| Image: DESSAU-1-5.jpg | |
| Industry | Engineering-Construction Services |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1957 |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Key people | Jean-Pierre Sauriol, President & CEO |
| Revenue |  C$600 million (2009) |
Number of employees | nearly 5,000 (as of July 1, 2010) |
| Website | dessau.com |
Dessau is one of Canada's largest engineering-construction firms and is based in Montreal, Canada. Active in both national and international markets, Dessau is one of the top 100 engineering firms in the world.[1] The company traces its origins to 1957, when Jean-Claude Desjardins and Paul-Aimé Sauriol founded an engineering consulting firm by the name of Desjardins & Sauriol. The firm, which now sports a shortened moniker that fuses both founders' names, currently employs nearly 5,000 people across Quebec and Ontario as well as North Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. In 2009, the company's total revenue amounted to C$600 million.
History edit
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In September 1957, provincial highway engineer Jean-Claude Desjardins met with Paul-Aimé Sauriol, who ran a small engineering consultancy in Île Jésus, Quebec, after a mutual friend suggested they explore the possibility of working together. By the end of that year, the two men founded Desjardins & Sauriol, ingénieurs-conseils.
In Quebec, the following years marked the onset of the Quiet Revolution, a heady period of rapid change for both the province as well as Desjardins & Sauriol, whose business had grown to 30 employees by 1961. The province was brimming with engineering-construction megaprojects and the firm landed numerous transportation and municipal engineering contracts, expanding its business to include geotechnical, structural, electrical and mechanical departments.
The James Bay hydroelectric project, dubbed by then-premier Robert Bourassa as Quebec’s “Project of the Century”, would put Dessau on the map and set the stage for the company’s international expansion. With a generating capacity of 16,000 MW and spanning an area the size of New York State, James Bay featured one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world. Headquartered in Matagami, Dessau’s team oversaw soil studies, layout verification, logistics and the building of a strategic road through forests and other unforgiving landscape elements. A dedicated team of engineers, geologists, surveyors, loggers, bush pilots, laborers, truckers and technicians was mobilized and they managed to complete the project a full year ahead of schedule.
In 1975, Dessau was mandated to build a new national highway in Zaire and three years later Dessau International was born. The 1980s saw Dessau’s international experience blossom but also witnessed the company’s pioneering first steps in the field of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. Since the early 1980s, Dessau has espoused a “green dream”, from restoring waterways in the greater Montreal area to more recent conservation plans that now play a key role in Quebec’s energy strategy.
The 1990s were marked by the company’s ambition of becoming an integrated firm able to provide clients with an exhaustive set of engineering and project services. The pursuit of that vision led to a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions.
While Dessau continues to take on an increasing number of major international projects, such as the East-West Highway in Algeria, SIEPAC Central American electric grid interconnection project or the Guajimia Canal in the Dominican Republic, the firm’s leadership, spearheaded by Jean-Pierre Sauriol, maintains a high premium on retaining the company’s position as a key player in the Quebec engineering market.
Areas of Operation edit
Engineering
Buildings: building mechanics and electricity, foundation and structure, site security and protection, energy efficiency, energy management.
Urban Development: design of municipal infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, curbs, underground conduits, parks, bicycle paths and walking trails, noise abatement embankments and structures, mass transit corridors and parking), hydrological and hydraulic studies, topographical surveys.
Environment: environmental assessment and management, social and economic studies as well as water, air, soil and waste management programs and analyses.
Energy: layout of hydroelectric power stations, lines, transmission and distribution substations (alternating and direct current), aerial and underground distribution systems, modernization and retrofitting of stations and substations, electric power and load management systems, energy production, design and rehabilitation of distribution networks.
Telecommunications and Security: ground and wireless network infrastructure and transmission, switching, external networks, structured networks, telecommunications infrastructure, site preparation, network-based applications, network operations, telecommunications strategies, policies and regulations, data-voice networks on IP platforms, closed-circuit surveillance, development of safety procedures for technological infrastructure, control engineering, automation and process optimization, systems migration, production information processing.
