround is such that the magazine Canadian Defense Review recently ranked the Davie shipyard first among companies working in the defense sector in its annual ranking for the “crucial role” it now plays in Canada’s national security.

L’Asterix to the rescue

What was the spark that made it all possible?

This project opened the door wide to others. Davie notably built the first ferries in North America to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). But among decision-makers in Ottawa, the delivery in August 2017 of Canada’s only combat support ship, theAsterixon time and on budget, marked a turning point.

“It was delivered using an innovative turnkey approach which allowed the Royal Canadian Navy not to assume financial or technical risks and to ensure that Canadian taxpayers’ money was used wisely,” recalled the businessman, who settled with his partner from Quebec, Vanessa, and his two children near the site, on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

It was the deadlines posted by the two other shipyards – Seaspan ULC of Vancouver and Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax – to respect the shipbuilding contracts awarded by Ottawa that led the Trudeau government to integrate Davie into the SNCN.

“It’s one thing to tell the story of potential, it’s another to actually do it,” says Davies.

And the acquisition of the Helsinki Shipyard Oy shipyard now makes Davie a key world-class player.

“The acquisition of the Helsinki shipyard will be extremely beneficial not only for our future, but also for Quebec, Canada, NATO and their strategic interests,” illustrates Mr. Davies.

He confirms that Davie intends to transfer Helsinki’s expertise in icebreaking and icebreaker construction to the Lévis shipyard, thus accelerating the work entrusted to it within the framework of the SNCN.

“This acquisition gives Canada, a NATO ally, the largest icebreaker manufacturer in the world. After Russia invaded Ukraine, cooperation in the Arctic became even more important. As Russia and China increase their investments in the Arctic, icebreakers play a strategic role in protecting Canada’s interests in the region. »