Atlantic Association of CBDCs | New Brunswick Association of CBDCs | CBDC Victoria Madawaska-South
Success Stories
 Moring Curbing Inc.
Success Set in Concrete
The entrepreneurial spirit flows freely in Louis Morin’s blood. Having seen both his grandfather and father operate their own construction businesses, it was a natural progression for Louis to decide to become an entrepreneur. Since he’d worked for his father on summer vacations and occasionally on week-ends mainly laying concrete foundations, most thought that Louis would also start-up his own construction business. However, Louis discovered a great opportunity to build a company that would compliment the construction industry, namely a curbing and concrete business.
In 2004, at the young age of 22, Louis was helping his father on a large construction project when they hit a snag. They needed to install a fair amount of curbing around the perimeter of the lot and all the curbing companies were tied up on other jobsites, and couldn’t get to their job for a few weeks. Louis decided to do some research during the winter of 2005 on what would be necessary to get into the curbing business and if there was a market demand in and around his hometown of Drummond, NB. He was quite surprised to learn that there were less than a handful of companies who had the right equipment to be able to lay curbing and concrete sidewalks. That spring he made the decision to become an entrepreneur and approached the CBDC Victoria-Madawaska South to see if they could assist him in bringing his ideas to reality.
“I knew I’d need some financial assistance to buy the specialized curbing equipment, initial supplies, and probably help with other start-up expenses,” says Louis. “The CBDC helped me apply and receive a small SEED loan and also assisted me with the costs for a week’s training at the Gomaco plant in Ida Grove, Iowa, on how to properly run and maintain the curbing machine. That training course was a real eye-opener for me as this particular type of equipment is very tricky to operate. Not only is the curbing machine fairly expensive, the operation of it involves using a built-in computerized program to map out some of the form work. If I’d not had that training or the financial assistance from the CBDC, I’m sure I’d have been in big trouble trying to get up and running that first year, “ Louis says chuckling a little. “Besides the financial assistance with the SEED loan, the CBDC also arranged for an accountant to come in to my office and get my bookkeeping records started as well. I’m positive that without having the great people at the CBDC pointing me in the right direction, my business wouldn’t have been able to get off the ground.”
Louis loves the challenge of being his own boss even it means long hours of work especially from spring to late fall. His business is now operated out of a leased 3000 square foot building, which is a far cry from his original location namely his father’s garage. He has met his goal to increase company revenues by 25% or more each and every year since 2005, and has been fortunate to land some very large curbing/concrete contracts throughout New Brunswick. Some of his clients include the City of Edmunston, working extensively with Northern Construction laying sidewalks and curbs, as well as doing the same type of work for Dexter Construction in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
He’s also looking into possibly expanding his business operations yet again in 2010 and purchasing another more sophisticated curbing machine which will allow him to do more specialized work. Morin Curbing Inc. now employs 3 full-time staff and 13 seasonal workers which is a substantial increase from the mere 7 seasonal employees he started with back in 2005. He’s happy to report that he’s pretty much booked for the entire 2009 season and is already looking ahead to how he can add additional services such as road clearing in winter to his existing business.
All in all, Morin Curbing Inc. is indeed a resounding “Success Story” and you won’t find Louis Morin sitting idly on a sidewalk near you any time soon, unless he’s waiting for his curbing machine to arrive!
Copyright Marlene Oulton © 2009
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