Launch of Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative
Avantis Coopérative and Sollio Agriculture are pleased to announce the launch of the Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative joint venture. This partnership aims to aggregate all of Avantis Coopérative's agricultural activities into an intermediary-free business model to better support the prosperity of farming families in our region. The scope of the partnership is limited to Avantis Coopérative's agri-business division, with the Machinery and Retail divisions continuing their activities as usual.
Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative has combined annual sales of $300 million and employs a team of nearly 300 people in five regions across Québec and New Brunswick. Marco Nadeau, General Manager of the joint venture, who brings 29 years of experience in the agricultural sector and its cooperative network and sound knowledge of the realities in the region, will report to the Sollio & Avantis board of directors made up of representatives from both organizations. He will work in concert with the Chief Executive Officers of Avantis Coopérative and Sollio Agriculture, Gaétan Roger and Sébastien Léveillé. The three executives will ensure the sustainability of their sectors while remaining among the industry's leaders.
A response to the needs of farmers
“Our partnership with Sollio Agriculture is an important step in the transformation and expansion of our organization to continue creating value for farming families. It is part of the plan to modernize our network's business model undertaken five years ago by Sollio Cooperative Group and its affiliated cooperatives. After carrying out the orchestrated consolidation of our region's agricultural cooperatives in 2018, this new joint venture will establish a direct link between our wholesaler, Sollio Agriculture, and farmers. We bring the strength of Canada's largest agricultural network to each and every farmer,” said Gaétan Roger, Chief Executive Officer of Avantis Coopérative.
“Sollio Agriculture's role is to provide the tools, advice, knowledge and solutions to ease farmers' day-to-day operations and ensure their growth. The creation of this partnership will enable us to play our role to the fullest, because we will be closer to farmers thanks to the field expertise of the Avantis team. Together, we can ensure that our service offering remains the right fit for current and future farm business owners,” said Sébastien Léveillé, Chief Executive Officer of Sollio Agriculture.
“Our new business model, with no intermediaries, will allow our network to adjust to the consolidation in the market and the concerns of our members, while holding firm to our cooperative values. Our role is to stay agile and respond to the profitability concerns of farmers who want quality inputs at a competitive price. In a more and more demanding environment, farmers face the daily challenge of generating better margins for their businesses, regardless of the type of production or size of the farm,” said Frédéric Martineau, 1st Vice President of Avantis Coopérative, Chairman of Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative and co-owner of Ferme Champagnes & Frères Inc.
Watch this video to better understand the scope and advantages of this partnership.
About Avantis Coopérative
With consolidated sales of $486 million, Avantis Coopérative relies on the strength of 2,550 farmer members and 12,000 entrepreneur and consumer members. Members and customers count on the expertise of 1,100 employees throughout the Chaudière-Appalaches, Capitale-Nationale, Mauricie, Laurentides, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Côte-Nord regions and in New Brunswick. Highly diversified and operating more than 110 places of business under the Sollio Agriculture, BMR, New Holland, Wacker Neuson, Sonic and Supersoir banners, Avantis Coopérative is the largest cooperative member of the Sollio Group Cooperative network. For more information, visit www.avantis.coop.
About Sollio Agriculture
Sollio Agriculture, the Agri-business Division of Sollio Cooperative Group, is a Canadian leader in the agriculture industry. It specializes in the merchandising of farm inputs and value-added agronomic services and benefits from a synergy between three sectors: Livestock Production, Crop Production and Grain. Present in almost every part of Canada, it has more than 1,100 employees and made $2.577 billion in sales in 2019, in Canada and abroad.
Photo (from left to right): Marco Nadeau, General Manager of Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative and Frédéric Martineau, Chairman of Sollio & Avantis Agriculture coopérative. The general management of the joint venture will report to the board of directors of Sollio & Avantis and will work in concert with the Chief Executive Officers of Avantis Coopérative and Sollio Agriculture.
Information:
Céline Boisvert
Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Avantis Coopérative
Office: 418-856-3807
Cell: 418-863-2681