/21 QUESTIONS
Exclusive interview with
Mario Rouillier
questions
President at Groupe Rouillier
Mario Rouillier studied in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, earning a degree in Business Administration. His drilling career began more than 39 years ago when as a teenager, he started working in his father’s company Rouillier Drilling. Mario moved up the ranks as driller’s helper, driller, foreman, general manager and finally as owner and president. In 1994, Mario began considering buying the company from his father, Marcel. Armed with business administration skills and the support of his uncle Raymond, Mario purchased Rouillier Drilling and thus achieved his dream of taking over the family business and making it one of the biggest drilling contractors of Eastern Canada. Over the next years, Mario’s decision to acquire both Boréal Drilling and Azimut Drilling, Pro Drilling Guyane, Foramex, Nordique Drilling as well as drilling equipment manufacturers VersaDrill Canada and MBI Global substantially contributed to Groupe Rouillier becoming the largest private mining group in Canada. This family of companies offers a complete range of services and products. Mario is a Board Member of several organizations including MISA, an organization working to stimulate innovation in the Québec mining sector, and the Canadian Diamond Drilling Association (CDDA). He is a shareholder of the Research in Diamond Drilling (RIDD) organization and also of Youdin Rouillier Drilling, a Cree company, as well as Avataa Rouillier Drilling, an Inuit company. Since 2007, Mario has been a Chairman of the Board of Directors of Refuge Pageau, shelter and rehabilitation center for wild animals. 6
Grigor Topev: Tell us the story about your start in the drilling industry? Mario Rouillier: Our family business was drilling and I wanted to be a part of it. I started working summers as a driller’s helper when I was 15. At that time, drilling machinery wasn’t what it is today. The work was difficult, and techniques and work safety were far from being as developed as they are nowadays. GT: During your climb to success, you worked in almost every position at your father’s company - Rouillier Drilling. Which position left the strongest impression on you and taught you the most valuable lessons? MR: Management is without a doubt the most challenging, but also the most rewarding part of the work. Learning by working with my father was invaluable. He taught me the ropes and was there through every step and coached me on how to take care of our people. Having himself been a driller, he knew exactly what the work entailed and the effort it required. One day, as we were grocery shopping for our teams in the field, I remember him telling me that I need to get the best for them. Those big steaks were what they deserved after a long day of work. I never forgot that. Our philosophy and slogan are ‘We Care Deeply’ and this has been the spirit of our business since the start when my father founded Rouillier Drilling. Coring Magazine #18
