The Ouellet Group was started as a family business by entrepreneurs who built it from scratch. It is now run by the family’s 3rd and 4th generation. Today, it is an industry leader with over 500 employees in three countries: Canada, the United States and China.

The Ouellet Group’s plants produce and distribute a wide variety of products: heating cables; radiant heaters; kickspace heaters; convectors; electric, gas and oil furnaces; electric baseboards; heat pumps; fan-forced heaters; thermostats; and much more.

The Group operates in multiple markets and serves the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

History of the group

During this time, in a garage near his home in L’Islet, Mr. Charles-Émile Ouellet, a supplier of metal grilles, was bending hot air ducts for Jules Beaulieu in Quebec City.

The early days were particularly challenging, especially with the 1974 oil crisis and resulting recession. However, Raymond and Robert read the market well and identified the opportunities provided by electric baseboard heaters.

The 1982 recession proved to be another turning point for the company. Several competitors shut down, which helped to boost Ouellet Canada’s growth. But with revenues of only $1.8M in the same year and with the economic crisis, the future was far from certain and doubts were justified. The company benefited from government aid programs, but Raymond and Robert Beaulieu needed to remortgage their house and take on several employees as shareholders, including:

Réjean Lizotte

Gérald St-Pierre

Louis-Philippe Lemieux

Roland Couture

After this, the company took off by implementing an aggressive strategy of product development, which opened up new markets. In 2000, Ouellet posted over $20M in sales. At this time, Martin Beaulieu, one of the family’s 3rd generation, was head of the innovation department.

In 2001, at the age of 62, Raymond Beaulieu bought out his brother’s stake in the company and the stakes of other shareholders, despite very high financial risks. Fortunately, the construction industry in Quebec subsequently went through a strong growth phase, which helped the company to continue its successful development.

Raymond’s three sons – Martin, Philippe and Louis – took over from their father in 2008 by acquiring his stake. They are still shareholders in the company. They continue to serve the market by pursuing a strategy of new product and new market development while focusing on the company’s core strength: responding to the needs of customers, electrical distributors and electricians.

Continued Expansion

Looking to the Future

The Ouellet Group has recently opened a distribution center and offices in Lévis (Saint-Romuald area) to help attract and retain personnel. In 2022, it also acquired a building of over 70,000 sq. ft. in L’Islet, next to the Ouellet Canada plant. This will allow the company to operate in more than 250,000 sq. ft. in the Chaudière-Appalaches region alone.

The shareholders are extremely proud of their history, values, teams, products and business relationships, and are committed to continuing the Group’s growth.