Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde is using their Merlo to restore history

For Alexis Robichaud, restoring churches and religious landmarks is a part of his family’s DNA.

Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde Inc. is based out of Quebec City and was founded in 2010, but masonry has been a family business for decades. While they will work on any project, the family began specifically specializing in church restorations in 1976.

“There are lots of great family values that we make a part of our business,” said Alexis. “There’s a great sense of belonging between everyone who works with us.”

Alexis, along with his cousin David Robichaud and Patrick Berthiaume, have been using a Merlo Roto 40.26 MCSS as a vital part of their masonry business. While they take on many other projects, they’ve continued to carve a niche out for themselves when it comes to working on churches.

“The actual masonry methods haven’t changed too much since my grandfather’s time,” said Alexis. “The projects we’re working on last a long time, and my kids will be able to see them and say ‘My dad did that.’ That’s the beauty of masonry, it’s longlasting.”

Some of Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde’s projects include restoring the Église de la Nativité de Beauport, the Grand Marché de Québec, the Centre d’éducation des adultes de Bellechasse and the Bibliothèque Claire-Martin.

With their Roto 40.26, the Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde Inc. team can focus on their project and trust their telehandler to do its job. Buying the machine just made sense for the business, with its reach, four independent stabilizers and ability to be controlled directly from the basket. They’ve owned their Merlo for over two years now.

“We had rented Rotos for a while before buying,” said Alexis. “We decided it made more sense to buy the machine because of its versatility, we could use it as a regular telehandler, like a crane, anything. For the type of work that we do, it’s the ideal machine.”

Alexis has worked in masonry since 2006, and David since 2004, so their expertise has been invaluable to restoring churches around Quebec. Over the past decade, they’ve grown their business to 16 employees.

When it comes to restoring churches, the devil is in the details, and Robichaud and the rest of the Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde Inc. team make sure that they get every single one right. Depending on the project, Robichaud and Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde Inc. will spend anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months restoring a church, making sure each detail is perfect. That’s why they need a machine that is going to be steady and efficient.

And if Alexis’ grandfather could see how efficiently his grandsons can work with the help of the Roto?

“He would be impressed,” said Alexis. “He’d be more upset that he didn’t have this type of machine available when he was working.”

To see more of Maçonnerie Nouveau-Monde Inc.’s work, check out their website and Instagram!

To learn more about Merlo’s range of Roto models, click here!