On November 23, over 200 people attended the first edition of the Axents ceremony, a major initiative launched by the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Chamber of Commerce and Industry to showcase the region's entrepreneurs and businesses.

The evening was held at Chez Maurice in Saint-Lazare and hosted by Suroît-born actor and director Michel Maxime Legault. 

Based on the same criteria as the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec's (FCCQ) provincial competition, Les Mercuriades, the CCIVS's Les Axents competition aims to promote the region's businesses, but also serves as a stepping stone to the provincial competition.

"The evening was a great success. We achieved our objectives in terms of the number of companies that applied, the number of entrepreneurs who attended the evening, and also in terms of a stepping stone to the Mercuriades for the winning companies," said CCIVS General Manager Mathieu Miljours.

"With this gala, we at the CCIVS, would like to express our deep gratitude to the region's businesses, which play an essential role in our community. Their dedication to innovation, economic growth and job creation contributes significantly to the vitality of our business community. In recognizing these companies, we underscore the importance of their positive impact on the community, and thank them warmly for their ongoing commitment," said CCIVS President Serge Ouellet. 

Local companies respond to the invitation

"Nearly forty companies from the region submitted an application. This is proof that there is clearly an interest in a competition of this kind in the region," enthuses Mr. Miljours. 

"Since 2018, we haven't had a competition aimed at recognizing the excellence of our businesses. Our region is constantly growing, we have great businesses in the area. With an evening like the Axents, the Chamber of Commerce offers a showcase for talent and innovation," said Denis Potvin, the event's official presenter.

A jury made up of Nancy Quane, owner of Vaudreuil-Dorion's Cage Brasserie Sportive, Brigitte Beauchemin, General Director of Desjardins entreprise Montérégie-Ouest, Patrick Bousez, Mayor of Rivière-Beaudette and Prefect of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC, and André Gingras, President of Groupe Autoforce, had the task of analyzing all the entries and determining the winning companies. 

"The files were structured in a standardized format as determined by the CCIVS, and as the jury, we had the opportunity to receive the files a week in advance. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lot of information to read, and we were able to study them and form a picture of each of the candidates. Afterwards, we organized a deliberation period. We met for a few hours, and I have to admit that it gave rise to some very interesting discussions," explains Mr. Gingras.

Six prizes, in as many categories, were awarded on the evening of November 23.

"It's true that few companies took to the stage. We want to bring credibility to this competition. We're not going to achieve that by flooding the region with prizes. We want it to become a select club, so that companies have to work hard to achieve this ultimate goal and be able to boast of having an Axents trophy," emphasized the CCIVS General Manager during the evening.

Winning companies

- Training and workforce development category - Cégep de Valleyfield: Le Centre Notre-Dame-de-Fatima;

- Startup category - Espace Fluo: Altius physio;

- Successful Business Strategy Category - Investissements Québec: Ékinox;

- Sustainable Development Strategy Category - Comité 21: LA Fak;

- Employer of the Year - Alternative RH: Solpak;

- Company of the Year - Denis Potvin CPA: Altius physio.

"We really hope that the Les Axents competition will be around for a long time, and that it will become an annual event. It's of vital importance for a region like ours and its economic development," concluded Mathieu Miljours.