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By Leah Kellar
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Constructions Méthodex Inc.’s reputation is based on the passion of its qualified personnel and reflected in the quality of its products and services. This passion for general contracting began with a dynamic journeyman carpenter, Louis Sénéchal, with no assets, but a persistent determination and drive to anticipate and meet the needs of his customers.
Constructions Méthodex rose from this foundation, and in June 1992 operations began in the areas of residential and commercial construction. As business grew, he hired a project estimator manager, Denis Perron, who became a minority partner and shareholder. Today, the company serves more than 3000 clients per year with more than 50 major projects to its credit, such as: Theatre National Bank, Champlain Manor, Abitibi-Consolidated, Alfred Boivin, credit union Desjardins of Chicoutimi, and more.
Based in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Constructions Méthodex has evolved over the years by staying true to its core values of building honest relationships based on trust and transparency with its team members, subcontractors, stakeholders and customers to provide core services in the areas of: industrial, commercial and institutional, emergency claims, real estate, residential, agricultural and additional services.Trust, passion, and commitment to the craft is at the heart of the company founder and CEO, Louis Sénéchal—an enthusiast with a strong ambition to succeed.His career began as a journeyman after studying carpentry as an apprentice with a dream of one day leading his own company. Along the way, he discovered what it took to become a good leader by identifying priorities, focusing on key issues, taking risks where needed, managing conflicts and setting measurable goals. He notes that running the business, particularly in the early years, was not always an easy task, but today Steward can stand back and be proud of what Constructions Méthodex has accomplished.
“We’ve managed to create a company with an outstanding reputation. Our team is effective and productive and it is an inspiration to many,” he told Business Elite Canada.
Sénéchal remains humble, close to people and exceptionally altruistic, particularly as it pertains to giving back to the local community.
“The company is in its own image, in the service of all, and not vice versa,” he said.
Some of the most memorable projects and events in the history of the company include the construction of a building of 70 condos spread over six floors using precast concrete in 2008—a project of nearly $6-million. This was followed by ISO 9001 accreditation in 2009, after which its growth led to its opening to shareholders and new modernized facilities. Among the most memorable milestones was when Constructions Méthodex won the largest project in the region, recognition for its expert restoration of the Auditorium Dufour, now named the Theatre National Bank—a project valued at more than $10-million. Fifteen new jobs were created to complete the project. In terms of future expansion, the company’s market is based in the Saguenay Lac-St-Jean region with a heavy focus on commercial, industrial, institutional, and some residential projects as aforementioned. However, the area of disaster emergency construction is an area that the company lost some market shares in over the years, and so the aim in the future is to recover lost momentum in this sector. Additionally, Constructions Méthodex wants to complete beneficial projects in northern Quebec by acting as a partner or as a subcontractor to larger contractors that are already established in the northern part of the province.
The company has accomplished its goals to date by following industry standards every step of the way. Constructions Méthodex is certified in the Cognibox system as a very good entrepreneur in health and safety matters. It is also recognized by forest products resolved such as Niobec and RTA with satisfactory ratings. It is also recognized by voters in health and safety in the industry, and is certified for climate-novo 2.0. Constructions Méthodex holds a spot on the Merx and also a seat on the approval process for public contracts with the authority of the financial markets. The company continues on the path of growth these days thanks to its credibility in the industry and the ambition, passion and trust on which its reputation is based. Constructions Méthodex has performed more than 5,000 industrial, commercial, institutional, residential and residential sinister projects in Quebec, and that number continues to increase from approximately 300 to 500 projects annually. Constructions Méthodex continues to differentiate itself from the competition by its methods and skill level of its employees.
“All of these forces come from the motivation that the company has to surpass customer expectations with passion and commitment to excellence,” said Sénéchal. “We focus our efforts in productivity, rigor, customer service, listening, security, monitoring contracts and timelines so that our customers can trust us.”
Located at 676 Shareholders Street in Chicoutimi, Constructions Méthodex has recently made additions to better store their equipment and take care of customer needs. Its facility includes 12 offices where all team members can see one another to promote communications and cooperation. Two meeting rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a dome for storage of rolling stock and machinery, a garage with a corner shop for equipment rentals, tools and storage of small to large equipment, and more than $400,000 of equipment and tools in stock. The company is always on the lookout for new products and trends to offer customers the very best in the market to realize their dreams. While the company has realized much success and continues to grow, it does face some challenges with regard to awarding LEED contracts.
“Often, the lowest bidder for the contract will be awarded. Unfortunately, this is a challenge and a major obstacle to any project wanting to be LEED. There are wholesale costs to get all the certifications and to ensure that each product used is certified. In addition, our customers have less and less ability to pay, so it’s hard to sell their certification when they can save considerable sums if they are not LEED certified,” said Sénéchal.
In spite of the challenges, Constructions Méthodex’s rate of employee retention is good. Several employees have been with the company since its beginning, and others for several years to a decade. Employees receive regular training to increase efficiency. Sénéchal says that it is fairly easy to recruit now. The company also has a social club for the organization of employee events that focus on teamwork and a sense of belonging to the organization.This sense of belonging and service extends to the local community through donations of time and resources to Kiwanis, Palli-help, the Rotary Club, and BNI.
“It is very important for us to give and help those around us who are less fortunate. In the past year we have also contributed by providing volunteers to people in need. Currently, we are setting up clothing and school supplies for elementary school students in disadvantaged schools in our area,” notes Sénéchal who recognizes that the future of the company not only rests in that of its own business, but also in the well-being and trust of the broader community for generations to come.
“We are committed to the needs of our youth and find that it is important to get involved in tomorrow’s workforce. We try to leave our mark positively in our community through small gestures that make a difference.”
Sénéchal also recognizes and is grateful for the support of the community within the industry attributable to Construction Méthodex Inc.’s success.
