French foam insulation major Soprema Group is expanding its operations in Canada with a new plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Soprema plans to spend C$42.5 million (US$34.6 million) to set up an extruded, expanded polystyrene insulation facility in Sherbrooke. The Quebec and Canadian governments are assisting with the project and announced it on Sept. 25.
Soprema's North American operations are headquartered in Drummondville, Quebec, where it also runs a research center with 12 full time workers, an insulation production plant and a polyisocyanurate production site. Other manufacturing locations are in Ayrfoil and Richmond, Quebec, and in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The firm began operations in 1978 and now employs about 500 in Canada.
Soprema was founded in Strasbourg, France, in 1908 and counts some 51 production facilities around the world employing about 6,900. About 15 of the global facilities make insulation. It logged sales of 2.32 billion euros (US$2.74 billion) last year.
The Quebec government has granted Soprema C$5 million (US$4.08 million) in loans and a non-repayable contribution of C$1.5 million (US$1.22 million). Canada's federal government will kick in a C$2 million (US$1.63 million) repayable contribution. About 56 jobs should be created in the project.
Soprema makes a variety of plastic foams and other materials for insulation, waterproofing, soundproofing and revegetation of construction projects. In 2014 it acquired Topox-Foam SL, a specialist in EPS insulation based in Vallmoll, Spain.