François Miville-Deschênes acquires Langelier & Fils (founded in 1936) which became Deschênes & Fils Ltée, a plumbing and heating wholesaler located at 1203 Notre-Dame East in Montréal.
Our History
Passion... over the years
1940
1951 Pierre Deschênes (son of François) joins the team.
1952 Gilles Deschênes (son of François) joins the team.
1952 The enterprise moves to 5685 d'Iberville.
1954 Jacques Deschênes (son of François) joins the team.
1969 The enterprise moves to 8335 St-Michel Blvd. in East-End Montréal.
1959
François' three sons acquire their father's shares.
1973
Jacques acquires his brothers' shares at the same price offered by a potential buyer. He then becomes President General Manager and invites Deschênes & Fils' two main managers to join the shareholding. They will retire in 1982 and 1992 and their shares will be bought by Les Entreprises Mirca Inc.
1976 Creation of Les Entreprises Mirca Inc., Jacques Deschênes' family enterprise.
1977 Jacques Deschênes transfers his participating shares to Les Entreprises Mirca Inc.
1980 Acquisition of 100 % of L.N. & J.E. Noiseux Limitée's shares, a century-old plumbing and heating wholesaler located in Montréal.
1984 Acquisition of an important part of Loubec, a plumbing and heating wholesaler in the Québec City region.
1987 Acquisition of Industries C.F.H. Ltée, a fire protection distribution company.
1987 Acquisition of Boone Plumbing & Heating Supply Inc. in Ottawa and of its division Des Rosiers Distributeurs in Hull (plumbing, heating, air conditioning and ventilation wholesale
1988 Creation of Deschênes Group Inc. which will become the parent company.
1989 Acquisition in Québec City of three divisions of Groupe Lacroix: plumbing and heating, electrical and industrial supplies. Deschênes Group Inc.'s presence is henceforth reinforced in Eastern Québec through the addition of outlets in Québec City, Lévis, Rimouski and Saint-Georges de Beauce.
1988
Creation of Deschênes Group Inc. which will become the parent company.
1990 Purchase of Rocamora Bros. Canada Inc.'s assets, a plumbing and heating distributor-wholesaler located in Toronto.
1991 Acquisition of Triangle Plumbing and Heating Supply Inc. with its six branches in the Northern and Eastern part of the Greater Toronto area, a plumbing, heating and Waterworks distributor-wholesaler.
1991 Deschênes & Fils becomes the sole owner of Loubec's shares.
1992 Rocamora and Triangle are merged and become Desco Plumbing and Heating Supply Inc. in 1993 and then moves to a newly acquired and renovated building.
1993 Merger of Lacroix and Loubec in Québec City. They will carry on their activities under the name Deschênes & Fils Ltée, Québec City division.
1994 Acquisition of major interests in Doraco Inc. and full acquisition in April 1996.
1996 Acquisition of significant interests in Almacorp Inc. which includes nine branches operating under the name Airco and QuéMar (Ottawa, Québec City and Montréal), a major distributor of air conditioning and refrigeration parts and equipment.
1997 Opening in Alberta (by Deschênes Group Inc., Andrew Sheret Limited and Mr. Wayne Walker) of JBW Pipe & Supply Ltd., a plumbing and heating distributor in Edmonton.
1998 Deschênes Group Inc. acquires all of Réal Huot Inc.'s shares issued on the market; RHI is an important Québec City Waterworks and sewer systems distributor with three business locations.
2000 The parent company, Deschênes Group Inc., who shared its living accommodations with Deschênes & Fils, Montréal division, moves to a new location at 5100 Sherbrooke Street East in Montréal, in order to allow the two companies to occupy larger quarters.
2000
Jacques Deschênes hands over the torch to his oldest son, Martin, who is appointed Deschênes Group Inc.'s President and Chief Operating Officer. Jacques maintains the responsibilities of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
2003 The business unit Almacorp Inc. acquires tangible assets from Eugènes Binette Enr., enterprise recognized as a true institution specializing in the sale of heating controls and related equipment.
