Ramea Barrier Walls

Francis Allard and Oliver Payette
Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, QC

The pitch

Francis Allard and Oliver Payette from Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, QC, pitched Ramea Barrier Walls in Season 14, Episode 7, asking the Dragons for $400K for 8% of the company.

Asked for$400K for 8%
Valuation$5Mimplied by the ask
OutcomeDealwith Jim Treliving, Michele Romanow and Manjit Minhas
Final deal$400K for 15%valued at $2.67M

Offers in the Den

Dragon	Offer	Result
Michele Romanow	Concerned about dependency on a specific supply chain, out	Out
Lane Merrifield	Not passionate about the business, out	Out
Manjit Minhas	Doesn't see a return on investment soon enough, out	Out
Arlene Dickinson	Concerned about time needed to scale to $25 million, out initially	Out
Jim Treliving and Vincenzo Guzzo	joint offer of $400,000 for 20% ($200,000 each)	Declined
Jim Treliving, Michele Romanow, and Manjit Minhas	joint offer of $400,000 for 15%	Accepted

Francis and Olivier, sons of farmers from Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, Quebec, asked for $400,000 for 8% of Ramea, a company that makes noise barriers from willow trees paired with a wool absorptive core, sold to municipalities, landscape architects, engineers, and real estate developers as an alternative to concrete, plastic, and metal barriers. The company had $3.5 million in sales last year with EBITDA of $450,000, was on track for $4.5 million in sales and $700,000 EBITDA this year, and had $35 million in pipeline projects in Quebec. The founders operate over 400 acres of a specially developed willow variety on a four-year cyclical harvest, and the funds requested were for marketing and expansion outside Quebec.

Michele Romanow, Lane Merrifield, and Manjit Minhas went out over supply chain dependency, lack of passion for the sector, and slow expected returns. Arlene Dickinson initially went out over the time needed to scale, but after Jim Treliving and Vincenzo Guzzo jointly offered $400,000 for 20% ($200,000 each), Arlene Dickinson, Michele Romanow, and Manjit Minhas countered with a joint $400,000 for 15% offer, which the founders accepted; Jim Treliving and Vincenzo Guzzo then withdrew from the bidding.

Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.