PrevTech is expanding its scope (of action) in the United States. The Saint-Hyacinthe company, which specializes in the detection of electrical anomalies – and therefore fire prevention – in agricultural establishments, has just entered into a partnership with the American insurance company Nationwide for the promotion of its real-time monitoring system.
“The agreement is a recognition of the benefits of our solution, as well as a promotion of our solution vis-à-vis their policyholders and their partners, i.e. the brokers and their ecosystem”, indicates Pierre- André Meunier, president of PrevTech Innovations.
The device, the “PrevTech unit,” as they call it, is an electronic box plugged into the farm facility’s main electrical panel.
“Let’s see it a bit like an electrocardiogram, describes Pierre-André Meunier. The state of health of the electrical network is continuously read. When we have jolts, defects or anomalies, these are warning signs, and the technology manifests itself. We send notifications to the customer, his electrician and our technical team, who will follow up with the customer. »
Surprisingly, the partnership initiative did not come from Saint-Hyacinthe.
“They are the ones who contacted us, about two and a half years ago,” informs Pierre-André Meunier.
News travels fast and far in the insurance industry. Nationwide had heard of the agreements signed by PrevTech with the main Canadian insurers active in this sector of activity.
“You have to understand that when you save farms, you also save important claims. A farm is now 4 to 5 million dollars,” says the entrepreneur.
“Over the last five or six years, we have been able to demonstrate that we succeed in changing the behavior of the customer, that we succeed in getting the customer to take corrective measures in a hasty manner. »
Press releases made mention of it, which resonated south of the border.
But the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the neighbor’s meadow, and insurers are inherently cautious. It still took more than two years of analyses, pilot projects and validations before Nationwide endorsed the PrevTech system.
Pierre-André Meunier founded PrevTech in 2017.
“It’s a bit of a story of empathy for the agricultural sector,” he says.
The relatively high frequency of fires in agricultural establishments and the immense tragedy that each represents for their owner had prompted him to wonder about their origin. Most were related to electrical faults in an environment laden with humidity and corrosive elements.
“Came up with that was a very pragmatic look: is there a way to have an indicator of the health of the network, to have an anomaly perspective in a precursive way so that we can work upstream and not in reaction ? »
There was indeed a way.
Assisted by a few specialists, the engineer designed a remote electronic monitoring system that detects electrical oddities and suspicious temperature increases.
The system, completely autonomous, communicates all its data on the cellular network.
Final assembly of the device is done at PrevTech with parts mostly made in Canada.
But this is only the (tip) technological tip of the iceberg. Sensors and other connected objects are no longer exploits.
“This is the relatively easy part in 2023, raises Pierre-André Meunier. But how do you change and evolve customer behavior? Yes, he will receive a notification or some kind of alarm, but how do we humanly support this client towards what I consider to be the ultimate act of prevention, that is to say, to take corrective action? ? And that is beyond technology. »
And that’s also the specialty of PrevTech – the submerged part of said iceberg.
“Of course we save farms from fires, but there is a corollary benefit, that of working in preventive maintenance, he explains. We avoid equipment breakdowns and production stoppages because we have received early notification that a failure is about to occur. This is basically where we stand out. »
The maskoutain company now has about thirty employees, including representatives in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, plus those of a business partner in Manitoba.
A dozen people are attached to what Pierre-André Meunier calls his “critical intervention center”.
“It’s a bit of a reverse call center,” he said. We don’t wait for the customer to call us for support. The customer is proactively called when a situation arises that is determined by the system. »
PrevTech has so far carried out some 2,500 installations with 1,500 customers.
Around 18,000 situations are detected each year, of which around 60 are critical.
With the opening of the US market, PrevTech plans to expand – slowly – its network of representatives.
“It’s a great breakthrough, it’s a great step forward, but we’re going cautiously,” said its president.
“My concern is that my 4,000th customer be served as well as my first 100. That means going step by step, ensuring that the quality of service is maintained, having a presence close to our customers in the United States, which will mean a mix of local partners and new employees. »
In short, he is recruiting.
Bo’s reusable food containers will undergo more than 1,000 uses in Cogir’s retirement residences before being retired themselves. The young Montreal company has entered into a partnership with the real estate group to gradually eliminate single-use food packaging in its RPA network. “We have set up in about 40 residences in Quebec and Ontario and we continue to expand in their network of 145 residences,” Bo president Mishel Wong said by email. Its polypropylene containers can be washed and sanitized more than 1000 times in industrial dishwashers. They are provided with a QR code that allows them to be traced. At Cogir, “the dishes are managed by their cafeterias and we have developed QR codes to lead to an information page about the project for awareness and for any recovery service requests by retired residents”, explained Mishel. Wong. “We also offer a return program for dishes and cups at the end of their life cycle to close the loop. They will be recycled to make other dishes here in Quebec. In the long term, Cogir will thus prevent a million single-use containers from going to the trash every year or, in the best case scenario, to the recycling bin.
Their young clientele must not get lost. The Clément chain of baby and children’s clothing stores has opened in Ottawa what it claims to be the largest establishment of its type in Ontario. The store will offer more than 10,000 products in an area of 1766 square meters (19,000 square feet). Located in the Bayshore Mall, within easy reach of Gatineau, the store “is set up to energize the shopping experience” by putting family at the heart of its design. This is the chain’s 30th store, in addition to its online store. It has 500 employees in Quebec and Ontario. Founded in 1939, the family business is now run by the fourth generation of the Clément family.
The company wants to lead its employees on a boat. As far as the islet she has just acquired, where they can take turns lounging in the little chalet nestled there. By purchasing this private island in the Laurentians, Mon Technicien, a Laval-based firm specializing in IT services for SMEs, wants to offer its employees an exclusive and inspiring place to relax to “recharge, reconnect with nature and relax”, explained its president, Sylvain Dion. They will be able to practice activities such as paddleboarding, kayaking, pedal boating, fishing, swimming… No doubt to better immerse themselves in work on their return. It may be the end of a harsh summer that prompts them to do so: Uzinakod, a young Quebec SME in the IT field, announces the addition of a second chalet to the one it has owned since 2020 in Lanaudière, also intended for its employees.
Objective 10,000 meals for the start of the school year. In partnership with the Breakfast Club, online life insurance site Emma will offer five breakfasts for every quote request received in September.
