explorer. I always say that my province is
not big enough for me. I have to go out
and see things. Being like that, it was natu-
ral for me to go and export our product,”
Nancy said. In the boiler industry, it is sim-
ply not possible to be restricted to one
region. When products can last anywhere
between 25 to 50 years, export is neces-
sary. The interior market is too small, es-
pecially in Quebec, which is why Groupe
Simoneau sells equipment in the United
States, South America, the Middle East
and Africa.
Regardless, Nancy admits that Canada is a
big country with plenty of opportunities for
growth, which was why Groupe Simoneau
acquired Sterling Combustion in George-
town, Ontario last October. This is the ini-
tial step to penetrating the market outside
of Quebec, said Nancy. She expects this
growth to eventually expand into the Unit-
ed States.
Smart choices like this proves Nancy’s ap-
titude for business, and this has not gone
unnoticed. Recently, she was recognized
as Businesswoman’s Entrepreneur of 2016
by the Réseau des Femmes d’Affaires du
Québec (Businesswoman Network of
Québec). She is also very involved with
entrepreneurs in her region and sits on
the Table d'Action en Entrepreneuriat de
la Montérégie (TAEM), which advises gov-
ernment on what it should do for young
businesspeople and startups in the South
Shore of Montreal.
groupesimoneau.com
FEBRUARY 2017
H
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