by Carole Towner

"It was about time to obtain financing to pursue our objectives, buy the material and equipment essential to the growth of our enterprise and to increase personnel to answer a growing demand ", argues Simon LaRoche, V-P Sales and Marketing.

Having been in business for eight years, Sécuri-Sport specializes itself in signalling, competition, promotion and security products. For three years now, its turnover has reached a million $ with a slight yearly increase of 2 to 3 %. André Voyer, André Parent and Simon LaRoche are the enterprise's three associates and shareholders. Sécuri-Sport started out very modestly in 1990 when André Voyer had the idea of distributing by catalogue the required signalling material to organizers of alpine skiing competitions in the region of Québec. We are almost living in a dream when we look at what the enterprise has become. Three young residents from Lake Beauport, two of them ski freaks - indeed, Simon LaRoche is a member of the notorious Québec Air Force family !-, are teaming to provide the material to the alpine skiing industry.

Eight years later, they are at the head of an award winning enterprise. Sécuri-Sport has indeed been awarded the Stellaris 1997 for the "Best Young Enterprise " in Charlesbourg. But there's no fluke : having been raised close to the Lake Beauport ski slopes, the three young men were well positioned from the start to be knowledgeable about the industry. André Parent, who has presided the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France de Québec this year, manages the enterprise.

"In 1990, our sales amounted to 150 000 $. Nowadays, we produce yearly roughly 35 000 numbers, thousands of medals, 5 000 flags, banners and gates ", explains the businessman. Each year, new products are added on an already long list. Sécuri-Sport has now become a name which appears at World Cups and in regional country skiing, alpine skiing, snowmobile activities and even mountain biking.

The troika currently works on the manufacturing of beacons for biking tracks. The clientele from North-Eastern United States is the one that is pinpointed in this new production strategy : "First, the need is there, second, there are many of them - two million potential customers- and third, being close geographicallywill make transactions easier : three good reasons to be aggressive ", says Simon LaRoche who did not hesitate to travel to Rockport (Maine) last April to establish contacts during the Co-Entreprise 97, a yearly event organized to promote import-export between Québec and Maine. Opportunities for the Summer of 1998 have already been identified, he adds.

NO MIRACLE RECIPE, BUT ONLY WORK WELL DONE !

The company's policy is to provide a quality product that will be delivered and installed on time and intelligently. "People who are doing business with us, that is the organizers of sporting events, have no time to waste with inadequate products especially when temperatures on the slopes go below -40 C...

Quality, reliability and service represent the three elements that have earned Sécuri-Sport its reputation ever since 1990. And it also should come as no surprise if the company has decided to get involved in manufacturing. "It is to keep control over quality of the product that we manufacture it ourselves", says Mr. LaRoche. "We buy the raw material (aluminum, vinyl, etc.) mainly in the region of Québec, and if need be in Montréal, Ontario and even Georgia. But we give priority to local business".

Sécuri-Sport also has the reputation of lending the material, a way to sponsor an event and to get new clients. In the Gaspé peninsula last Summer, the enterprise lended around three thousand dollars worth of equipment to the organizers of the Raid Trans-gaspésien a competition of mountain biking, an event with a promising future.

A TOP LEVEL INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE

The name Sécuri-Sport is not only known in Canada. The SMSE's logo was clearly visible during the Championnat de Vélo de montagne 1997 in Switzerland, a major event that regrouped 10 000 participants. And that is only the tip of the iceberg since the enterprise already exports in Japan and Australia, and is developing long term projects with Mexico where mountain biking is increasingly popular. In short, Sécuri-Sport wants to become the official supplier for all mountain biking World Cups, a project that the enterprise directly negotiates with World Cup organizers since the need to import is present in many countries.

The exporting business appears most interesting for the enterprise which is already selling 60 % of its turnover outside Québec (75 000$ in sales on international markets for 96/97).

The production team is currently made up of twelve full-time employees - more than 20 during Winter . This includes the graphics and infographics, silk-screen process, sewing, printed tissu, vinyl cutting and handling departments. There are plans to soon increase the workforce by 25 %. Innovative, the company is currently the only one in Canada to manufacture tracers for country skiing, Sécuri-Sport's newest baby! The "offsprings" have been tested in Alberta all Summer long and marketing of the product will be done this year with the help of Ski de fond Canada. The team of this dynamic SMSE considers itself lucky and happy. It does not fear Winter but impatiently awaits it!