(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.
Jean Paschini, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer; Jean-François Boursier, CPA, CA, Chief Financial Officer, Tel.: (450) 965-1911 / Website: www.adfgroup.com
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