(All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise
noted.)
TERREBONNE, QC, Jan. 31, 2022 /CNW/ - ADF GROUP
INC. ("ADF" or the "Corporation") (TSX: DRX), a North
American leader in the fabrication of steel superstructures,
announces the award of new contracts totalling $100 million. Specifically, the Corporation
has been selected to participate in new construction projects in
the commercial building sector in Southeast and Western USA, as well as in the industrial
sector in Eastern Canada.
The scope of the largest of these contracts, in terms of value
and tonnage, covers all the services offered by ADF, namely, the
design and engineering of connections, fabrication, which also
encompasses industrial coatings, the production of shop drawings
and the procurement of steel, as well as the installation of the
steel structures for commercial buildings in Southeastern USA.
The new contracts announced today are expected to start
gradually over the next few weeks, and run until mid-2023. Both
ADF's fabrication plants and paint shops, located in Terrebonne, Quebec, and in Great Falls, Montana, USA, will be involved in
carrying out these new projects.
Mr. Jean Paschini, Chairman of the Board of
Directors and Chief Executive Officer, points out that "the level
of competition remains as strong as ever in our sectors of
activity, not to mention that the recruitment of production
personnel is today a constant challenge. But the other side of the
coin is that this reality pushes us to innovate in order to bring
more added value to our customers and accompany them efficiently in
the execution and success of their projects, while keeping the
focus on our objective of profitable growth. We are therefore
constantly working to improve our operational excellence,
including, among other things, increasing the level of automation
of our fabrication processes, which helps us to differentiate
ourselves even more from the competition.
In this regard, the Corporation's management indicated that the
investment program initiated in early 2021 to equip its fabrication
plant in Terrebonne with a brand
new robotic production line, the only one of its kind in
North America, as well as new
programmable and automated equipment, is progressing as planned.
ADF's management plans to inaugurate its new robotic line in
May 2022, and also plans to create
new jobs related to the new robotization.
This $30.0 million investment
program is spread over the fiscal years ending January 31, 2022 and 2023.
Mr. Paschini points out that "some of the more standard
fabrication processes will now be carried out by robots, which will
allow us to reassign our qualified and specialized employees to
higher value-added fabrication. In general, this will translate
into gains in overall productivity and an increase in our annual
fabrication capacity."
Mr. Paschini concluded by saying, "this investment program is
one for the future. Faced with the rise of competition, our
customers' requirements and increasingly accelerated schedules, and
to overcome recruitment difficulties, which is a concern and an
issue that is only going to become more pressing, one of the key
strategies that we have adopted is that of further raising our
level automation and introduce robotics to adequately meet the
increase in our order book and generate good profit margins."
The level of active bids to date is up and reflects the more
dynamic demand we have seen over the past few months across our
business activity sectors. We remain confident that we will be able
to win further contracts in the short term, and are on track to
achieve the growth and profitability targets we set ourselves at
the beginning of the fiscal year."
The Corporation's order backlog stood at $310.3 million at the end of the quarter ended
October 31, 2021, excluding the new
orders announced today.
About ADF Group Inc. | ADF Group Inc. is a North
American leader in the design and engineering of connections,
fabrication, including the application of industrial coatings,
and installation of complex steel structures, heavy steel
built-ups, as well as in miscellaneous and architectural metals for
the non-residential infrastructure sector. ADF Group Inc. is one of
the few players in the industry capable of handling highly
technically complex mega projects on fast-track schedules in the
commercial, institutional, industrial and public sectors. The
Corporation operates two fabrication plants and two paint shops, in
Canada and in the United States, and a Construction Division
in the United States, which
specializes in the installation of steel structures and other
related products.
Forward-Looking Information | This press release
contains forward-looking statements reflecting ADF's objectives and
expectations. These statements are identified by the use of verbs
such as "expect" as well as by the use of future or conditional
tenses. By their very nature these types of statements involve
risks and uncertainty. Consequently, reality may differ from ADF's
expectations.
SOURCE ADF Group Inc.