Ateliers Jacob - Tendances Concept acquires Cuisirama: A North American leader in kitchen cabinetry and interior furnishings is born during the CoVID-19 pandemic

- A big breath of oxygen in the manufacturing sector

MONTREAL, July 2, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - In a bid to expand and to accelerate its production and sales activities notably in the United States, the Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept group of Montreal, Longueuil, St-Jérôme and Calgary, announces the acquisition Cuisirama, a renowned manufacturer of modular kitchens and custom cabinets. Based in L'Assomption Québec, Cuisirama has been involved in the industry since 1976. (For competitive reasons and matters of confidentiality, the amount of the transaction shall not be disclosed.)

Simon Bouchard, President and CEO of the Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept group, says the integration of the Cuisirama distribution network will significantly contribute to expanding the group's sizeable customer base outside Québec. He hopes that this acquisition will kick-start a new breath in Quebec's manufacturing sector, which has been seriously undermined since the start of this pandemic.

"This transaction secures the position of the Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept group as a major player in its sector in Québec and it will contribute to a turnover that is expected to exceed an annual business volume which should oscillate between 30 and 40 million dollars in 2020" says CEO Simon Bouchard. He notes that the kitchen cabinet industry is the 7^th largest employer in the province and that the manufacturing sector as a whole in Québec is responsible for some 1.3 billion dollars in economic activity per annum.

All former Cuisirama employees retain their jobs within the Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept group. In light of the accelerated growth that the group is expecting to see in the coming years, the former owner of Cuisirama has pledged to ensure a smooth and orderly transition, based on the values that have seen his company grow and innovate over more than 40 years.

"Our plants were running at full tilt before the economy shuts down, and the added capacity will enable us to meet the demands of a growing and quality-hungry US market" says CEO Bouchard who looks to the future and growth with optimism in a context of strengthening national economies in both Quebec, Canada and the United States.

"Diversification, growth, increased competitiveness and a common design and manufacturing language, are values that are shared by our team of employees, the number of which will exceed 200 once the integration is completed."

Cuisirama manufacturing processes have already been integrated into the Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept group system. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts; design and quality are unequalled in the industry. Between 2009 and 2016, exports of kitchen cabinets and household and institutional furnishings to the United doubled to reach some 674 million dollars.

Housing starts have increased considerably in recent years in the US and a robust economy is stimulating the consumption of durable goods. "Durable goods make a home and a growing number of North Americans find themselves coming home to products made by Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept" says CEO Bouchard. "Watch us grow".

SOURCE Ateliers Jacob ? Tendances Concept