The revival of shipbuilding in the region continues with the arrival in Quebec of a global leader who will soon establish his first subsidiary in Canada.
Groupe ALMACO, which specializes in complete shipbuilding solutions, has chosen Quebec City to expand its activities.
As a supplier, ALMACO builds and upgrades all interior spaces of ships such as cabins, superstructures, public spaces or galleys, for both passengers and sailors.
In particular, the company provides comprehensive support to shipyards.
At the moment, the work is mainly concentrated in Europe, but the situation may change slightly with the recent investments of the Canadian government.
“Choosing Quebec is very simple. We have previous experience with Davie, and Canadian shipyards will be busy in the next 10 or 20 years if we look at the number of ships that will be built,” said Joseph Keripel, Director of Business Development at ALMACO Canada Group.
big challenge
However, the commander is well aware of the serious labor shortage affecting the entire province of Quebec.
Employment in Quebec declined in April, but the unemployment rate also fell slightly to 3.9%, according to Statistics Canada.
Quebec’s unemployment rate fell from 4.1% in March to 3.9% in April, the lowest rate ever recorded in the province.
That number is lower in the Quebec region, but the company doesn’t seem unnecessarily concerned.
“We have no difficulty finding specialized workers. They exist even if they are not in sufficient numbers. It is clear that this is a challenge that we will have to face in the next two years,” added Mr. Kiripel.
important projects
Founded in 1998, ALMACO has executed more than 300 projects in more than 40 locations.
The group has offices in Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the United States.
By settling in Canada, ALMACO wishes to bring its knowledge to the region and country, while strengthening its existing partnerships.
Wilhelm Roberts, CEO and principal shareholder of the ALMACO Group also stated that “Canada represents one of the most promising markets for shipbuilding”.
In 2020, Quebec secured more than $793 million in contracts under the National Strategy for Shipbuilding Canada (SNCN).
The long-term project is aimed at replenishing the federal fleet of combat and non-combat ships.
The establishment of its Canadian subsidiary in Quebec will finally allow ALMACO to call on local professionals, suppliers and subcontractors.
“We’ll be staying here for a long time,” hopes Mr. Kiripel.
ALMACO . group
- The goal is to get 5 to 10 contracts for his Quebec team.
- The value of these contracts can range from $50 million to $100 million each.
- The company wants to hire 100 to 300 local workers for each of the contracts.
- In Levis, Chantier Davie is one of the locations that can call upon the services of ALMACO.
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