Plâtrier Élite /Elite Drywall Finishing

Revolutionizing the plastering industry

InJune of 2019, after 25 years in the finance industry, Franca Iaconis, and her husband Mike Fournier, started Platrier Elite, a plastering company specializing in commercial and high end residential projects. “We decided to fulfill our dream of creating a company where employees are valued and recognized, all while changing the narrative in the plastering industry in Montreal,” says Iaconis.

Born and raised in the Papineau/Villeray district of Montreal, Iaconis carries with her the principles of respect and appreciation towards those who surround her. These values were instilled by her parents, who remain a great source of inspiration.

Iaconis’ parents are originally from San Giovanni in Fiore, Cosenza, in Calabria. “My mother Rosa came here on a boat that landed at Pier 21 and didn’t even have money for bread,” she explains. “My father Salvatore worked in different countries all over Europe, got deported from Canada, came back legally and raised three daughters by threading a needle and sewing thousands of kilometers of thread so I could one day have the life that I have.”

Born in Magog, Quebec, Fournier’s family has Canadian roots that go back many generations. His family has been in the drywall industry for decades. His journey in the construction industry started in 1994 in the United States. He started working in interior systems and plastering in the New England area. After six years working south of the border, he moved back to his native Quebec in the early 2000s, where he continues to specialize in his craft. Fournier has had an unwavering passion for plastering since he first picked up a trowel over 25 years ago. “Platrier Elite is a company that offers old world quality with today’s ingenuity, delivering the highest quality finishes,” he says. “No one is doing what we are doing on this scale; we are in a class of our own, competing against ourselves.”

Platrier Elite is revolutionizing the industry by using the latest tools and technologies that allow an apprentice with no experience to deliver work at a professional level fresh out of trade school. This increases efficiency and decreases the number of hours spent on jobs. This translates into competitive pricing, while increasing the precision and quality of the work. “We are continually exceeding our client’s expectations and treating our employees with dignity and respect, like family,” he adds.

In Quebec, there is a stigma around automation in the construction industry. “People are scared of [automation], and we are out there, every day, fighting against that,” says Fournier. “I can’t count how many times I have been approached on the job and other plasterers have asked me if [the machinery] does a good job. I’ll show them and they are blown away at how fast and efficient our way of working is.”

Platrier Elite’s mission is simple: to be the fastest with the best quality work. Anything less than that is unacceptable for both co-founders.

Maintaining such a high level of efficiency requires constant research into what works and what doesn’t. “My garage is full of tools that didn’t live up to the hype and aren’t good enough for the Platrier Elite way of doing things,” says Fournier.

As much as Platrier Elite is changing the narrative in the plastering industry in Montreal, its main focus centers around how employees are treated. “We pride ourselves on doing better than the companies that we have worked for in the past,” states Iaconis. “We care genuinely about each person that works for us and want to see them reach their full potential.”

Aside from having the full support of their respective families, Fournier and Iaconis have also included their families in their company. They have six relatives involved with the business, from administrative work, to apprentices and even a site foreman. “We have grown this thing around people we love and we can trust,” explains Iaconis. In less than four years, this has proved to be a winning formula.

The couple happily get up at 4 a.m. every morning and go to work doing a job they love. They have a business they are proud of and continue to build their own version of the Canadian dream together.

Today, Platrier Elite employs nearly 30 workers and is branching out in other sectors of the construction industry such as Interior Systems. If you know anything about Mike and Franca, their new venture “Poseur De Système Intérieur Élite”, will be a company to keep an eye out for in the years to come.

To offer your candidature at Plâtrier Élite, please contact platrierelite@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram/Facebook/Tik Tok