Getting to Know Your Customer Service Representative: Jean-Guy Richer

Jean-Guy Richer began his adult journey in northern Quebec. Thirty-five years ago he was training Alaskan malamute sled dogs and producing and marketing homemade goat’s milk, yogurt and cheese. The goat milk products were especially appreciated by kids allergic to cow’s milk (imagine having your bowl of cereal without milk!). After enjoying this rural lifestyle for about 10 years the family moved closer to Montreal and Jean-Guy began working as a carpenter for a company building custom kitchen cabinets. When that company closed in 1987 Jean-Guy began his career in the shipping department at Besser in Montreal, then known as Proneq. Almost immediately concrete began getting into his blood. He found the concrete products industry intriguing and wanted to make more of a difference. He enrolled in evening classes and completed his high school education, 1st and 2nd accounting degrees and continued learning during a year-long night course on how to run a small business. Upon completion of the course he accepted a promotion to buyer before being named sales coordinator in 1994. Today Jean-Guy leads a talented group of engineers, customer service staff and craftsmen in the manufacturing area at our mold production facility in Montreal. His passion for continuous improvement is contagious. “Our goal is to produce first class molds for Besser customers so they can produce distinctive concrete products.” shared Jean-Guy. He’s excited by the opportunities Besser has for producing an ever growing number of molds for big board machines. He’s confident in the abilities and ingenuity of the staff in Montreal and is looking forward to the challenges the future poses as block, paver and hardscape designs evolve.  “It’s fun. We’re continually finding ways to improve production and are satisfying a growing number of producers from around the globe with our delivery and quality,” related Jean Guy. One of his favorite parts of the day is spent on the shop floor visiting with the artisans; an artisan is the term Jean- Guy uses to refer to the staff because they create one or a few parts at a time. He’s impressed by their skills, the care that goes into each piece and their focus on exploring ways to reduce cost, speed up production and deliver a higher quality product. Jean-Guy and his wife Nathalie raised two children. Their son, Jean-Philippe, is Vice President at Albi Mazda and daughter Marjolaine, is a nurse at St-Eustache Hospital. In his spare time Jean-Guy can be found on his computer, watching movies or walking or sledding with his dogs depending upon the season. He can be reached at jricher@besser.com or +1.450.966.3006