Founded in Victoriaville in 1970, Portes Baril has, throughout its history, been accompanied and financially supported by the SADC Arthabaska-Érable. The company manufactures, distributes, installs, and repairs all kinds of garage doors. This is quite a different industry from what current president, for the past 9 years, Dany Caron, was involved with earlier in his career.
After studying electronics, Dany worked for companies in that field before founding his own in 1994. Within just a few years, he ended up owning as many as four businesses simultaneously, eventually selling them all in 2003 to become an industrial commissioner for the MRC de L’Érable. Seven years later, the call of entrepreneurship beckoned once more, and Dany decided to go back into business. This time, his goal wasn’t to create a new company but to acquire one. Thus began a three-month search for a business that met Dany’s criteria: it had to manufacture its own products, be sold at an accessible price, be located in the Centre-du-Québec region, and allow the buyer at least 51% ownership.
His search turned up nine potential businesses, including Portes Baril, which wasn’t even officially listed for sale. In reality, Dany’s accountant also worked with the owner at the time, who had already considered passing on the torch. Acting as an intermediary, the accountant introduced him to Dany. What followed was winter-long negotiations resulting in the buyer taking over as president of Portes Baril in April 2015.
Determined to learn every facet of the company, Dany spent his first week touring all departments. By observing, asking questions, and evaluating each employee’s work, the new owner compiled his own operational improvement report. That was merely a glimpse of the many changes he would soon initiate.
However, it was only a matter of time before a significant obstacle presented itself. The financial situation described at the time of sale didn’t quite match reality, and the company faced deficits the buyer was unaware of. Dany spent two years in “turnaround” mode, which included making the difficult decision to lay off some workers. At least his improvement report helped sort out unnecessary administrative processes, realigning everything to the essentials. “In hindsight, it allowed us to reset on a solid foundation,” he recalls.
Though his initial years at Portes Baril didn’t go as anticipated, Dany is a man of action and solutions. Once the company’s footing was steadied, stronger than ever, he oversaw a complete transformation of its processes. Notably, he installed an automated management system so effective that new hires can become autonomous in their roles within just one week, simplifying HR management. Also, Dany is already working with the business’s future owner, his vice president of sales, to whom he intends to sell Portes Baril in the next two or three years. Thus, he’s making sure the company increases its value by freeing himself entirely from daily operations and leaving behind all the tools needed to ease the future president’s day-to-day tasks.
Nowadays, Dany enjoys helping younger entrepreneurs navigate their path, a generous gesture that makes perfect sense once you understand his outlook on his career: “I’ve never worked a day in my life because I’ve never had to endure a job I didn’t like. If I have fun doing it and it helps people, I’ll go for it.” With this mindset, it’s no surprise he managed to revive Portes Baril and steer it toward subsequent success. Dany also stays active in the community by serving as vice-president on the SADC’s board of directors.
portesbaril.com
portesbaril.com
