The Bionest Center will change its name

May 1, 2013

After lending the name of his company to the new Shawinigan arena for the past 4 years, Mr Gilles Champagne is now ready to invest towards an increased awareness level of the Bionest name among its targeted clientele.

One door thus closes, letting new ones open up. By broadening its distribution, Bionest will increase its notoriety and solidify its position within the wastewater treatment industry.

The Bionest Center will change its name

Le Nouvelliste / May 1, 2013 / Guy Veillette

(Shawinigan) Totally integrated as a household name in the region for the past four years, the Bionest Center will see its designation changed in the coming months. Mr Gilles Champagne, president of the company specializing in wastewater treatment systems, confirmed yesterday he would not exercise his option to renew his sponsorship.

Further to animated talks in March 2009, the businessman agreed to invest $210,000 for the name Bionest to appear on the new arena building.

A $10,000 instalment was to cover the ongoing season. It was to be followed by a $50,000 yearly payment, up until Spring 2013. This amount was split between the City and the Cataractes hockey organization; they received respectively $30,000 and $20,000.

Since the beginning of the year, Mr Champagne hinted he was rethinking the renewal of this sponsorship. The initial agreement stated that Bionest was to confirm its intention to pursue with the partnership 45 days prior to the end of the agreement, June 1st. As of April 17, the City still had not received such confirmation and the decision was officially announced yesterday morning.

“We will not renew”, said the Bionest president. “I now wish to get involved within the region, on a community level. The yearly cost of this sponsorship is $50,000. This reduces the possibility for me to give a $1,000 or a $500 to other organizations or activities.

“We also had to evaluate if this sponsorship is profitable for us”, added Mr Champagne. “We’ve come to realize that people didn’t really know what Bionest meant. We’ve even changed our logo to now read Wastewater treatment solutions”.

Mr Champagne considers that with the same budget, he will be able to make several happy people in the upcoming years. He was however somewhat questioning the positive impact of affiliating his company’s name with an arena.

“It doesn’t have any impact on our customers” says Mr Champagne. “Our products are not sold at retail. Investing $2,000 in an organization around a lake where the Bionest name will be broadcast is more significant for us”.

The businessman doesn’t regret his 2009 decision, but hints it was time for him to move on.

“I can honestly say that I’ve brought my contribution” he added. “But people were indeed pulling strong to keep the name! I’m not saying it wasn’t good, but was it necessary? Was this the best investment?”

Le Nouvelliste