Utopie’s Quest to Redefine Ski Manufacturing
To get to Canada’s busiest ski factory, head east of Quebec City along the south shore of the St. Lawrence. After three hours, turn inland and drive through rolling forest and farmland to tiny St.-Narcisse-de-Rimouski. This unlikely location may soon be home to the world’s most advanced ski manufacturer.
“Utopie wants to leave its mark on the ski and snowboard industry,” says J.F. Bouchard, the general manager and founder of Utopie. “We think robotics will move the industry forward.”
At most ski factories, handfuls of humans run nearly finished skis through the sanding and polishing grinders, over and over, five days a week. But at Utopie MFG, this most labour-intensive step is performed by a four-armed robot—likely the first robot to be tasked with finishing a ski. And it’s just the beginning. Bouchard is planning for three more robots to come online by 2025.
It’s a long way from where he began. Bouchard started Utopie 20 years ago as a custom snowboard maker based in an old post office in nearby Rimouski. That evolved to making snowboards and skis for other companies. In 2010, Utopie outgrew the post office and moved to St-Narcis. They’ve continued to expand and innovate ever since.
In 2020, they embarked on a $7-million expansion plan that began with a tripling of the factory size, to 2,400 square metres, to make room for the robots. When fully operational, factory capacity will increase from today’s 12,000 pairs of skis annually up to 30,000. Staffing will increase from 34 to roughly 40 people.
“No one is going to lose their job to automation,” says Bouchard. “It will just make the jobs less boring.” And, by eliminating human error, the product will become more consistent.
The robots will also help Utopie serve its niche. Today the factory’s clients include 4FRNT, Renoun, J-Skis and a handful of small Quebec brands. Most are direct-to-consumer. Small brands need a responsive and nimble manufacturing partner, says Sam Kimmerle, the 4FRNT brand manager. “Working with a smaller manufacturer means we have more control over all the processes. That gives us a lot of flexibility. We can prototype skis quicker. It is huge for us.”
This year 4FNT is moving all its manufacturing to Utopie. It’s partly for the high-tech process, and partly for an approach that might be seen as more old-fashioned. “At other factories it is about making as many skis as they can, so they can make as much money as they can,” Kimmerle says. “Bouchard is passionate about what he’s doing. He cares more about making the product the best it can be.”
