The Ongerneige group under the protection of its creditors

It is more precisely with Desjardins Capital, one of the three main creditors of the group, that there has been a disagreement, for months, in terms of debt structuring, immediately explained Olivier Corneau, the co-owner of the company, in interview with The Daily.

“We asked our creditors to sit down with us to restructure our debts. The FTQ agreed to listen to us and collaborated, the same thing for Filaction. Desjardins Capital, on the other hand, didn’t want to hear anything. They completely blocked us in our desire to have something that made more sense in 2024.”

— Olivier Corneau, co-owner of Ongerneige

Interest rates increased during the pandemic and Ongerneige would have liked, with Desjardins, to spread the remaining amount of its debt over a longer period.

“With varying financing rates in recent years, we have eaten up the goespecially with COVID. We are talking about rates which were down to 15% of the financing. What we asked of Desjardins was something more adapted to the 2024 reality and they closed the door. They told us that, to break the contract we had with them, we had to place ourselves under the protection of our creditors and we did so,” added Mr. Corneau.

In the notice of intention filed with bankruptcy trustee Raymond Chabot on December 9, we can read that Ongerneige owed the sum of $322,376 to Desjardins Capital and that among its unsecured debts, an amount of $2,115,000, linked to deposits collected in advance from customers, was added to the balance. On this subject, the co-manager of the company wanted to be reassuring. “This money, the two million, is money that Desjardins has no right to touch. It is provided for in our disbursement, they do not have access to it,” he clarified.

Snow removal will continue

This was very important for the co-owner, in his telephone exchange with The Dailyto reassure its customers. “The business is doing well. We have money in the coffers right now to clear snow until June if necessary. The problem is administrative in nature. We wouldn’t want people to worry as the holidays approach,” he insisted.

The company, which has 75 employees in its ranks, will maintain the employment relationship with all of its staff, Olivier Corneau made a point of mentioning. “We are a very good employer in the region. We offer job annually and recurrently. The reshuffling of our funding will have no impact on our workforce,” he said.

“It’s not easy to make money with snow”

In 2019, Oliver Corneau and Alex Tremblay created the Ongerneige Group by investing 7 million. With this initial investment, the snow removal companies Ongerneige, Création Paysage, Déneigement SM, Hudon & Tremblay and Déneigement Pro came under the control of the new entity created by the two entrepreneurs.

Since this major transaction, the snow removal market has evolved significantly in Saguenay, said Oliver Corneau. “In 2019, we were portrayed as monopolistic when the transaction happened. We never wanted to build a monopoly, quite the contrary. We have lost customers since we took over the snow removal business. We are today below 50% in terms of our market share.”

Since the health crisis, the conduct of the Ongerneige Group’s business has not been the easiest. “Our expenses have exploded. Machines cost 42% more than before the pandemic. Everyone knows that the price of gas has risen. It has stabilized recently, but it is still a considerable increase in our expenses. Then, we also invested more in the payroll,” shared the manager.

Certainly, the last winter was not the snowiest, Olivier Corneau understands, but the two previous ones, that of 2021 and that of 2022, were particularly demanding. “We wore out our equipment more quickly these two years. We cleared snow for the equivalent of 150% of a normal winter and that forced us to buy tractors more quickly. It’s no longer easy to make money from snow in 2024,” concluded Mr. Corneau.