Although the company remains profitable, their business model means that Ghislain and Éric are always having to recreate and start over. Consequently, they face a constant technical and financial risk.

We’ve lost a lot of money on some custom equipment by running projects this way.    

In 2000, AGT moves to a 5,000-square-foot building on Parent boulevard in Trois-Rivières. Éric, who had always aspired to take AGT overseas, is thinking of ways to move away from creating custom projects and toward marketing products.

 “When you do specific projects for each client, you have no choice but to establish a proximity relationship. It’s not possible to do customized work with a client in Europe. We therefore made several attempts at repeat business, but it didn’t work.”

In 2005, in order to find solutions, AGT calls in a consultant. Éric and Ghislain entrust him with their vision and ambitions.

 We then realized that we had to move from creators to entrepreneurs.    

“A creator is someone who likes to invent things that work. An entrepreneur is someone who likes to sell things that make profit.”

Bold

This thinking results in a strategic plan to be implemented in the next five years. At the same time, Ghislain leaves AGT in the course of 2007.

Sectoring remains one of the most important steps to achieve the goals of AGT’s strategic plan.

In order to achieve this, Éric knows that he has to leave certain sectors behind, develop a more specialized expertise and create a product with the potential to be marketed on a larger scale. This thought process naturally leads him to the world of metal and robotic welding.

 People around me were saying: don’t go into this, you don’t have much experience. But the way I see it, you don’t have to be a specialist in a sector to get ahead. The important thing is to have the will to become one.  

A collaboration that makes a difference

In 2007 and 2008, AGT conducts unique projects in collaboration with the artificial vision company Orus, headed by Louis Dicaire, in Laval.

Orus’ expertise allowed us to put intelligence into our processing robots and eliminate the time-consuming programming.    

In 2010, Éric achieves one of the objectives of his strategic plan by acquiring Orus. Louis thus becomes his partner at AGT. Fuelled by challenges, they dream of developing a robot that can automatically weld an entire steel structure. To achieve this, a major financial partner joins the two associates in order to make their project become a reality: to design this famous piece of equipment which they would call the BeamMaster.

“Before, our work was always driven by a client’s need. Now, no one was paying us to invent the machine. For the first time in our lives, we were generating a project internally. We were finally going to experience the marketing of a product.”  

Éric and Louis can count on a team of 75 employees. They create a very complex structure made of three robots and eight vision systems. Between 2014 and 2016, they manage to sell four of them worldwide.

A part of the committee: 
Jean-François Morel (Director of Software Development), Louis Dicaire (General Manager and Partner), Alex Pelland (Director of Product), Charles-Alexandre Soucy (Director of Finance), Denis Dumas (Director of Marketing), and Gaetan Chaperon (Director of Engineering)

Éric and Louis acknowledge every day the precious contribution of the human beings who work at their side.

The meetings of the board of directors are always held in an atmosphere of solidarity and common good.

The group consists of: Louis-Marc Dubois (Director of Manufacturing), Charles-Alexandre Soucy (Director of Finance), Gaetan Chaperon (Director of Engineering), Etienne Blouin (Director of International Development), Denis Dumas (Director of Marketing), and Jean-François Morel (Director of Software Development). This tightly knit team shares the same values, which contributes to the success of AGT.

Respect

AGT Robotics employees can count on a warm and respectful work environment. This is a core value of the company, which prioritizes well-being at work. In this regard, the two partners assume that all people are well-intentioned and deserving of their trust.

 If someone makes a mistake, we know they didn’t do it on purpose. In any case, if you don’t make mistakes, it’s because you’re not trying hard enough.    

Words of welcome, new work tools, friendly meetings, respect for people and their families… AGT Robotics is far from treating its employees like numbers. The hierarchy is also not very rigid; the partners and directors are always accessible and take the time to talk with their staff.

Confidence &  flexibility

Éric and Louis place great importance on communication within the company. This is why they take the time to present their vision and strategies to the employees.

 It’s important that people know where we’re going and that they feel part of the decisions.  

The AGT Robotics team also builds relationships of trust with its suppliers, clients and partners, who are literally part of their extended family.

Vision

Passing on the flame

Students and interns are always welcome at AGT. In fact, organized visits allow students form robotics programs to benefit from workshops and meetings with the team members.

For teenagers struggling to find their way, the company has everything it takes to bring out new passions. Strategists, welders, gamers… There is a lot to learn from the different trades at AGT!

We want to create the spark with some young people!  

Traveler, creator and dreamer

Éric Bélanger
President

Éric has always been full of ideas and ambition. Although he was not born into a family of entrepreneurs, his childhood in the countryside led him to develop his resourcefulness and autonomy.

As a passionate traveller, he dreamed of building a company that would extend to several countries around the world. To achieve his goals, he had to be very introspective. In this respect, Éric acknowledges that he is not the most rigorous manager. Thus, he has to surround himself with down-to-earth people to help him stay on course toward his goals.

“The secret of AGT’s success is the combination of my strengths with those of my partner Louis. The dreamer and the pragmatist represent the ideal tandem to lead large-scale projects!”

The ordered mind

Louis Dicaire
General Manager

Louis has a background in marketing and business administration. He founded his artificial vision company, Orus, in 2000. For him, his association with Éric allowed for the creation of complete and intelligent systems.

When he was younger, Louis admired his father because he knew so many people of different nationalities. Today, through his involvement with AGT, he too meets clients from various countries of the world, much to his delight. Genuine, humane and very structured, Louis gets along wonderfully
with his partner Éric.

“Synergy is super important. In fact, I’m always amazed when I see the variety of trades at AGT that work together to create cutting-edge products in an extraordinary work environment!”

Tandem

Despite the numerous hours spent on a company, it should not be an entrepreneur’s only source of happiness.

 You have to accept that the worst could happen and tell yourself: if I lose my company, it’s not the end of the world.  

Although it was a long process of introspection, Éric managed, through difficult times, to detach himself from his company and understand that he could be happy living differently.

You have to ask yourself: if this doesn’t work, what else could I do? Giving yourself the right to think of a plan B is a great relief to the mind… and prevents insomnia!  

After all the energy put into getting the company where it is today, the future looks bright for the AGT Robotics team. While the BeamMaster is destined to break into construction-related industries, the projects of Éric, Louis, the board of directors and the hundred of employees of this inspiring Trois-Rivières company will expand around the world. With their expertise, humane values and great ambitions, the future is theirs!