Groupe Textile - Emplois, recrutement et consultant dans l'industrie du textile

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Management

Laurent Rhéaume
President of Groupe Textile

After graduating from the Quebec Textile Institute, Mr. Laurent Rhéaume pursued his studies in administration and finance at the Sherbrooke University. Then he worked for seventeen years in the textile industry in the carpet sector, where he held various positions in technical services, quality and management. Later on, in 1983, he started a new career servicing the industry. Mr. Rhéaume is well-known across the country for his involvement in the textile world, as a result of his work and his availability in the textile associations where he was:

President of the Textile Federation of Canada
President of the "Société des diplômés en textile"
Executive director of the "Association des textiles des Cantons de l'Est"
Member since graduation of the Canadian Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists (CATCC)
Member of the Textile Society of Canada
Also on two Boards of Directors

Today, people refer to Mr. Rhéaume for his knowledge of the Canadian textile industry but also to take advantage of his numerous contacts which are part of this industry.

When he joined Protextile, which later became the Textile Technology Centre, he was a pioneer at that time, working as Business Development Manager with the General Manager. From two employees, the C.T.T. sustained its growth and ten years later, the company had 26 employees and an annual turnover of 2.2 millions dollars. Having still in mind the development of services for the textile industry, he got involved more particularly in all the initiatives for the technical textile sector at the Centre, by organizing, with the help of the "Ministère de l'industrie et du commerce", Industry Canada and the companies interested, Canadian trade missions to Europe. It is through these missions and other related activities, that he developed an important part of his strong network in Canada and abroad. Also during these years, he had to select the best consultants for services to the industry, and still today, this network has become the foundation of his own company, Groupe Textile. The C.T.T. and its Board of Directors having rejected this type of approach for the companies, customers of the Centre, he made it his focal point in the development of Groupe Textile.

It was in 1993 then, consistent with his involvement, and at the request of many companies, that he founded Groupe Textile. Services were organized to assist companies in their development and start-up phase. "Textile Services for the Textile Industry": Financial Management, Marketing/Communications, Human Resources Management, Strategic Planning, Production Management, Management Information Systems, Environment - the 7 most requested services when he was at the Centre.

The first mandate was granted to Groupe Textile by the Textile Human Resource Council, which then was a new organization in its start-up phase. They were calling upon his knowledge of textile and its environment to set the foundations for the training programs still being used today across Canada by the Council. With his help, the first Board of Directors of the industry and certain work committees were formed. Since then, many other mandates and studies have been granted to Groupe Textile. To better understand our activities, we invite you to visit our website at http://www.groupetextile.com/ and also read our "Newsletters".

One the of the most recent mandates obtained by Groupe Textile and other associates was for a study: "The new textile economy in Quebec ", once again related to technical textiles for the "Société générale de Financement (S.G.F.)", "Investissement Québec (I.Q.)", "Ministère du développement économique et régionale (M.D.E.R.)" and "Hydro Québec". Today, further to this study, Mr. Rhéaume is on a special committee dedicated to the development of the textile industry in Quebec and its future, with representatives from the industry, the public sector, and others (19). Other important studies are on the way.

The major part of the industry knows Groupe Textile for its major involvement in textile management recruitment. Our bank of candidates contains thousands of resumes and is used by industries across the country. Approximately 40 executives are referred this way every year. For several years now, this service has grown in Canada and abroad. Companies in Canada now have access to foreign candidates and vice versa, to Canadian specialists for foreign countries.