Transportation and Systems: traffic engineering, transport infrastructure engineering (roadways, railways, bridges and structures, airports, ports), roads and bridges asset management and maintenance programs, railway engineering and guided transport systems (subways, streetcars, light rail).
Geotechnical Engineering, Materials and Environment
As a member of the Dessau Group, LVM is one of Canada’s largest soil and materials engineering groups. The team carries out detailed reports on geotechnical and environmental matters and provides services in road management, materials engineering (concrete, aggregates, asphalt, weatherproofing), manufacturing supervision and non-destructive testing. The team also specializes in the preventive maintenance management of buildings and civil engineering structures.
Project Management and Construction
Through Verreault, its project management and construction subsidiary, Dessau offers project management services, from design to financing, construction and commissioning. The firm’s services include estimates, procurement and control (costs, scheduling, documentation and jobsites).
Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture
Plania, Dessau’s urban planning and landscape architecture subsidiary, helps integrate projects into their surroundings, creates safe environments, taps into the synergies between different modes of transportation and helps municipalities develop and manage land-use planning tools. Their services include regional and strategic planning, urban development plans, detailed planning, zoning by-laws, urban design, transportation planning, physical planning, commercial and downtown revitalization planning, real-estate development, renovation and restoration programs, municipal management planning, shoreline development, construction supervision and studies (transport, architectural integration and implementation, tourism and recreation, heritage sites, management of tourist facilities).
Operations
Through its subsidiaries, Dessau manages infrastructure as well as operates and maintains:
• Water Systems Dessau’s venture into water systems began with the construction of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, but evolved, through the acquisition of Simo, to include collection, filtration, conservation, distribution, treatment and recycling services over the years. Some of the firm’s major projects in this field include the MAO Drinking Water Treatment Plant in Algeria and the current upgrade of the City of Montreal’s drinking water plants.
• Public and Adapted Transit Founded in 1990, Société Gestrans Inc., a Dessau subsidiary, is a leading Quebec-based company entirely dedicated to this industry. Société Gestrans enables public transit organizations to manage urban and long-distance networks, adapted transit, school transportation or ticket administration. The company offers day-to-day as well as long-term services, in addition to specialized training sessions.
• Tourism, Recreation and Leisure Facilities Founded in 1996, Sogep (Société de gestion et d'équipements publics), a Dessau subsidiary, manages equipment and infrastructure in the recreation, tourism and leisure sectors, namely to municipalities. Sogep’s areas of activity include the management and supervision of parks, arenas, sports complexes, community centres, security and emergency services, equipment rentals and snack bars.
Major Projects edit
2013: Great Mosque of Algiers – Algeria
2010: 1,200-km East-West Highway – Algeria
2010: Guajimia Canal Sewage Treatment – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
2010: Montreal Metro Fixed Equipment and Systems Modernization – Montreal, Canada
2008: Trinidad Rapid Rail Project – Trinidad and Tobago
2008: SIEPAC Central American Electrical Interconnection System – San José, Costa Rica
2006: Redevelopment of the LeBreton Flats – Ottawa, Canada
2005: Construction and Expansion of Campanario Thermoelectric Power Plant – Chile
2004: Acadie Traffic Circle Reconstruction – Montreal, Canada
2002: Montreal Palais des Congrès Convention Centre – Montreal, Canada
2000: Rural Electrification Project Supervision – Peru
1990: Canadian Museum of Civilization – Gatineau, Canada
1975: James Bay Hydroelectric Project – Quebec, Canada
Offices edit
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Dessau has over 60 offices throughout Eastern Canada, North Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Subsidiaries edit
| Dessau Subsidiaries | |
| Name | Field |
|---|---|
| Dessau Maghreb | Engineering (Algeria) |
| Dessau Ingentra | Engineering (Chile) |
| LVM | Geotechnical Engineering, Materials and Quality |
| Verreault | Construction |
| Plania | Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture and Transportation Planning |
| Simo | Management – Water and Wastewater Facilites |
| Sogep | Recreation and Tourism |
| Société Gestrans | Public and Adapted Transportation |
| Elytra | IT Security |
| Géophase | Environment – Soil Rehabilitation |
| Dessau-Progest | Project Management, Engineering Consulting and Construction Management |