Bad news from the world of recreational vehicles. To the surprise of industry stakeholders and its creditors, Quebec mini-trailer manufacturer Hélio filed for bankruptcy in recent weeks.
Founded in 2014 by Jean-Roch Lacroix, Jérémy Leblanc and Marco Leblanc, Hélio stood out for producing mini pendants in the shape of a water drop. Around ten employees lost their jobs in the company based in Lavaltrie.
According to our information, one of the company’s shareholders, Jean-Roch Lacroix, bought the majority of the shares from his partners Jérémy and Marco Leblanc last summer. However, after this transaction, we experienced a perfect storm. Hélio ran into financial problems, while Mr. Lacroix struggled with significant health problems.
Given this situation, the company had no choice but to protect itself from its creditors. A month later, Hélio was officially declared bankrupt.
Contacted by Le Journal, Marco Leblanc did not want to comment on the sale of his shares to Jean-Roch Lacroix or the rest of the events. Like Leblanc, Lacroix was unable to answer our questions.
Jean-Roch Lacroix (right) bought the shares of Jérémy Leblanc (center) and Marco Leblanc (left) in the company Hélio last summer. From that moment on, the manufacturer’s financial situation deteriorated. Chantal Poirier / JdeM
Indicators that are not misleading
Official documents mention that Hélio owes an amount of more than $2 million to around sixty creditors. The largest debt is a $1.5 million mortgage to the Caisse Desjardins de Jonquière.
We interviewed some of the believers on this list. Several managers were surprised when they received a bankruptcy notice from Hélio. The RV company had good relationships with its suppliers and continued to meet its obligations until the end of July.
However, certain indicators were not wrong. For example, SME representatives were conspicuous by their absence during a major exhibition in Indiana, in September. However, they had reserved their place in the showroom, where all the big players in the RV industry were present.
“It’s been a few weeks since we last heard from them,” explained Jean-François Caron, sales manager at Horizon Lussier. We still have about ten of their followers on our farm.”
Additionally, Hélio is in the process of selling more than $1.5 million in inventory on trustee Lemieux Nolet’s website. There are several new mini trailers, equipment and materials used in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles.
Around twenty distributors
Hélio’s products were distributed in more than twenty points of sale in Quebec, Canada, but also in the United States.
The Quebec company had dealers in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, but also in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio and several other American states.
Hélio targeted owners of small SUVs, compact cars and electric cars that do not have enough towing capacity for conventional trailers.
Originally posted 2023-11-12 05:54:23.