About thirty entrepreneurs and mayors had just returned from a visit to European shipyards. They hope to draw inspiration from it to prepare for future federal government contracts on the South Coast. Although negotiations are still ongoing, Chantier Davy hopes to secure contracts for the construction of seven icebreakers. The Quebec government announced in April that it would invest $519 million to help modernize the site, which will begin in 2024. Megahangars will be built on levees.
New land had to be found, because shipyards in France, as a general rule, required suppliers to be as close as possible to the installation.
Mayer explains.
About 1,000 suppliers in Quebec will be called upon to work for the site once contracts are formally signed and awarded by Ottawa. However, due to the scale of the rooms to be built and the tight deadlines, many had to move to the south shore of the St. Lawrence.
” [Ce dont] We realize, 75% of the total work is performed by the organizations around the site! »
In theory, Chantier Davie hopes to deliver its first icebreaker to the Canadian Coast Guard in 2030.
It’s sure to bring us a chain of suppliers who need sites quickly. But we are able to organize ourselves
Mayor Babu.
Gilles Lehoullier counts the Industrial and Innovation Park to find spaces there. There is no question of touching agricultural land.
No no! We will not touch agricultural zoning. We have the space we need. But we have to be organized, we have to organize this whole arrival.
Rethinking Levi’s living environment
Even the mayor of Lewis has been repeating it for years, there will be an economic boom A ti mu khya mai na di
for his city. He will need to review commuting in the town, public transport and access to the site. A housing shortage is also on the menu.
We are talking about at least 2,500 new workers who will be added on the construction site alone. But imagine the suppliers around!
” We are going to become an attractive center for migration. »
The city of Lewis will also create a strategic task force to support shipbuilding at home.
Suppliers need to increase their production capacity by 20 to 30% to meet Chantier Davy’s requirements. The challenge of finding workers promises to be difficult.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc
Settling in Levis: A necessity
On the other side of the river, in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmours, Gayton Saint-Jean also returns from France. The president of EBM Laser already works as a supplier for Chantier Davy. He makes and cuts steel and aluminum parts. But federal contracts promise to be unprecedented.
Increasing our production capacity by more than 20 to 30% is a responsibility. And that’s for all subcontractors connected to the site
The founder of the company explained.
Gayton Saint-Jean is the President and Founder of EBM Laser. Chantier would have to transfer some of his operations to Levi’s to meet Davy’s needs.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc
Gayton Saint-Jean has already begun training employees on his company’s more advanced robotics to meet Chantier Davie’s needs, but he too will have to settle for Levi’s.
EBM wants to build laser ship monohulls. The massive pieces, 70 feet long and 15 feet high, are impossible to transport on the road network, much less over bridges.
Everything is in development, Gayton Saint-Jean explains, when talking about his company’s future site on the South Shore. It can be on levees, on construction site, near construction site. This is the beginning of the discussion.
The challenge for his company is huge. It currently employs 100 people in three small factories. In five years, Gayton Saint-Jean will need to find at least 75 welders to supply orders to Chantier Davie.
Companies in the maritime sector are currently organized to make representations to governments to educate training centres, CEGEPs and universities about training for this workforce.
A huge assembly hangar allows ships to be built inside. This is one of the most important criteria for obtaining contracts from the federal government.
Photo: Davy Shipyard
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