Missing on the picture: Andrée Deschamps, Anne Gilbert, Art Miranda, Boonnakhom Tangkhavanich, Carole Martel, Dino Halikas, Dominick Joannette, Dominic Lacroix, Frédéric Rodrigue, Jean Désilets, Kim Doiron, Louise-Josée Lamothe, Ludovic Plontz, Maëlle Derrien, Marie-Noël Labbé-Blondeau, Mélanie Bouchard, Mélanie Paul, Meryem Bouchoucha, Michèle Langevin, Pierre Drapeau, Samuel Cashman-Kadri, Sarah Kanzo, Serge Chiasson, Stéphane Cloutier, Véronique Ouellet, Xavier Pigeon, Xiaowei Wu et Yves Dubé.

What an incredible 2020!
Record sales and profits for Groupe SiliCycle on its 25th year anniversary and in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The year 2020 will forever remain in our memory. The global pandemic did not spare our part of the world, and thus Groupe SiliCycle had to work harder and differently, resulting it its best year ever. Along with this short summary of our activities, I would also like to offer my best wishes for this holiday season:

Sales and Profits

This year brought a tremendous growth of 27%, to reach $20M in sales. This target was set a few years ago, and we are now setting our goal of $40M in sales starting as of now. Our good news and progress at SiliCycle CCP, PurCann Pharma and Total Océan have enabled us to double our forecast for the next 12 months. 2020 was also a strong year, with close to $2M more in profit as compared to the previous year.

Covid 19

This year was marked by a devastating health crisis. With already strong growth, Groupe SiliCycle moved forward with its expansion completed in 2019 ($25M investment), worked diligently to make its subsidiaries, sister companies and business units successful. Groupe SiliCycle also worked hard at the HR level in 2020, with an addition of more than 50 employees. New people joined the company and just like us, have to work wearing masks. The lack of a social environment making human relations difficult, in short, hats off to our longstanding employees and to the new ones who contributed to make, despite the pandemic, a record year. We currently have more than 20 positions open in administration, quality, regulatory affairs, sales, R&D, etc for both our Technological Park plant and at the Dalton Street plant (we now have 24,000 square feet at this location). We invite you to discover our job offers.

Shareholders

In 2020, we welcomed several new shareholders. Without becoming a public enterprise, we no longer have the status of a “closed” company (less than 50 shareholders) as we became an “open” company. This does not change much to our operations, but I am very happy to count on the new shareholders, individuals or families who are now my associates and who will be part of our beautiful company's path in the future. Furthermore, since we are no longer only in the field of Chromatography and Purification Consumables (CCP) which is very specific, these partners may be able to give us a boost in different activities of our sister companies. Currently, Groupe SiliCycle, Pharma in silica and Mirapakon are looking for new shareholders, please let me know!

World leader in Extraction & Purification

Active for the last 25 years in Extraction & Purification of interest molecules from biomass, Groupe SiliCycle continues its progress with the objective of becoming the industry’s number one player in America.

  • SiliCycle EP - Extraction Purification (Quebec City) : With the expansion of our Quebec City plant in 2019 and with the completion of work and equipment purchases, we will have a multi-purpose plant to extract, isolate and purify molecules of interest from forest, horticultural and other biomasses.
  • PurCann Pharma (Quebec City) : Celebrating its 2nd anniversary on February 14th, PurCann Pharma, our subsidiary active in the processing of hemp and cannabis, has accomplished a great deal over the past year. Hiring of key people in operations and sales; obtaining our processing/marketing license from Health Canada; signing of supply contracts in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; signing of sales contracts for our finished products (dyes, capsules, atomizers) for more than $25 million; Signature of numerous inter-company contracts with Groupe SiliCycle and Tyche, our marketing subsidiary; preparation of CBD-based Tyche products that will be on the shelves of the SQDC starting this spring; in short, WOW, everything is moving at high speed for PurCann Pharma.
  • Total Océan (Havre-aux-maisons, Magdalen Islands) : Following the completion of the financing of the last equipment required to start up the plant ($6M), Total Océan will finally begin production of odourless and colourless oils rich in Omega 3 from Atlantic seals and various species of fish in the summer of 2021. The first sales of several million dollars are already under negotiation.
  • GBR - Groupe BoréaRessources (Ferland-et-Boilleau, Saguenay) : In 2020, we have more than doubled our production capacity of essential oils from trees and plants of the boreal forest. It is also at this site that bark transformation activities are carried out.
  • Akua Nature formerly known as Shaman Extraction (Mashteuiatsh, Lac St-Jean) : The new name Akua Nature means "Taking Care" in the Ilnu native language. Following the completion of the necessary financing for operations and the increase in production capacity, the arrival of our finished products on the markets will take place in January 2021. Akua Nature is a manufacturer of bacteriocin probiotics, aqueous extracts from different biomasses and a whole range of health and well-being products derived from indigenous medicinal plants.

World leader in silica chemistry

Active in research and development, manufacturing, and marketing of silica-based products for 25 years, Groupe SiliCycle innovates and sells in more than 100 countries.

  • SiliCycle CCP (Quebec City) : Our original business unit since its inception in 1995 has continued to propel Groupe SiliCycle into 2020 with world record sales despite the slowdown due to Covid-19 which paralyzed some universities and countries, notably in India. With a global presence in Shanghai, Paris and Bangalore, SiliCycle CCP has large order confirmations lined-up for 2021 boding well for record sales in the future.
  • Pharma in silica (Quebec City) : In 2020, Pharma in silica moved to one of the few laboratories in America that can handle cytotoxic material, located on Groupe SiliCycle very own premises. Mouse tests are ongoing and Pharma in silica continues its revolutionary advances targeting cancer treatments.
  • RV² Technologies (Quebec City) : The inventive process aimed at upgrading used glass into precipitated silica is proven and solid. With both R&D and financing completed, 2021 will see a pilot plant on a semi-industrial scale be carried out. This will be in order to collect all the data required for the detailed engineering leading to the construction of the plant planned for Lachute in 2022. An investment of $50M.
  • Mirapakon (Quebec City) : Major breakthroughs in our antifouling, antibacterial, anticorrosive, and waterproof products. Our coatings with surface modification capabilities will return to market in 2021.

A year punctuated by many twists and turns. Our employees, directors and vice-president performed more than ever through 2020 during a pandemic that affected our work and family lives. Wow, what a honour to succeed with talented and motivated people.

We were not able to celebrate our 25th anniversary on August 30th, but we know deep down inside that all the work we've done since the days in the tiny lab in Luc's apartment and the operations in my parents' shed has allowed us to be a great company focused on innovation, manufacturing and marketing of high-quality products on a global scale. Thank you to everyone who has joined us along the way.

I wish you good health, happiness, and a wonderful year in 2021.

Hugo St-Laurent
President, CEO Groupe SiliCycle

All together ... but from a distance!

To take a photo of the employees while respecting the rules of distancing imposed by the pandemic, we used a montage of individual photos taken with a green screen!