An SME that aims for exponential growth after 45 years of existence is not an easy task. However, this is the challenge that André Desroches, new CEO of Bectrol, has set for himself. To achieve this, the Saint-Hyacinthe company will focus in particular on charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, but by offering a different approach. Explanations.
The electric revolution on our roads depends largely, yes, on electric cars, but also on charging stations. In this booming sector, it’s up to who will find the best ways to deploy this type of equipment quickly and at lower cost.
Remember that the Quebec government has promised to inject 500 million to accelerate the transition to cleaner transportation. By 2028, we hope to deploy more than 116,000 new terminals across the province.
This is where Bectrol believes it can stand out. If it wins its bet, the SME of 95 employees could see its turnover increase from 21 million currently (up 40% since 2021) to 100 million. five years from now.
A bit like a manufacturer of manufactured homes, Bectrol has developed an innovative product which is assembled (with its components and those from recognized manufacturers) indoors, protected from the elements: a complete cast charging station in a concrete slab and which is installed at the customer’s site in a few hours.
Bectrol, owned by the Benoit family for two generations, is primarily specialized in control panels for automated operations. It sells nearly 3,000 panels annually as part of custom and standard projects in Quebec, but also in Canada and the United States. The SME works in the agri-food, energy and mining sectors.
The company operates two factories, one of which it does not own. In the short term, Bectrol wishes to build new facilities in Saint-Hyacinthe and, as a result, create a center (hub) linked to the electrification of transport.
The electric charging station sector made its debut at Bectrol a few years ago. Commissioned by Téo Taxi, the company learned its lessons by deploying charging infrastructure for electric taxi SMEs.
The Maskouaine SME also enjoys a great advantage: it already works with a major North American manufacturer of electric vehicles. It stores and preserves in its facilities the charging station components of this Californian manufacturer which, for the moment, takes care of installing its charging stations itself.
This shift by Bectrol and this audacious growth objective are not the result of chance. This is a decision carefully considered by the Benoit family, who gave carte blanche to André Desroches, an engineer who made a career at Bombardier aerospace.
“The company was doing well, but it was looking for new challenges,” he says. I was introduced to the Benoits and I explained to them my vision of things. It is to their credit that they accepted. It is not easy to open the door to a new administrator. Letting a stranger shake things up is not easy. It takes courage and humility. »