1998, The Start of a Great Story

1998, The Start of a Great Story

Polyplast Through the Years

In 1998, Michael Lavoie visited a tradeshow in Québec City, where he discovered a company that specialized in molding polyurethane.

He immediately recognized the potential of this company, which would become Polyplast’s polyurethane supplier, as well as the multitude of opportunities possible with this material. His passion for and curiosity about polyurethane were born.

Michael was a technician who spliced rubber conveyor belts, so he could create a demand for parts of different shapes. Sales increased tenfold.

Back then, Michael and his wife Cynthia were renting an old house and using the basement as a workshop. The lighting was poor and the ceiling low, so it wasn’t exactly ideal, but nevertheless it was very convenient at the time.
 

2000, Optimizing Investments

In 2000, the two owners bought a house with an attached garage. They turned the garage into a workshop and the living room into an office. Three worktables were installed in the garage. It was a little too small, so we might say that the owners spent a lot of time playing Tetris!

Definitely a way to optimize your investment!
 

2010, Investing for Better Growth

In 2010, the two entrepreneurs decided to build a new garage on their residential property and use it exclusively as a workshop.

The same year, Polyplast bought a vortex mixer worth $20,000. This investment allowed the business to develop a broader range of products and, most of all, to optimize operations.  
 

2014, A Broader Range of Products

After taking an excellent training program with a supplier based in Pittsburgh, the owners launched a new range of products manufactured using the “hot molding” technique. This type of fabrication is used to create the products buyers are looking for, so Polyplast’s market potential soared. This method creates many more options than cold molding, and it is ideal for the mining industry, which requires the use of materials with specific properties such as resistance to abrasion and to load capacity. Hot urethane has just these properties, and the Abitibi mining region would be well served. 
 

2015, Facilities Fit for Their Ambitions

April 1, 2015, was a special date for the company. Not only did it inaugurate its new offices on that day, but also the new equipment that required an investment of $650,000 went into operation.  
 

2018, A Technology Making Life Easier

Twenty years later, Michael and Cynthia are still investing in their ever-expanding business, in particular by buying a second vortex mixer, a screw press and equipment to prepare surfaces for sandblasting, and by installing CRM software. The latter should be complete by the end of 2018.

Over the past 20 years, Polyplast’s employees, partners and customers have made it what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow ! 


 

 

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