What one word best describes Denis Langevin? Instinct! He has a nose for business. He knows how to take advantage of opportunities that come his way. In short, that describes both him personally and his business, Groupe DL Solutions informatiques, which is firmly rooted in Maniwaki.
Back in the 1980s after studying to become an analyst-programmer at a college in Gatineau for three years, Denis could have followed in the footsteps of many of his classmates and landed a job in the federal public service. However, his wish was to return to his region. After completing a software design internship in a hospital, he acquired the skills of the trade when he worked at Ameublements Branchaud and then for the CIP plant in Maniwaki. When the latter restructured its IT department, the time had come to establish Service informatique DL in his own backyard.
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Success that is based on customer service
“In spite of the competition out there and with the emergence of IT in small- and medium-sized businesses and public sector agencies, I quickly figured out that there were IT requirements to be met in the Gatineau Valley. In 1988, I started my company in my basement with the support of my father and wife. I got off to a very fast start, and six months later, I found office space on rue Principale.”
Success was based on customer service. Over the years, Service Informatique DL has expanded and established firm partnerships with the major IT manufacturers. “Every expansion was planned and built on trust. In 1996, with the collaboration of my brother Marc, the Gatineau office opened. Then in 2004, the Mont-Laurier office opened its doors and was headed by Robert Carle, who had already been with us for 10 years at that point.”
EVERY EXPANSION WAS PLANNED AND BUILT ON TRUST
Branches in several cities
After positioning itself advantageously in the IT sector in the Outaouais and in the Upper Laurentians, Group DL established back in 2010 its Technical Assistance Centre, which provides an online IT resource, who is available almost instantaneously. The firm gained recognition from the Ministry of Health as an Authorized Service Centre (ASC).
Groupe DL subsequently came to Val d’Or in 2015, Mont-Tremblant in 2016, Montreal and Quebec City in 2017 and in 2021, the firm relocated its Montreal office to Laval and opened an office in Ottawa.
SOME NEEDS HAD TO BE FILLED
Head office is still in Maniwaki
“I’m always proud to say that I come from Maniwaki and that the head office is located there. It does generate some strange conversations when you have to tell someone where Maniwaki is located; however, I never pass up an opportunity to explain how magnificent my region is. I often put on my tourist guide hat and invite manufacturers’ representatives to go fishing with me or go for a ride in a snowmobile in the Valley! During the pandemic, we had a chance to really appreciate the benefits of our region. We had more space during our confinement, and teleworking there is far more interesting!” said Langevin.
The business now has around sixty employees. Since the business opened, Groupe DL has continued to keep pace with technological change. “You have to adapt very quickly to change. With the improvement of Internet connections, the trend will be more toward selling cloud computing more so than hardware. Forced teleworking probably changed many business models in companies, ours included, but it has allowed us to make several additions to the services we offer.
Going forward, Denis Langevin will abide by the same philosophy that brought him success, in other words, spotting good opportunities to pursue his expansion.
“THE BUSINESS NOW HAS AROUND SIXTY EMPLOYEES”
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