With 2020, a new decade has begun. At each slice, it is always interesting to analyze where our technological developments are. Listening to some science fiction movies from the ’70s and ’80s, some would have been entitled to believe that in 2020 cars would crisscross our skies, that human teletransportation would exist and that colonies would live on the moon!
These concepts, although very avant-garde at the time, may not yet be in place in our daily lives and it is very likely that they will not be yet in 2030 or in my lifetime, but they are still possible one day. This possible disappointment should not, however, take anything away from all the other technologies that have emerged over the past decade and that are now advancing our lives at a dizzying speed.
The decade that is beginning should be one of electrification, self-guidance and human robotics. Pollution, an aging population and labor shortages will push these technologies to invade our daily lives even faster than we have seen so far.
Why start my first communication of this decade 2020 on this theme? Simply because these are the elements that will dictate where our businesses will be on December 31, 2029! Those who have failed to find solutions to the labor problem will see their growth hampered and their survival questioned. Only the ability of users to pay will be able to absorb the rising costs associated with labor retention. But the technical workforce will not be the only element of survival, the implementation of automated management method should take an important place to ensure that the flow of information and the execution of the work are done very quickly, without error and with as few people as possible, compensating for the increase in costs.
For companies like us, automation and robotics are not always possible, we must think about it of course, but our survival may come through the hiring of foreign workers, a workforce still available at still reasonable costs, but only if our governments wake up and get out of their intellectual constipation!
We all know that we need this workforce and fast to meet the demand. That’s why more than a year ago now we set out to bring in 11 welders and mechanics from Nicaragua to support our teams and meet the demand of our customers. Thirteen months later, only our 3 welders arrived! Our 8 mechanics are caught up in what I called above intellectual constipation. $100,000 already invested, no grants, and I thank you for the new continuous requests that our embassy makes to us. Really discouraging, it seems that these people do not understand our issues and their roles. On the other hand, I must thank some of our local political aid, who since their involvement in our file in recent weeks (it was our launch of despair), have helped us to move things forward.
This foreign aid has become essential to meet our commitments to our customers and to meet the needs of our markets. Let us hope for an imminent unblocking.
Two new partners will be part of our development plans for this first year of the 2020 decade, Adrian Steel, one of the most recognized specialists in the manufacture of vehicle fitting equipment in North America, with whom we reached an agreement at the end of the summer, as well as Verdegro, a European manufacturer of impact dampers with whom we have just reached an agreement. We strongly believe that the latter market will continue to grow in order to increase the safety of workers on our roads. Our first inventories will arrive in February: models for trailers and trucks. An innovative product that we look forward to working with. Official announcements will be made very soon.
These days, we are undertaking two separate projects that are very important to us, but for the same client, the Canadian Army, for whom we will deliver several towing equipment in 2020. A first experience that could open interesting doors for the future.
Finally, I would like to share with you all our primary objectives for the period 2020-22, because we understand very well that the quality of the work done, that the fast and relevant communication and that the respect of deadlines are three factors that affect your choice of suppliers. My team and I have made it a point to make these issues a priority for the next three years. Your feedback, both positive and negative, but constructive, is important to us in working to achieve this.
Don’t forget to put the dates of May 1st and 2nd on your calendars for Expo Grands Travaux which will be held for the first time in Saint-Hyacinthe. More info will follow.
Thank you for entrusting us with your projects, thank you for trusting our team year after year, our employees appreciate it, I appreciate it.
Happy New Year 2020.
Louis Beaulieu
CEO