A significant blow has been dealt to the Centre-du-Québec region. Venmar, a leading manufacturer of fans and air exchangers and a true industrial flagship in the area, is permanently closing its Drummondville plant, leaving its 350 employees facing considerable uncertainty. “This is really not good news,” confided one Venmar worker on Sunday. “It’s tough for me, but even worse for those where both members of a household work there. I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.”
According to information confirmed by Le Journal, the company’s management intends to close the Drummondville facilities as part of a major restructuring plan orchestrated from the United States by its parent company in Wisconsin. Owned by Nortek International, a conglomerate located in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1995, Venmar was subsequently integrated into Broan-NuTone.
Information communicated to employees indicates the company has decided to repatriate all of its production activities to the United States and Mexico. “We are trying to get a clear picture from the company. But so far, management is being very tight-lipped,” lamented Drummondville Mayor Jean-François Houle. “We would like to do something to prevent such an outcome. But without communication from management, what can we do?”
Yesterday, Dominic Blanchette, President and CEO of Broan-NuTone-Venmar, refused to receive a representative from Le Journal when they visited his offices on Boulevard Lemire in Drummondville. An email request for an interview was also unanswered. “He won’t talk to you, we can’t talk,” a subordinate told us, inviting us instead to write to a spokesperson, mandated by the company in Minnesota.
According to information initially released by local media and confirmed by Le Journal, the company is expected to continue operations until July to complete certain orders, before proceeding with its complete closure in November. Economic uncertainty, a decline in the order book, the imposition of new tariffs, and rising transportation costs are among the reasons cited by the American company to justify its decision.
“Unfortunately, we have no more information than you do on this matter,” said Gerry Gagnon, General Manager of Drummondville Économique, to Le Journal. “But in the current context, it is indeed difficult to rule out the possibility that the new tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, since his return to the White House, may have played a role in this decision.”
Several Quebec companies, including the Paccar heavy truck plant in Sainte-Thérèse, have seen a large portion of their activities moved to the United States, resulting in hundreds of layoffs. Also yielding to pressure from Trump, automaker Stellantis (Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, etc.) decided to transfer production of the Jeep Compass from its Brampton, Ontario plant to Illinois.
In an email in English received from Minneapolis, a spokesperson confirmed that the company will terminate its manufacturing and warehousing activities at Venmar “by the end of 2026.” A small number of office employees, linked to sales, marketing, engineering, and customer service in French, may avoid layoffs, she added, without being able to quantify their number.
Key Dates in Venmar’s History:
- 1978 – Venmar Ventilation begins operations in Drummondville.
- 1995 – The founders sell the company to Nortek, an American conglomerate already owning Broan and NuTone.
- 2016 – Venmar is designated a center of excellence in research and development for several Broan-NuTone product categories.
- 2023 – The company becomes Broan-NuTone-Venmar.
- 2024 – Innergy Tech, a Drummondville air exchanger manufacturer sharing the same American shareholder as Venmar, is closed; 70 workers lose their jobs.
- 2026 – Announcement of the closure of manufacturing and warehousing activities in Drummondville. Up to 350 workers could be affected.
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