SNC-Lavalin Group

SNC

In 1911 Swiss-born Arthur Surveyer established a consulting engineering office, Arthur Surveyer & Cie., in Montréal after completing studies in Belgium and at the Polytechnique Montréal and working for several years with public works. Against the backdrop of the transformative advances in electrification. Surveyer worked on hydropower projects with his partner, Augustin Frigon , an engineer, professor, and Director at the Polytechnique Montréal where Surveyer had earned his degree. In 1912, they worked on a power distribution network for the city of Grand-Mère on Saint-Maurice River. The project that increased the company's profile was the Saint-Maurice River hydroelectric power station, which they designed and supervised. The company specialized in hydraulics, managing hydropower projects and flood control, and soon branched out into the industrial sector, particularly in pulp and paper, and mining and metallurgy.

Surveyer formed a first 10-year partnership with Emil Nenniger and Georges Chênevert in 1937. A second partnership agreement was signed in 1946, and the firm's name was changed to Surveyer, Nenniger and Chênevert. The name would eventually be abbreviated to SNC.

In 1967 Camille A. Dagenais , became president and CEO of SNC Group, a position he held until 1975. When Dagenais was inducted into the Order of Canada, he was honoured for his accomplishments at SNC—specifically for large-scale hydro development projects in Canada and internationally, for example, in India and Greece. One of the most important projects was the work he oversaw on the recently nationalized Hydro-Québec's Manic-5 project on the Manicouagan River, north of Baie-Comeau. It was built for hydroelectric power production and supplies water to the Manic-5s power houses.:?466? The firm's first international contract was awarded in 1963, to design and build the 780 MW Idukki power station in Kerala State, India.

Lavalin

SNC's main rival in Canada was Lalonde, Valois International Limited, a company that was established in 1936 by engineers Jean-Paul Lalonde and Romeo Valois. Bernard Lamarre, who would later become director and CEO in 1962 and lead Lavalin for 29 years, had married Louise Lalonde, Jean-Paul Lalonde's daughter in 1952, and began working at Lalonde, Valois International Limited.:?331? In 1972, the company changed its name to Lavalin—combining syllables from the original company name. In the 1970s, Lavalin designed and built the fabric roof for Montreal's Olympic Stadium and built the James Bay Project, in a partnership with the United-States-based Bechtel.According to a 1986 Maclean's article by Anthony Wilson-Smith, Lavalin was Canada's "largest engineering firm, with $625 million in operating revenues in 1985 and 5,700 employees. SNC was the second largest". Wilson-Smith also said that they were "among the largest engineering firms in the world". Lavalin branched out in other industries, such as cable television—Canada's The Weather Network and MétéoMédia were founded by Lavalin in 1988. Lavalin's shares were sold to Pelmorex in 1993. By 1990 Lavalin Inc included over 70 companies worth CA$1.2 billion. It was forced to sell to its rival SNC in 1991.

Bernard Lamarre remained with the newly formed company, SNC-Lavalin until 1999. He oversaw major projects including the TransCanada highway in Montreal, the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel, the Olympic Stadium in Montréal, and Alcan in the Ville de La Baie. He also oversaw projects in Benin and in Algeria.Bernard Lamarre's younger brother, Jacques Lamarre, a civil engineer, became SNC-Lavalin's CEO in 1996 and left his post in 2009.