Alouette President and CEO Claude Boulanger told a sizeable audience at the Chambre de commerce de Sept-Îles about the difficult conditions faced by today’s aluminium industry, a situation he described as “fierce competition in a market that remains unstable.” He called for a swift agreement with the Government of Quebec on electricity rates. “The agreements signed with our competitors create an imbalance in the industry and a feeling of real injustice. We have to fix this,” he said.
Negotiations between Alouette and the government are off to a slow start, and this is having an impact on the company’s profitability. Alouette has slackened the pace of its technology development program and will be reducing its investments in capital projects. According to Claude Boulanger, “If the situation continues, Alouette will undoubtedly age less well, which explains the importance of a fair agreement as of this spring.”
Alouette’s economic impact in Quebec exceeds $440 million, including $340 million in the Sept-Rivières regional county municipality. The company calls on 700 suppliers, 150 of them in the Côte-Nord region, and its local purchases add up to about $100 million. It is an exemplary corporate citizen actively involved in its community, and creates jobs and wealth in its host region and across the province.
unconditionnal support from employees and the côte-nord population
Citing figures to back up his message, Alouette’s Vice President, Finance and Business Development, Gérald Charland, explained the need for better cost control, given current price fluctuations and market instability. He summed up his arguments as follows: “Today, Alouette’s competitiveness is affected to a large extent by electricity rates that are higher than those paid by our competitors. To put it another way, the company’s profitability quite simply does not allow us to keep up the optimum pace of investments in capital projects and technology development.”
He described Alouette’s 60/60 Program, aimed at turning things around. Deployment of the program has already begun and will be completed in steps between now and 2018. Built on exceptional cooperation by Alouette employees and partners, it targets $60 million in savings and a 60,000 tonne increase in aluminium production compared with the base year, 2010. The plan features the implementation of a series of initiatives: continuous improvement, higher productivity, technology and automation projects, renegotiation of contracts, systematic calls for tenders. All players are encouraged to innovate and contribute to meeting this major challenge.
Regarding the negotiations under way with the Government of Québec, Alouette’s President and CEO said that, “although they are constructive and are taking place on new bases, they have to be stepped up over the coming weeks if we want to reach an agreement by this summer.” The deadline for the negotiations is also closely linked to the window of opportunity for the possible launch of prefeasibility studies for Phase 3, a major project worth over $2 billion located within the Québec government’s “Plan Nord” (northern plan) territory. For obvious reasons, Alouette does not intend to disclose the details of the negotiations.
Claude Boulanger and Gérald Charland thanked the regional representatives and key players for their unshakeable support for Alouette and its needs. The company remains in close regular communication with the community regarding its projects and routine operations.
