In 1972 Georges and Gisèle Brouillette recognized an opportunity to start a welding business in Sudbury. With two young children, and another on the way, they took a leap of faith to launch City Welding from the garage of their home. Georges borrowed $2,500 from a neighbour and then quit his job to focus on building the business. Their fortitude paid off. In June 2022, City Welding celebrated its 50th year in business.
Their mission was, and still is, to provide exceptional service to their customers. Their strength is their team of welding, fabrication, and customer-service personnel. Their goal is, “To give every customer more, not less.”
Although the company’s primary market has been Sudbury, they also have customers in Timmins, North Bay, and more recently, in the northwest of the province – Dubreuilville (north of Wawa).
The company is presently run by their son, Robert Brouillette, who – despite his training as a professional lawyer – made the decision to continue the leadership of the family business as its President and CEO.
MineConnect asked which of their projects the company has been especially proud of. Brouillette replied, “As everyone in the mining supply and services sector knows, there is a growing, critical shortage of qualified tradespeople in our industry.” Since 2006, they’ve been involved in international recruitment and sponsorship of such individuals. “Currently the staff at City Welding is represented by eight different nationalities. 40% of current team members are international recruits. We have a diverse team and culture. We’re very proud of this accomplishment and the positive results it’s yielded.”
City Welding is serious about promoting the trades as a career opportunity for youth. When asked about how they choose to give back to the community, Brouillette explained that City Welding currently supports bursaries for students studying trades at both Collège Boréal and Cambrian College. Brouillette has also been personally involved in program-advisory committees at both institutions and has also been a Board member of Ontario Young Entrepreneurs and Professionals for the past 10 years. They also support the Sudbury Charities Foundation, several charities focused on cancer patients, as well as organizations that focus on youth including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Sudbury and the NEO Kids Foundation.
With respect to the future of City Welding, Brouillette says, “With the growth of clean power, we believe that the future is bright for northern Ontario. We’re confident that we’ll continue to be a solid contributor to the mining-supply chain in a variety of ways – either directly through our fabrication work, or via collaboration with other northern Ontario OEM mining suppliers.”
When asked about how being a MineConnect member benefits his business, Robert replied that “MineConnect membership is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other industry leaders. It’s a well-respected organization that’s recognized globally”.
MineConnect congratulates the Brouillette family for providing 50 years of specialized services and products to the northern Ontario mining community. We are so proud to have City Welding Sudbury as a corporate member.
