(Extract from an article from “Direction Fall 2010”)

Founded in Montreal 40 years ago, Planiform moved to the Lachenaie Industrial Park in Terrebonne, QC, Canada in July 2009.

“Our landlord in Montréal wanted to repossess his building. We had very little time. In Terrebonne, we quickly found the answer to our needs.”
– Claude Saint-Jean, President of Planiform.

This move allowed the manufacturer of garment and material handling systems to take ownership of his plant, a project that would have been difficult to achieve in Montréal, due to the high costs of land and municipal taxes, states Claude St-Jean, President of Planiform.

The building, a recent construction surrounded by a large piece of land that will permit future expansion of the plant, has enough space to manoeuvre the semi-trailer trucks and to provide parking for the 25 employees. After just a few weeks in the new facilities, the company had already posted a marked improvement in performance.

But the most important advantage in the eyes of Mr. St-Jean is undoubtedly the improvement in the quality of life. This Lachenaie resident used to cross the bridges every day to get to the plant in Montréal.

Now it takes him just a few minutes to get to work, like many of his employees who live nearby. What’s more, after the move, some employees decided to settle in the region. “We are winners on all fronts,” says the President.

This acquisition marks a new phase in the company’s evolution, which from its beginnings has been notable for its ability to adapt to change. Originally a manufacturer of storage systems for garment manufacturers, Planiform converted, in the midst of the textile crisis in the early 1980s, to the production of garment conveyors for dry cleaners, then to the development of sophisticated handling systems for companies and institutions: hospitals, hotels, casinos, laundries, etc.

When his son Gabriel, an Automation Professional Engineer, joined the company, a new generation of fully automated conveyors was developed. The pinnacle is the Cheetah 12K, created in 2008, that can sort three garments per second, thanks to a system of cameras that read barcodes. The company also developed the market for small garment conveyors for residences, a very popular product in the United States.