Locweld obtains a major contract to manufacture electric pylons

Locweld ^MD , a leader in the pylon transmission and distribution industry, has been awarded a major contract by Hydro-Québec for the construction of the 735 kV Micoua-Saguenay line . The Candiac company will need almost 20,000 tonnes of steel to manufacture the truss transmission pylons ordered from it by the state corporation. The contract is worth around $ 50 million.

Locweld, founded in 1947 and active mainly in the Canadian and American markets, begins a major production which will keep it occupied until February 2022.

“We are pleased that the relationship of trust with Hydro-Québec, one of our main customers, is continuing,” said Pierre Lavoie, President of Locweld. This substantial contract, in addition to securing the 144 jobs at our plant, will allow new hires – at least dozens – while generating significant economic benefits for our own suppliers. “

Obtaining this contract also illustrates the merits of the recent association between Locweld and Valmont ^MD  Utility, a division of the American multinational Valmont ^MD  Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of infrastructure products and services. Established in December 2019, the exclusive partnership agreement with Valmont allows Locweld to rely on a total production capacity of 90,000 tonnes and to increase its competitive strengths.

This alliance has thus enabled Locweld, whose plant capacity is approximately 50,000 tonnes, to bid for the Micoua-Saguenay project knowing that it can respond quickly and within Hydro-Quebec’s budget constraints, without contingencies. on its current order book.

“Thanks to this partnership, we would also be able to take on new orders in parallel to the one that Hydro-Québec has just entrusted to us and all the others that we are currently carrying out”, specifies Deanne Cyr, Vice-President of Sales and Estimation. from Locweld.

Strong ties with Hydro-Québec

The links between Hydro-Québec and Locweld go back to 1970, the day after Locweld built a 220,000 square foot plant in Candiac. Locweld took part in a number of major Hydro-Québec projects – now  Hydro-Québec  TransÉnergie  – which marked the province in the last 30 years of the previous century. The company played a major role in bringing back into service the pylons and power lines struck down by nature during the  ice storm  in 1998.

The 735 kV Micoua-Saguenay line will run over 262 kilometers, from Micoua substation, on the North Shore, to Saguenay, in Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean. It will improve the operating flexibility of the Hydro-Québec network. More specifically, it is made necessary by the decrease in consumption on the North Shore and the closure of thermal and nuclear power plants in southern Quebec, overloading the lines of the Manic-Quebec corridor. It will be commissioned in 2022 according to the state corporation.