Dessau (engineering)

Dessau

Industry	Engineering-Construction Services
Founded	1957
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people	Jean-Pierre Sauriol, President & CEO
Revenue	C$600 million (2009)
Employees	nearly 5,000 (as of July 1, 2010)
Website	dessau.com

Dessau is one of Canada's largest engineering-construction firms and is based in Montreal, Canada. Active in both national and international markets, Dessau is ranked among the top 100 engineering firms in the world by Engineering News Record^[1]. The company traces its origins to 1957, when Jean-Claude Desjardins and Paul-Aimé Sauriol founded an engineering consulting firm by the name of Desjardins & Sauriol. The firm, which now sports a shortened moniker that fuses both founders' names, currently employs nearly 5,000 people across Quebec and Ontario as well as North Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean^[2]. In 2009, the company's total revenue amounted to C$600 million^[3].

History

Jean-Claude Desjardins and Paul-Aimé Sauriol, 1964-1966.

In September 1957, provincial highway engineer Jean-Claude Desjardins met with Paul-Aimé Sauriol, who ran a small engineering consultancy in Île Jésus, Quebec, after a mutual friend suggested they explore the possibility of working together. By the end of that year, the two men founded Desjardins & Sauriol, ingénieurs-conseils.

In Quebec, the following years marked the onset of the Quiet Revolution, a heady period of rapid change for both the province as well as Desjardins & Sauriol, whose business had grown to 30 employees by 1961. The province was brimming with engineering-construction megaprojects and the firm landed numerous transportation and municipal engineering contracts, expanding its business to include geotechnical, structural, electrical and mechanical departments.

The James Bay hydroelectric project, dubbed by then-premier Robert Bourassa as Quebec’s “Project of the Century”^[4], would earn the company national recognition and set the stage for the Dessau’s international expansion. With a generating capacity of 16,000 MW and spanning an area the size of New York State, James Bay featured one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world^[5]. Headquartered in Matagami, Dessau’s team oversaw soil studies, layout verification, logistics and the building of a strategic road through forests and other unforgiving landscape elements. A multidisciplinary team of engineers, geologists, surveyors, loggers, bush pilots, laborers, truckers and technicians was mobilized and they managed to complete the project a full year ahead of schedule.

Jean-Pierre Sauriol, Dessau's current CEO

In 1975, Dessau was mandated to build a new national highway in Zaire and three years later Dessau International was born^[6].

The 1980s saw Dessau’s international experience expand but also witnessed the company’s first tangible steps in the field of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. Since the early 1980s, Dessau has espoused a “green dream”, from restoring waterways in the greater Montreal area to more recent conservation plans that now play a key role in Quebec’s energy strategy.

The 1990s were marked by a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions.

While Dessau continues to take on an increasing number of major international projects, such as the East-West Highway in Algeria^[7], SIEPAC Central American electric grid interconnection project^[8] or the Guajimia Canal in the Dominican Republic, the firm’s leadership, spearheaded by Jean-Pierre Sauriol, maintains a high premium on retaining the company’s position as a key player in the Quebec engineering market.

Areas of operation

Engineering

• Buildings: building mechanics and electricity, foundation and structure, site security and protection, energy efficiency, energy management.

• Urban Development: design of municipal infrastructure (streets, sidewalks, curbs, underground conduits, parks, bicycle paths and walking trails, noise abatement embankments and structures, mass transit corridors and parking), hydrological and hydraulic studies, topographical surveys.

• Environment: environmental assessment and management, social and economic studies as well as water, air, soil and waste management programs and analyses.

• Energy: layout of hydroelectric power stations, lines, transmission and distribution substations (alternating and direct current), aerial and underground distribution systems, modernization and retrofitting of stations and substations, electric power and load management systems, energy production, design and rehabilitation of distribution networks.

• Telecommunications and Security: ground and wireless network infrastructure and transmission, switching, external networks, structured networks, telecommunications infrastructure, site preparation, network-based applications, network operations, telecommunications strategies, policies and regulations, data-voice networks on IP platforms, closed-circuit surveillance, development of safety procedures for technological infrastructure, control engineering, automation and process optimization, systems migration, production information processing.

• Transportation and Systems: traffic engineering, transport infrastructure engineering (roadways, railways, bridges and structures, airports, ports), roads and bridges asset management and maintenance programs, railway engineering and guided transport systems (subways, streetcars, light rail).

Geotechnical Engineering, Materials and Environment

As a member of the Dessau Group, LVM is one of Canada’s largest soil and materials engineering groups. LVM carries out reports on geotechnical and environmental matters and provides services in road management, materials engineering (concrete, aggregates, asphalt, weatherproofing), manufacturing supervision and non-destructive testing. The team also performs preventive maintenance management on buildings and civil engineering structures^[9].

Project Management and Construction

Through Verreault, its project management and construction subsidiary, Dessau offers project management services, from design to financing, construction and commissioning. The firm’s services include estimates, procurement and control (costs, scheduling, documentation and jobsites)^[10].

Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture

Plania is Dessau’s urban planning and landscape architecture subsidiary. Their services include regional and strategic planning, urban development plans, detailed planning, zoning by-laws, urban design, transportation planning, physical planning, commercial and downtown revitalization planning, real-estate development, renovation and restoration programs, municipal management planning, shoreline development, construction supervision and studies (transport, architectural integration and implementation, tourism and recreation, heritage sites, management of tourist facilities)^[11].

Operations

Through its subsidiaries, Dessau manages infrastructure as well as operates and maintains:

Water Systems

Dessau’s venture into water systems began with the construction of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, but evolved, through the acquisition of Simo, to include collection, filtration, conservation, distribution, treatment and recycling services over the years. Some of the firm’s major projects in this field include the MAO Drinking Water Treatment Plant in Algeria and the current upgrade of the City of Montreal’s drinking water plants.

Public and Adapted Transit

Founded in 1990, Société Gestrans Inc., a Dessau subsidiary, is a leading Quebec-based company entirely dedicated to this industry. Société Gestrans enables public transit organizations to manage urban and long-distance networks, adapted transit, school transportation or ticket administration^[12]. The company offers day-to-day as well as long-term services, in addition to specialized training sessions.

Tourism, Recreation and Leisure Facilities

Founded in 1996, Sogep (Société de gestion et d'équipements publics), a Dessau subsidiary, manages equipment and infrastructure in the recreation, tourism and leisure sectors, namely to municipalities. Sogep’s areas of activity include the management and supervision of parks, arenas, sports complexes, community centres, security and emergency services, equipment rentals and snack bars.

Major projects

Great Mosque of Algiers

2013: Great Mosque of Algiers – Algeria

2010: 1,200-km East-West Highway – Algeria^[13]

2010: Guajimia Canal Sewage Treatment – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic^[14]

2010: Montreal Metro Fixed Equipment and Systems Modernization – Montreal, Canada

SIEPAC through Costa Rica

2008: Trinidad Rapid Rail Project – Trinidad and Tobago^[15]

Montreal's Palais des Congrès Convention Centre

2008: SIEPAC Central American Electrical Interconnection System – San José, Costa Rica^[16]

2006: Redevelopment of the LeBreton Flats – Ottawa, Canada

2005: Construction and Expansion of Campanario Thermoelectric Power Plant – Chile

2004: Acadie Traffic Circle Reconstruction – Montreal, Canada

2002: Montreal Palais des Congrès Convention Centre – Montreal, Canada^[17]

2000: Rural Electrification Project Supervision – Peru

1990: Canadian Museum of Civilization – Gatineau, Canada

1975: James Bay Hydroelectric Project – Quebec, Canada

Offices

Dessau's University Street Office in downtown Montreal

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Dessau has over 60 offices throughout Eastern Canada, North Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean^[18]

Subsidiaries

The following table presents Dessau's subsidiaries, both in Canada and internationally:

Dessau Subsidiaries
Name	Field
Dessau Maghreb	Engineering (Algeria)
Dessau Ingentra[19]	Engineering (Chile)
LVM[20]	Geotechnical Engineering, Materials and Quality
Verreault[21]	Construction
Plania[22]	Urban Planning, Landscape Architecture and Transportation Planning
Simo	Management – Water and Wastewater Facilities
Sogep[23]	Recreation and Tourism
Société Gestrans[24]	Public and Adapted Transportation
Elytra[25]	IT Security
Géophase	Environment – Soil Rehabilitation
Dessau-Progest	Project Management, Engineering Consulting and Construction Management

References

1. ^ http://enr.construction.com/people/toplists/topIntlDesign/topIntlDesign_51-100.asp
2. ^ http://dessau.com/eng/redirect.cfm?path=corporate&sectionID=placesInt.cfm
3. ^ http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2010/02/c5948.html
4. ^ http://www.jamesbayroad.com/hydro/index.html
5. ^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004099
6. ^ http://www.dessau.com/eng/international/intlHome.cfm
7. ^ http://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/Algeria-Claims-Largest-Public-Works-Project/9328/
8. ^ http://www.eprsiepac.com/compensacion_siepac_transmision_costa_rica.htm
9. ^ http://www.lvmjegel.com/service.html#Geoenv
10. ^ http://www.verreault.ca/en/services.asp
11. ^ http://plania.com/
12. ^ http://www.gestrans.ca/accueil.html
13. ^ http://www.dessau.com/eng/transport/proj4estwest.cfm
14. ^ http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=180144&l=1
15. ^ http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/trinidad-rapid-rail-consortium-confirmed.html
16. ^ http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12253261_ITM
17. ^ http://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000149750&type=Print%20Archives
18. ^ http://www.dessau.com/eng/redirect.cfm?path=corporate&sectionID=placesInt.cfm.
19. ^ http://dessauingentra.com/
20. ^ http://www.lvmjegel.com/
21. ^ http://www.verreault.ca/fr/index.asp
22. ^ http://www.plania.com/
23. ^ http://www.sogep.ca/
24. ^ http://www.transidev.com/
25. ^ http://www.elytra.com/