“Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.”I believe this is exactly what Remorquage 117 Team is doing!“
Patricia Desmarais
Harold and I hit the road up to Mont-Laurier and killed two birds with one stone. Our mission: deliver a brand new 40TB-28 to Remorquage 117 and meet the new owner, Patricia Desmarais.
The one who was previously Frédéric Chartrand’s trustworthy assistant is now taking over. But wait, she is not alone! Accompanied by her faithful accomplice, Roxy, she came to meet us. I took the opportunity to ask her some questions.
Expertise, challenges and issues
Remorquage 117 is an important player in the towing industry of the Upper Laurentians, a rural area some 200km North of Montreal, QC. According to the new owner, the strengths of the company lie in its diversified equipment, the many years of expertise it sums and the especially tightly knit team!
Obviously, the new position brings a few challenges. She explains how the work environment is completely different in their remote rural area compared to urban or suburban areas. For example, we often drive on forest roads, she said This means long distances to cover, hazardous road conditions, sometimes blocked roads, and a need for a deep knowledge of the area that GPS can’t provide. To quote her: “You know, when the client calls you and says: ‘Oops, I broke down nearby Lac aux Bouleaux. Take this sideroad, at the 3rd fork, turn left, and then there is a big tree and an entrance…” Wow, I am completely lost, really not the same language as my GPS! Of course Patricia, she has an edge because she is native to the area.
When I ask how peaople react to the fact that she is a woman in a men’s world, she laughs and says: It is not common, it surprises people, but I like it and we are in 2022!
This is where the strengh of the team comes into play; Patricia humbly shares thet the guys are always ready to help her and that it is reassuring! On a daily basis, the business is bustling. Team Remorquage 117 is keeping busy, for sure.
Team and equipment, a guarantee of success
The important thing is to have equipment that is well adapted to our needs, at least that’s what Dominic, the driver, tells me. He will be using the 40TB. He explains how the improvements on this industrial car carrier will help him in his day-to-day challenges. For example, the rubrails tie downs on the side, the composite headboard, the accessibility of the lights. One thing is for sure, he can’t wait to sit behind the wheel and hit the road with his new toy.
The heroic aspect of recovery/towing industry
Constantly challenged by Mother Nature, the road, tiredness and so on, let’s just say that you can’t improvise yourself as a tow operator for one day. What touches me most is the human aspect. Patricia explains that above all, their job is to go to the rescue of people and that there is nothing like the smile of a satisfied customer. Here is a quote of how they saved a man’s vacation! Good luck to Patricia and her team!