Lavalin
Encyclopedia
Lavalin was a Canadian
civil engineering
firm located in Montreal
, Quebec
. After a major expansion program in the 1980s that led to financial difficulties, in 1991 Lavalin merged with its long-time competitor to become today's SNC-Lavalin
, forming one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world.
, and in a partnership with Bechtel
of the United States, built the James Bay Project
.
As Lavalin expanded, they started buying a number of other companies. This process started with other engineering firms like Shawinigan Engineering, Warnock Hersey and Lafarge Coppee
, the European cement and brick company. By the mid-1980s, Lavalin was the largest engineering firm in Canada with 5,700 employees, surpassing their rivals SNC, with revenues of C$500 million in 1983. Lavalin was exporting C$300 million worth of manufactured goods a year.
As the international engineering business became more competitive in the 1980s, Lavalin started to branch out into other industries. In 1986, it acquired an 85% interest in Urban Transportation Development Corporation
(UTDC) from the government of Ontario for C$50 million. They then purchased a number of companies unrelated to their engineering core, including the Kemtec petrochemical plant, the Bellechasse Hospital in Montreal, MétéoMédia
's Weather Channel properties, book publisher Mondia, and attempted to enter the aircraft leasing business. They also started into the real estate
business, including building a new 55-floor headquarters in Montreal.
At the start of the 1990s, Lavalin was a C$1.2 billion conglomerate of more than 70 companies. However, it was also heavily in debt, to the point that its corporate financiers insisted they started selling off parts of the business. In 1991, Lavalin's bankers put it under pressure to be acquired by its chief rival, SNC, a deal that was concluded in August for C$400 million. One estimate ranked the company as the fifth-largest engineering firm in the world. Most of the non-engineering business were sold off as a part of this process; Bombardier bought UTDC and folded it into their Bombardier Transportation
division, and Kemtec was sold off.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
firm located in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. After a major expansion program in the 1980s that led to financial difficulties, in 1991 Lavalin merged with its long-time competitor to become today's SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. is a large Canadian engineering firm. It is one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world and is based in Montreal, Quebec. It formed in 1991 from the merger of SNC and the failing Lavalin, another Quebec based engineering firm....
, forming one of the ten largest engineering firms in the world.
History
Lavalin was formed in 1936 through the partnership of Jean-Paul Lalonde and Romeo Valois of Montreal. The company was relatively small until Bernard Lamarre joined Lavalin in 1952 after marrying Louise Lalonde, Jean-Paul's daughter. Lamarre became head of Lavalin in 1962, and started a major international expansion. By 1970, now known as Lavalin, Inc., that company was a major contractor. During the decade they designed and built the fabric roof for Montreal's Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium (Montreal)
The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...
, and in a partnership with Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
of the United States, built the James Bay Project
James Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....
.
As Lavalin expanded, they started buying a number of other companies. This process started with other engineering firms like Shawinigan Engineering, Warnock Hersey and Lafarge Coppee
Lafarge
Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in four major products: cement, construction aggregates, concrete and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim.-History:...
, the European cement and brick company. By the mid-1980s, Lavalin was the largest engineering firm in Canada with 5,700 employees, surpassing their rivals SNC, with revenues of C$500 million in 1983. Lavalin was exporting C$300 million worth of manufactured goods a year.
As the international engineering business became more competitive in the 1980s, Lavalin started to branch out into other industries. In 1986, it acquired an 85% interest in Urban Transportation Development Corporation
Urban Transportation Development Corporation
The Urban Transportation Development Corporation, or UTDC as it was commonly known, was an Ontario, Canada, Crown corporation created in the 1970s as a way to enter what was then expected to be a burgeoning market in advanced light rail mass transit systems...
(UTDC) from the government of Ontario for C$50 million. They then purchased a number of companies unrelated to their engineering core, including the Kemtec petrochemical plant, the Bellechasse Hospital in Montreal, MétéoMédia
MétéoMédia
MétéoMédia is a 24-hour Canadian French language Category A specialty channel and web site, which provides weather information 24 hours a day. It primarily serves viewers in Quebec, although some cable TV systems in Ontario and New Brunswick carry the channel as well. It is available nation-wide...
's Weather Channel properties, book publisher Mondia, and attempted to enter the aircraft leasing business. They also started into the real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
business, including building a new 55-floor headquarters in Montreal.
At the start of the 1990s, Lavalin was a C$1.2 billion conglomerate of more than 70 companies. However, it was also heavily in debt, to the point that its corporate financiers insisted they started selling off parts of the business. In 1991, Lavalin's bankers put it under pressure to be acquired by its chief rival, SNC, a deal that was concluded in August for C$400 million. One estimate ranked the company as the fifth-largest engineering firm in the world. Most of the non-engineering business were sold off as a part of this process; Bombardier bought UTDC and folded it into their Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....
division, and Kemtec was sold off.