2004 The Board of Directors of Deschênes Group Inc. names Martin Deschênes Chief Executive Officer.This responsibility is in addition to his present duties as President. Jacques Deschênes retains the function of Chairman of the Board.
2005 Acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of Bardon Supplies Ltd. which comprises 12 outlets and 4 showrooms in Ontario, a plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributor-wholesaler.
2007 The parent company, Deschênes Group Inc., moves to a new location at 3901 Jarry Street East in Montréal.
2009 Mr. John LeBoutillier is appointed Chairman of the Board of Groupe Deschênes Inc. Mr. Jacques Deschênes remains as Honorary Chairman of the Board.
2010 Deschenes Group Inc. completes the acquisition of the assets of Mueller Flow Control.
2011 Almacorp Inc. (Airco, QuéMar and DenBec) begins operating under the name Descair Inc.
2011 Mueller Flow Control is renamed Flocor Inc.
2011 Deschênes & Fils Ltée – Montréal acquires Les Détaillants Proulx & Fils Ltée, a retailer operating the Plomberium showroom in Mascouche.
2011 Desco Plumbing and Heating Supply Inc. acquires Ridler Heating and Cooling Supply Co., an Ontario-based HVAC distributor with outlets in Rexdale and Guelph, which become Desco branches.
2012 Desco Plumbing and Heating Supply Inc. acquires Western Plumbing & Industrial Supplies, an Ontario-based plumbing distributor, with locations in London and Stratford, which become Desco branches.
2013 Deschênes & Fils Ltée – Montréal acquires Baliscus, a retailer operating a showroom in the St-Jérôme area.
2013 Descair Inc. acquires Gelair, a Montreal-based distributor specialized in HVAC equipment.
2013 Deschênes & Fils Ltée – (Montreal & Quebec) acquire the Maburco Group, a Quebec-based plumbimg and heating distributor. This acquisition adds 7 new locations to the company's network in the province of Quebec. These locations become branches of Deschênes & Fils Ltée.
2016 Groupe Deschênes Inc., acquires Ideal Supply Company Limited, un distributeur grossiste implanté dans le sud-ouest de l’Ontario et œuvrant dans les secteurs de l’électricité, l’automatisation industrielle et les pièces automobiles. Cette acquisition ajoute 30 nouvelles succursales au réseau de l’entreprise dans la province de l’Ontario.
2017
2017 Martin Deschênes hands over the torch to his younger brother, François, who is appointed Deschênes Group Inc.'s President and Chief Executive Officer. Martin is appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Board.
2018
2018 Deschênes Group Inc acquires Corix Water product (CWP) and Corix Control Solutions (CCS). CWP distributes products for waterworks, sewer and irrigation systems with locations in Canada and the United States. CCS provides measurement and control equipment to the oil, gas, municipal and industrial market sectors in Western Canada.
2019
2019 Corix Water product and Corix Control Solutions are rebranded as Iconix Water Products and Centrix Control Solutions, both independent brands in their respective markets. Along with Iconix Water Products USA, these 3 companies become GDI’s 11th, 12th and 13th business units.
2020 Deschênes Group Inc acquires Powrmatic of Canada, a supplier to the HVAC, Electrical and Hearth (Chimneys and Fireplaces) industries.
2021 Deschênes Group Inc acquires Daltco, Eastern Ontario’s largest independent electrical distributor. Daltco becomes GDI’s 14th business unit.
2021 Deschênes Group Inc acquires Marcel Baril, distributor of hardware, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, construction and industrial materials, HDPE, sewer and waterworks. Officially becoming GDI’s 15th business unit, the company also represents to introduction of GDI to the mining industry.
2021 Deschênes Group Inc acquires PMF, an independent wholesaler of luxury brand plumbing products. The company serves the professional trade and retail markets in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. PMF locations have since become business units of both Desco Plumbing and Heating, and of Deschênes et Fils-Montreal.
