Article by Mélanie Larouche (Magazine Québec Entreprise, Vol. 73, December 2024)
To see the full article, click here
LOU-TEC is a valued partner to many construction sites across Quebec. General or specialized contractors and industrial customers have relied on us for decades to supply them with the tools, equipment and heavy machinery they need. Reliable, safe, high-performance and always impeccably maintained, LOU-TEC’s rental products are offered by highly competent and passionate advisors who are committed to contributing to the success of their customers’ projects. In more than 45 years, this Quebec flagship has made great strides in the market, keeping in step with the needs and high expectations of its customers.
With an equipment inventory of over $400 million, LOU-TEC is one of the top 5 players in its industry in the country. Our market spans the whole of Quebec, and we offer our customers the largest and most up-to-date fleet of lifting equipment in the industry,” says President and CEO Jean-Marc Dallaire. We are also increasingly active in Ontario, and remain very open to business and development opportunities, even beyond these 2 provinces.”
Straightforwardly, the CEO emphasizes that his vision for 2032 is to become the largest 100% Canadian-owned player in his industry. This goal, however, requires expansion into Ontario, Western Canada and the Maritimes. This will give LOU-TEC a coast-to-coast presence in at least four provinces.
Since 2021, LOU-TEC’s financial partner has been Sagard Private Equity Canada. Other partners include Partenaires Walter Capital, Investissement Québec, BDC Capital and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. “We are well capitalized to achieve our growth objectives,” notes Mr. Dallaire.
Redefining itself in B2B
Long known for serving self-builders, home renovators and do-it-yourselfers, LOU-TEC has now become a tool, equipment and heavy machinery rental company. It mainly serves industrial customers and general or specialized contractors. We’ve been a general tool and equipment rental company for many years, but we’re in the process of redefining ourselves, moving towards business-to-business,” explains Jean-Marc Dallaire. We want to focus on contractors and industries for construction sites and factories, with a whole range of heavier or specialized tools. We also have two other specialties: elevation, with a wide range of aerial work platforms, aerial work platforms, forklifts and telescopic straight masts, and energy, with a specialty in generators, enabling construction sites to continue their work, even in remote areas where access to the electrical grid is limited.”
From short-term rentals of half a day, a day or a week, to longer-term rentals lasting from a month to a year or even three years, LOU-TEC meets a wide range of customer needs. “We often fill temporary needs; some contractors constantly rent dozens of pieces of equipment each year, but others prefer to rent for the longer term rather than invest considerable sums in the purchase and maintenance of certain types of equipment. We have a flying team that travels to do on-site maintenance. LOU-TEC takes this burden off the contractor, so he can concentrate on his business. They know we’ll always have the right equipment for the right job. Labor is expensive, so it’s a way for them to make money.
Mr. Dallaire explains that serving private customers has become very demanding. Although some branches still do it, the company is invariably moving towards B2B. There are already other players who serve B2C well,” he says. Today, manpower is a major challenge; finding people to work on Saturdays and Sundays to serve individuals in store is difficult. We chose to keep the best employees to serve the big players. We’re working to change people’s perception of LOU-TEC.
A path of growth
LOU-TEC was founded in 1979 by a group of rental center owners who wanted to create not only a brand, but also a purchasing group, so as to be stronger and operate under better conditions. After a few changes to the business model over the years, LOU-TEC finally became a 100% corporate company at the end of 2023, to ensure centralized management and offer uniform, personalized service, regardless of region. “For a while, there were several franchises serving the same territories, and that was confusing for customers,” explains the CEO. He became president in 2019, but previously operated several franchises in the Quebec City region.
Like everywhere else, the pandemic has brought its share of challenges. At LOU-TEC. We were shut down for almost a month,” he recalls. Then we were identified as an essential service, and everything resumed at an accelerated pace. It was a very active period for construction, and the market quickly became overheated, until interest rates rose. The subsequent slowdown allowed us to catch our breath.”
Since 2021, LOU-TEC has made four strategic acquisitions: Accès Location +, YEP Location d’équipements, MKS Équipements, in Saguenay, and Torcan Lift Equipment in Ontario. This is a year of stabilization and consolidation,” says Mr. Dallaire. LOU-TEC employs some 500 people across its many business locations. We take good care of our employees, and make sure we keep them. We’re lucky to have such talented, passionate and motivated people. Even though we’re at a distance, with a vast territory to cover, the management team remains close to the employees, we travel everywhere to meet them on a regular basis, and we’ve set up very effective communication and training tools.”
Its management team is also highly competent. “We’ve brought in some big names, experienced and talented managers. There’s a great energy among us, great skills and diversified knowledge.”
Great years ahead
Managing assets, having the right equipment in the right place, listening to customers – all this represents a fine coordination challenge for LOU-TEC. When we acquire equipment, it’s always of industrial quality, and we have to be able to find parts locally to maintain it,” explains Jean-Marc Dallaire. Unfortunately, people aren’t always careful, and we have to take that into account. However, we have put in place rigorous internal inspection processes before and when equipment is returned, the agreement is clear, and we bill for breakdowns. Customers understand this; it’s very rare that they’ll argue. The better the condition of the equipment at the outset, the easier it will be later on to identify any shortcomings and follow up on them.”
The next few years look very promising for LOU-TEC. With the shortage of housing everywhere, construction is going to remain very strong, and that’s our big development lever,” predicts the CEO. We offer specialized tools and we want to be able to respond quickly to our customers’ needs, which requires a good inventory. That’s what our business is all about, making our acquisition investments profitable through rental. We have a recipe that works well, and we’re confident. We work with the right people, we’re well capitalized, which enables us to invest in the right equipment and in the right markets. While our ambitious growth targets bring many challenges, we’re ready to push our limits together to satisfy more and more customers every day.”