Company Profile Diverse operations Groupe Savoie maximizes growth through fibre recovery By Andrew Snook Hector Savoie and his son, Jean-Claude, acquired Restigouche Hardwood Ltd. and Cèdre Restigouche Ltd. in 1978, it’s unlikely they knew that their New Brunswick-based company, Groupe Savoie, would eventually evolve into an international dealer of specialty hardwood products. The company has grown leaps and bounds since its inception nearly 40 years ago, with 650 people employed through Groupe Savoie’s wood products facilities in Moncton, Kedgwick and St. Quentin N.B., and Westville, N.S. Groupe Savoie was recently recognized for its growth at New Brunswick’s 2016 KIRA Awards and was awarded the Economic Impact through Employment Growth Award. “We were selected because we created 150 new jobs over the last two years,” explains Jonathan Levesque, Groupe Savoie’s vice-president of sales and development. “It was a nice surprise.” So, what’s the secret to the success of this family-run com-pany’s operations? Simple. Staying diverse and optimizing your resources. “We maximize the use of the wood,” says Levesque. “Fibre is used where it should be used.” W hen Levesque has watched the company grow and expand since he came on board as a co-op student in 1997, which eventually led to a full-time position for him within Groupe Savoie in 1999. One the company’s core values is to ensure that it processes all of the hardwood that comes into its log yards for processing. The company’s upper management is completely willing to adapt its operations to ensure all of the fibre that comes into its mills and plants is utilized. “When you cut hardwood, 25 per cent of the cut is branches,” Levesque says. “So we like to say that 125 per cent of the tree is used. We push the fibre recovery and maximizing the use of any species of hardwood – we’re not picky. We use what grows around us. We’re not trying to modify what grows around us to develop our business. Each species has its own niche. We’re fortunate to use Crown wood but I think we give back more by doing the right thing, by using the products over and over and adding value to it. We have a responsibility to use that precious resource we get from the Crown and maximize the use of it. It’s a win-win situation for us and the province in the end.” Groupe Savoie employs nearly 650 people through its wood products facilities in Moncton, Kedgwick and St. Quentin N.B., and Westville, N.S. 24 Canadian BIOMASS MAY/JUNE 2016
Canadian Biomass June 2016: Page 24
