Thermoform of America is a company founded in 1994 by Guy Lacerte and Colette Leblanc. When it started, the company employed three people and manufactured 50 cabinet doors per day in a 5,000 sq. ft. factory. To support the ever-increasing demand, Mr. Lacerte has carried out multiple expansions and additions of highly specialized equipment, making it possible to manufacture on average between 2,000 and 2,500 cabinet doors per day in a 145,000 sq. ft. factory.
After Mr. Lacerte’s death in September 2015, his family members wanted to continue the innovative projects of their husband and father.
From the start, CFDC Nicolet-Bécancour participated in the growth of this business with a loan disbursed in 1996 and was present at every stage of the business's development. The business's greatest achievement was overcoming the 2008 financial crash in the United States (its biggest market), thanks to intervention by the CFDC with a loan of $150k.
On September 1, 2017, CFDC Barraute-Senneterre-Quevillion called on leaders of the municipality of Barraute to set up an economic development committee. The objective was to support and supervise one-off initiatives using the local CFDC as a development resource for the project. An action plan was drawn up during the first meetings and initiatives were launched, including the Accessibility to the Mountains project.
In summer 2019, the committee began discussions with representatives of the recreational tourism center to make the ski centre accessible free of charge to young people attending municipal schools. Through this unique project in Quebec, students have access to ski passes all winter, access to round-trip transport on Saturdays from the Barraute arena, and access to ski equipment. Additionally, beginner private snowboarding lessons with a certified instructor was offered. All of this was offered absolutely free! A project created to give young people unforgettable moments in the mountains.
Thanks to its picturesque location on the edge of the St. Lawrence estuary in Havre-Saint-Pierre, the Les Vagues boutique is a popular destination for surfing and maritime recreation enthusiasts. From the first days of containment due to COVID-19 in early March, it became evident that tourist traffic would be paralyzed. The company quickly had to reorient its operations towards online sales to ensure its income. CFDC Côte-Nord acted as liaison agent to retain the services of a specialized web firm and to deploy a high-caliber transactional site.
From the owner of Les Vagues:
“When we were looking for financing to start the business in 2017, we met a lot of refusals. An outdoor, seasonal business in a village of 3,500 people in a remote area was too risky for many. But the CFDC team believed in us and agreed to accompany us in this great adventure. For 3 years, we have been communicating on a regular basis, they support us, they advise us, they are there for us.”, explains the owner of Les Vagues.
This spring, once again, as we prepare to face an unprecedented crisis, as refusals for requests for help began to pile up, they chose to support us and help us reinvent ourselves to get out of the crisis, stronger.
It's hard to imagine how we could have done it without you. The level of gratitude we have for you is endless! On behalf of the entire Les Vagues team, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! "
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