The president of Fourgons Transit, Louis Leclair, announced on Tuesday the sale of this Laval company, founded in 1978 by his mother Suzanne, to an American group. Transit is the largest manufacturer of truck boxes in Quebec.
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Texas conglomerate JB Poindexter & Co. will integrate the company into its Morgan Truck Body subsidiary, which bills itself as the largest manufacturer of light- and medium-duty trucks in North America.
“With the Transit team known for its quality and efficiency and a manufacturing facility of more than 120,000 square meters in the heart of Quebec, Morgan Truck Body is committed to meeting the growing needs of customers with quality products for the North American market. “Tom Diez, chief commercial officer of Morgan Truck Body, said in a statement.
Louis Leclair photo from Fourgons Transit website
He already saw his daughters succeeding him
From 1986 to 1990, Fourgons Transit was listed on the Montreal Stock Exchange thanks to the defunct Stock Savings Plan (REA). The company was then purchased by its founder Suzanne Leclair and her husband. In 2005, her son Louis took control of Transit and became its CEO.
In an interview with La Presse in 2016, he said that he started working in the family business at the age of 13. He then expressed his wish that his two daughters would succeed him at the helm of Transit.
Louis Leclair did not respond to requests for comment from the Journal on Tuesday.
Transit has manufactured more than 72,000 vans since its inception. Around 200 people work there. In 2020, the company received a grant of $10 million from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Screenshot from a Transit Vans video
Sold to other local businesses
Two more Quebec companies have been sold to foreign buyers since the beginning of the week.
On Tuesday, Brossard-based investment firm Novacap announced the sale of its majority stake in AGA Assurances Collective to Boston-based TA Associates Group. AGA was founded 45 years ago and specializes in group insurance and pension plans. The Montreal company has more than 2,700 customers across Canada.
Martin Papillon, CEO of the AGA Assurances collective. Photo from LinkedIn
On Monday, Novacap and the Caisse de dépôt also sold minority stakes in Quebec travel technology company Plusgrade. The buyer is New York-based General Atlantic, which paid more than $1 billion to take control of Plusgrade.
These transactions add to the long list of Quebec companies that have accepted foreign purchase offers since last year: Uni-Select, Opsens, H2O Innovation, Logistec and QSL International.
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