Two competitors in health and safety on construction sites have decided to join forces. Action SST and Équipe SST join forces to become the largest consulting services company in the field.
When the merger was announced on Wednesday, employees of Action SST and Équipe SST greeted the news with surprise. “We are two long-time competitors and leaders in the field, so we looked at each other with interested eyes when the other company was chosen instead of us,” says Stéphane Dion, shareholder and CEO of Action SST, located in Lévis, on the phone. .
“The employees were surprised, and then they said, ‘Wow, we’re going to do something big,'” adds François Simard, founder of Équipe SST, located in Saguenay, over the phone.
The two companies offer consulting services in the field of occupational health and safety prevention throughout Quebec in construction and heavy industry. Their accredited prevention officers, OHS advisors and nurses are currently present in aluminum smelters, factories, major players in the mining sector and on major road and construction sites.
Stéphane Dion and François Simard met during discussions about Bill 59, which caused a stir in 2020-2021 and which led to the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety system.
“I developed chemistry with François and I learned over time that it was reciprocal,” says Stéphane Dion. It connected in our way of seeing health and safety, of managing our businesses, of seeing the market and on a human level too. We had fun and enjoyed each other. »
“Our companies shared the same values about health and safety development, the same desire to get things done. We want there to be fewer accidents in Quebec and for construction sites to be safer, ”says François Simard, who recalls the issues.
According to the CNESST, a work accident occurs every six minutes in Quebec, causing the death of 200 workers each year.
It was Stéphane Dion who took the first steps and François Simard accepted the proposal.
Action SST therefore becomes the majority shareholder of Équipe SST. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed. Over the next few months, the two companies will each continue their activities under their respective names. Unifying the 150 experts in a single organization will allow better deployment of resources for customers who operate complex sites, explain the two men.
This union will also have a force of attraction for talents, they argue. “The relevance of the company in the industry ensures that the best resources will come to work with us”, assures François Simard, who is looking for about forty new employees. By being present on several construction sites across Quebec, the company ensures stability and a better quality of life for experts in the field, he concludes.
