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

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The 12 448 m²

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

specializes in producing molded parts made from

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

s, Site du Regroupement des industries des composites du Québec

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

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

and marine industries in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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 a snowmobile. Biography Born in Valcourt, Quebec, Joseph-Armand Bombard ...

created the division Roski Ltd. to supply composite 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 pla ...

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 personal

watercraft A watercraft or waterborne vessel is any vehicle designed for travel across or through water bodies, such as a boat, ship, hovercraft, submersible or submarine. Types Historically, watercraft have been divided into two main categories. *Raf ...

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 terminology ...

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

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

to make large-scale use of liquid

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

injection and high-pressure molding. In the 1970s, Roski acquired filament winding technology. In the same period, Roski also produced gas tanks for HDPE molded personal

, using

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

."Avis de nomination : Pierre Larivière"
'' La Presse'', Montreal, 6 November 1979. From 1970 to 1985, Roski capitalized on technological breakthroughs, leading to

expert An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field or area of study. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized ...

ise 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 or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

in its own right under the name Roski Composites, presided by Yves Carbonneau. While remaining a major supplier of

personal watercraft A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

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 Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

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 The Montreal Metro (, ) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure ...

by producing its car linings. In the same period, in order to pave the way for the summer

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

set for

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

), the division designed and provided the city with composite parts for the city's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

, Olympic Basin,

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard The (), abbreviated CSCR and often referred as ''Centre Claude-Robillard'', is a multi-purpose sport facility, located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. History The was built for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It ...

, and

Maurice Richard Arena Maurice Richard Arena () 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 includes a multi-media exhibiti ...

. 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 machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

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 or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

s, and parts for

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

s, buses 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 (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

sailing dinghy. 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 the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Profile

Roski's composite and

parts are manufactured using open and closed mold techniques.

External links

References