Roski Composites inc. is a company located in Roxton Falls,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The 134 000 ft²

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

specializes in producing molded parts made from

composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...

s, Site du Regroupement des industries des composites du Québec

/ref> mainly for the Land transport, ground transportation,

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

and marine industries in North America.

History

Origins

In 1963

Joseph-Armand Bombardier Joseph-Armand Bombardier (; April 16, 1907 – February 18, 1964) was a Canadian inventor and businessman who was the founder of Bombardier. His most famous invention was the snowmobile. Biography Born in Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombar ...

created the division Roski Ltd. to supply

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

parts for the

SKI-DOO Ski-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (originally Bombardier Inc. before the spin-off). The Ski-Doo personal snowmobile brand is so iconic, especially in Canada, that it was listed in 17th place ...

assembly line at Bombardier (now BRP), including hoods and related parts. Roski's name comes from the combination of Roxton and Ski-Doo, in reference to the town where its facilities are located, Roxton Falls, on one hand, and its initial purpose as a supplier of custom composite hulls for Bombardier's Ski-Doo's, on the other. In the early 1970s, Roski was tasked with producing and assembling the first generation of

Sea-Doo Sea-Doo is a Canadian brand of personal watercraft (PWC) and boats manufactured by Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP). All Sea-Doo models are driven by an impeller-driven waterjet. All Sea-Doo PWC models are currently produced at BRP's plants ...

personal

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

which had been developed by Bombardier's engineering department. In the same period, Roski gained experience of marine

by producing the full series of Bombardier

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

s.Nigel Gibson
"Bombardier looks beyond the slumping snowmobile"
'' The Gazette'', Montreal, 2 August 1974. In parallel with the expertise in large-volume manufacturing of

parts using contact molding technology, Roski diversified by being one of the first North American

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

to make large-scale use of liquid

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on n ...

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

and high-pressure molding. In the 1970s, Roski acquired

filament winding Filament winding is a fabrication technique mainly used for manufacturing open (cylinders) or closed end structures (pressure vessels or tanks). This process involves winding filaments under tension over a rotating mandrel. The mandrel rotates arou ...

technology. In the same period, Roski also produced gas tanks for

HDPE High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density ratio, ...

molded personal

, using

rotational molding Rotational molding (BrE: moulding) involves a heated mold which is filled with a charge or shot weight of material. It is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes), causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the ...

."Avis de nomination : Pierre Larivière"
'' La Presse'', Montreal, 6 November 1979. From 1970 to 1985, Roski capitalized on technological breakthroughs, leading to expertise in parts for the marine and ground transportation (truck, bus, subway and train) industries, as well as for recreation, construction and corrosion-resistance applications. In 1982 Normand Carpentier and Michel Lasalle acquired four Bombardier divisions, including Roski Ltd., and founded Camoplast inc. Under their leadership, Roski refocused operations on the production of personal

hulls and decks, thanks to the company's development of a highly efficient robot-based technology called RSM. With this development, Roski became a major supplier of such parts. On August 23, 2013, Camoplast's Composite division was acquired by four company managers Investissement Quebec Websit
"Sauvegarde d'une centaine d'emplois à Roxton Falls"
Press release, Montreal, 30 September 2013. and became a

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

in its own right under the name Roski Composites, presided by Yves Carbonneau. While remaining a major supplier of personal watercraft hulls and decks, Roski also renewed with the production of high-standard technical products for the

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

and

industries, as well as its line of proprietary products for the marine industry.

Highlights

In 1972, Roski Ltd. produced 225,000 personal watercraft hulls using open-mold processes. In the mid-1970s, the company helped design the Montreal Metro by producing its car linings. In the same period, in order to pave the way for the summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

set for

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

(

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

), the division designed and provided the city with

parts for the city's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

, Olympic Basin, Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, and

Maurice Richard Arena Maurice Richard Arena (french: Aréna Maurice-Richard) is a 4,750-seat multi-purpose arena at Olympic Park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built in 1962. It is named in honour of Maurice Richard. The rink was renovated in 1994, the arena in ...

. Roski roboticized its equipment in the 1990s. In 1996, the Roxton Falls plant produced 130,000 personal watercraft using RSM technology, which it had honed over the years. In 2007, Roski reached a milestone with its production of one million personal watercraft bodies. In 2015, Roski expanded its facilities with a view to diversifying and producing larger composite parts including in-ground pools,

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

parts, outdoor fixtures, tanks,

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s, and parts for recreational vehicles,

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and train cars. In January 2016, Roski publicly announced the creation of its ''Roski Marine'' division, as well as the market launch of a

called the Outsider, its first

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

sailing dinghy Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats by using five essential controls: * the sails * the foils (i.e. the daggerboard or centreboard and rudder and sometimes lifting foils as found on the Moth) * the trim (forward/rear angle o ...

. During the same year, Roski launched the RSK-I, an off-road and heavy duty trailer. Until this day, it's possible to find it in more than 30 point of purchase through

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Profile

Roski's composite and

parts are manufactured using open and closed mold techniques.

External links

References