Up-to-date shop attracts business, partner

They met at Euro-Plast ’97 in Paris, and were partners one year later. Les Industries Rocand Inc., a relatively new moldmaker based in St-Romuald, Que., and Groupe Lamboley Industries of France, have paired up to offer molds to the North American automotive industry under the banner of Lamboley-Rocand Canada Inc.

Lamboley is well known to the automotive industry in Europe as a designer and manufacturer of extrusion blow molds for gas tanks and ducting.

Industries Rocand was founded in 1996 by Andr Rochette, an engineer and holder of an MBA. While working for the Centre de Recherche Industrielle du Quebec (CRIQ), “he felt that the Quebec moldmaking industry was in its infancy, so he seized the opportunity,” says Jean Boudreau, purchasing and administration manager.

SMALL BUT GROWING QUICKLY

After just three years, Industries Rocand is building a larger, 10, 000 sq. ft. facility down the street and plans to hire 42 more employees. All the current equipment will be moved, and a fourth Mazak machining centre will be added, as well as a spotting press.

Industries Rocand will continue as a separate company from the joint venture Lamboley-Rocand, but both will be housed in the new building.

Sales for Industries Rocand have climbed steadily. They tripled in the second year of business and will be four times more in the third.

Industries Rocand has expertise in injection and blow molds, and recently completed its first mold for compression molding. The shop is equipped with new CNC vertical machining centres from Mazak and a die sinker EDM from Maximart.

For future growth, Industries Rocand is counting on new business in the automotive industry through the joint venture and the continued conversion of gas tanks to plastic.

When the joint venture with Lamboley was signed last December, Lamboley-Rocand had already secured a sizeable client in South Carolina and a $1 million contract. The joint venture landed another fuel tank contract in August with General Motors.

Lamboley-Rocand is planning to invest in improving its CAD/CAM and engineering capabilities at the Quebec site.

WHERE TO FIND 42 NEW EMPLOYEES?

With Industries Rocand’s expansion, and the growth of Lamboley-Rocand, more employees are needed.

“I won’t hide the fact that it is hard to hire good people,” says Dany Landry, finance officer. “We are in contact with local high schools, CEGEPs (colleges) and Universit Laval (Quebec, Que.). We’ve offered to arrange student placements for CEGEPS, and we’ve communicated our need to the provincial association of engineers.” CPL