Always more orders at Wiptec
Since March, Wiptec has experienced intense moments and the overheating is not running out of steam.
Share November 12, 2020 3:00 a.m. Updated at 8:00 a.m. Share Always more orders at Wiptec
Claude Plante La Tribune The team of the company Wiptec in Sherbrooke has been experiencing real excitement for months and more as the famous Black Friday approaches.
Since March, as consumers increasingly embrace e-commerce, the order picking business has been going through some intense times and the overheating is not running out of steam.
“We think we will reach 550,000 to 600,000 orders on the occasion of Black Friday, last year there was talk of a significant increase and we had reached 100,000 orders”, says Martin Ball, president of the company. Sherbrooke.
“We're also noticing that people have started shopping for the holiday season early to make sure they avoid delivery delays. We believe that this year's peak for online shopping is going to be five to six times as intense as last year. “
Wiptec constantly has to hire people. We would need 50 more people in the ranks of the company which already hires 350 people. “It's a constant challenge,” adds Ball.
“As we are going to enter the red zone, the students are going back to their parents. There are still people on government programs, ”analyzes the businessman.
“We have to work seven days a week, two shifts, 360 days a year! Orders for stores have gone down, but we have to meet a very high demand for online orders. It is made that certain products are difficult to have. The parking lot is so crowded. There are 53-foot trucks! “
Martin Ball's attention is also focused on the Longueuil side where an imposing construction site is underway. Construction has begun on the new Wiptec facility in the Saint-Hubert sector of the South Shore of Montreal.
Martin Ball, President of Wiptec Photo provided
Phase one of the site brings out of the ground a 79,000 square meter (850,000 square feet) building, not far from the airport. The order preparation activities should begin next June, says Martin Ball.
“To give an idea, in Sherbrooke, we have 600,000 square feet,” he summarizes.
“The Longueuil project will not reduce activities in our Sherbrooke facilities. Electronic commerce is here for good… ”
Remember that the project aims to build a complex of 157,935 square meters (1.7 million square feet). Up to 1,000 people could work in the new facilities on John-Molson Street. Sherbrooke had been considered for this project, but Longueuil won it.
Wiptec also has in its boxes an 1858 square meter (20,000 square foot) expansion project of a building adjacent to its industrial park control center and visible from Highway 410 in Sherbrooke. Work will begin in March, predicts Mr. Ball.
This is without counting another major project that the company is pursuing. This time, a building of 47,160 square meters (400,000 square feet) will have to be constructed. Once again, Sherbrooke will be competing with the rest of Quebec to host it.
“It is too early to give details,” he said.
“It's something new, which is not happening yet. With this project, we will be pioneers in the preparation of orders. “
