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MECHANICAL SUPPLY NEWS
MANUFACTURERS • DISTRIBUTORS • WHOLESALERS
IN MEMORIAM: JACQUES DESCHENES With sadness, brothers Martin and François Deschênes released a statement announcing the death of their father Jacques Deschênes, who passed away peacefully in his residence in Sainte-Margueritedu-Lac-Masson on January 14, 2022, at the age of 86.
Jacques joined Deschênes & Fils Ltée in 1954 and held various roles before becoming its third president and general manager in 1973.
He then served as president and CEO of Groupe Deschênes from 1988 to 2000. Under his leadership the wholesaler grew from a single location in Montreal to 50 in Quebec and Ontario.
He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Groupe Deschênes until 2009 and continued to serve as Honorary Chairman until their most recent meeting in December 2021.
In their statement, Martin (currently vice president of the Board) and François (president/CEO), described their father as, “A man of principle and determination, he was a philanthropist, a generous volunteer of his time, a builder, an accomplished entrepreneur and an undeniable promoter of the sustainability of family businesses. He was also a great nature lover.
“Despite all the accomplishments he was able to achieve, humility and simplicity will remain among his greatest qualities.” groupedeschenes.com
EXPANSION ON TARGET FOR T&S BRASS T&S Brass and Bronze Works, manufacturer of commercial plumbing equipment, has completed phase one of a two-part $10.3 million expansion and renovation of its headquarters and plant in South Carolina.
Breaking ground in late 2020, phase one added 53,000 sq. ft. of space to the facility. Phase two, currently ongoing, will convert a shipping and receiving dock area into additional manufacturing space with a completion date of fall 2024. tsbrass.com MASTER GROUP EXPANDS TO THE U.S. The Master Group has announced its first foray into the United States with the acquisition of Value Added Distributors (VAD) headquartered in Midlothian, Virginia.
VAD is the parent company of three regional HVAC distributors (Virginia Air Distributors, Allied HVAC Distributors and South Carolina Air Distributors) with 19 branches and 200 employees across six states (Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania).
This new acquisition grows upon Quebec-based Master’s Canada-wide operations with more than 49 branches and 4 distribution centres from coast to coast.
“This agreement represents an incredible milestone in the history of Master. A milestone in our expansion in the United States and a milestone as the first Canadian-owned HVAC/R distributor expanding through acquisition South of the border,” says Louis St-Laurent, CEO, The Master Group, in a company release.
While the company intends to continuing growing in all Canadian markets, VAD will serve as its platform for future U.S. growth.” www.master.ca
MARCONE ACQUIRES MUNCH’S SUPPLY Marcone Supply, headquartered in St. Louis, MO and operating 133 locations across the U.S. and Canada, has acquired Munch’s Supply, the Chicagoarea supplier of HVAC and plumbing parts and equipment that in recent months entered the Canadian market with two Ontario acquisitions. Marks Supply was purchased in June of 2021 followed by TML Supply in December.
With the addition of Munch’s, Marcone is enhancing its HVAC and plumbing business with 64 locations across 16 U.S. states and Ontario. marcone.com
VIESSMANN INVESTS IN NOVA SCOTIA WOODLANDS Viessmann Group has purchased 2,200 hectares of forest in Nova Scotia as part of the company's sustainability strategy, which pursues the goal of preserving or managing forest areas in the interest of climate protection.
The woodlands of the Lake Pleasant area were sold by several private owners, and future management will be carried out in cooperation with the Canadian Green Value Management.
The forest is managed sustainably, and the wood extracted is primarily
used for long-lasting products, for example for building houses. This means that the CO2 saved is actually removed longterm from the atmosphere. viessmann.com
Max Viessmann, CEO Viessmann Group (left), and Martin Viessmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
FOURTH GENERATION TAKES OVER AT VIESSMANN GROUP As of 2022, Viessmann Group’s 105th year of operation, Maximilian Viessmann (32) becomes the fourth generation of the family to lead the company. Since 2018 Maximilian has served as co-CEO with Joachim Janssen (64), who is retiring after nearly 15 years on the executive board and six years at the top of the family-owned business.
“We are now placing Viessmann’s future entirely in the hands of the fourth generation by having Maximilian as our sole CEO,” said Martin Viessmann, Chairman of the Board of Directors who served as CEO from 1992-2016 and is Max’s father.
“I could not be any prouder because I know that no one is more capable of leading the 13,000-strong Viessmann family into a successful future than Maximilian.” viessmann.family
OATEY ENLISTS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS Plumbing products manufacturer, Oatey
Darryl Wong Laura Giudice
Co., first launched its social media ambassador program in June 2021 with four plumbers including two Canadians, Danielle ‘Twig’ Browne from St. John’s, Nfld (@thelittlestplumber) and Alex Goin (@thebiggestplumber_) of Windsor, Ont.
The company has since added six more ambassadors for 2022, and the new class includes two more Canadians including Laura Giudice of Mississauga, Ont. (@my_plumbing_adventure) and Darryl Wong (@impetuspandh_darryl) from Richmond, B.C.
As Ambassadors the participants
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