THE INTERVIEW
Company info Canadian Overhead Handling: Founded in 1969
Acquired by REEL in 1996 Located in Boisbriand, Québec, Canada (just north of Montreal)
Powerhouse Gantry Crane
that involved different sequences to load the plates and send them to another area. So, there was a backup transfer car with six transfer cars right next to a unit they call a stretcher. They were loading from the stretcher and then
to get the furthest car out, you had to shuffle all the other cars out, then bring the two remaining cars and the backup transfer car back in line to be able to continue loading. That was more of an automation challenge than a mechanical one.
OCH: What is your business philosophy? SR: To provide the best solution for the most technically challenging job. After that, to be able to
provide the best cost for value for the technology we are implementing into our equipment. It's always a challenge to manage the amount of engineering hours we're consuming to solve a technical solution.
OCH: Why and how did you enter this business? SR: When I graduated university, it was during the recession, so it was difficult finding a job. When I went to my interview at COH (Canadian Overhead Handling at the time) all the people interviewed were smartly dressed in a suit, but because it was summertime, I decided to wear a pink shirt, leather tie and summer
pants. I think it was my enthusiasm and personality that won them over and that’s why they hired me. What I found out afterwards is that it helps to have a big personality and enthusiasm to work in a small company. You have to be able to stand your ground, make your point and be able to defend it. I guess that’s why I was successful because I'm still here. It’s interesting because at that time I had to learn about the components being used to build a crane. At university, I knew the principles, but I never applied the technology. My mentor at COH was an experienced Norwegian electrical engineer who had a lot of practical knowledge, but no theoretical knowledge. So, I had to learn a lot of new ways of
Sylvain Raymond (pictured on the left)
www.ochmagazine.com | Spring 2024 | 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51
