Photo: Gilbert Inc.
Since its formation more than three decades ago, Gilbert Inc.’s mission has remained clear:
“To constantly develop, manufacture and sell the best market-driven equipment in order to help businesses optimize their production.”
Founded by Sylvain Gilbert in Roberval, Que., this privately-owned company has remained a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of forestry equipment, sawmills, construction, crawler and trail maintenance systems since 1986.
From the beginning, innovation has been at the heart of the company’s philosophy and the driving force behind the launch of many products.
“We provide the most productive technology solutions that surpass industry standards,” said Alex Gravel, director of sales and marketing for Gilbert Inc.
“Behind our culture of innovation lies one objective – that of meeting the needs of customers and offering them the best equipment possible. To achieve this, we rely on a quality team working with highly technical equipment,” he said.
With a fabrication shop located in Roberval, Que., and one facility located in Vermont, a total of 125 employees work at both the Canada and U.S. locations. The company also recently established a parts depot in France to better support its European customers.
“Gilbert does not do anything like the others,” said Gravel. “We are different: different products, different technologies, different business philosophy and more. We are able to [do] this because we are constantly listening to the market and the people who make it up. Our identity is based on several values shared by our entire team – customer satisfaction, quality, productivity, innovation and commitment.”
Grizzly Multigrip pile driver
It was only five years ago that Gilbert introduced to the deep foundation industry its Gilbert Grizzly Multigrip pile driver, an excavator-mounted attachment designed to handle, drive and remove sheet piles, H-beams, steel pipes and timber piles.
“It is equipped with a patented side-clamping device making it the most versatile grip pile driver on the market,” said Gravel.
“With its innovative features, this attachment tool increases your excavator’s profitability, reduces your operating expenses and gives you the opportunity to work in deep foundations. The bottom line is better productivity and better control of timetables.”
Gilbert’s Grizzly Multigrip MG-60 and MG-90 vibratory pile drivers allow for working in tight areas, where height and width are an issue, and where conventional equipment is impossible.
“It, therefore, lowers the operating costs by only requiring one ground worker, the excavator and its operator,” said Gravel.
The MG-60, is suitable for a 20- to 30-ton class excavator and is the newer model with a driving force of 60 tons.
The MG-90 model delivers 90 tons of centrifugal force and is suitable for a 30- to 45-ton class excavator.
“This is the right model when projects call for heavier piles and when soil conditions offer more resistance,” Gravel said.
Gilbert exports and sells equipment to numerous countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Columbia, among others.
In April, Gravel returned from BAUMA, which is held in Munich, Germany. As the “World’s Leading Construction Machinery Trade Fair,” this event is one of most important gatherings for companies that deal with construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment.
“To continue the development of the European market, Gilbert was part of this important [event], the first time as an exhibitor. The opportunity to meet international visitors, potential distributors [and] contractors during this trade show was a big statement for the company. It is also a good opportunity to understand [the] different markets and do benchmarking. The main objective is to develop our dealer network and presence internationally,” said Gravel.
What’s next?
As for what the next three to five years hold for Gilbert, Gravel says the company is constantly working on introducing and improving innovative equipment to help optimize productivity.
“The company is now investing in increasing its production capacity, developing new products and our team will continue to develop our dealer network and market presence in several regions like Europe for the pile driver product line. We are continuing to increase our production capacity to answer the growing demand. We also just announced an investment of five million dollars in our factory in Roberval,” said Gravel. 
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