Our Company

 

Better Mobility for Life

Savaria is all about products that help improve mobility. Whether that's for your home, in a vehicle or in public spaces, we design and build products to make life more accessible. We employ over 2,300 people around the world including 50 staff in research and development dedicated to creating new products and innovations for improving existing products.

Our product portfolio is one of the widest in the world and includes home elevators, commercial lifts, stairlifts, ceiling lifts and adapted vehicles. We also offer medical beds and therapeutic surfaces through our Span division. With manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and China, we can more efficiently reach global markets and build to meet the needs of specific customer requirements.

At the heart of the company, our employees know what they do can make a true, positive difference in people's lives. We're proud to try our best for each customer we serve.

Our History

In 1989, Marcel Bourassa found a small company called Savaria that was building wheelchair lifts. Looking for a business he could grow for the long term, he saw the potential to serve the growing needs of the aging population. He purchased Savaria and set upon a path to expand the company's product line and distribution.

As the Executive Chairman of Savaria today, Marcel looks back on 35 years of history with a great sense of pride for what he and the entire team at the company have accomplished to become a leading manufacturer in the accessibility industry. In 2014, he created the Bourassa Savaria Foundation to give back to people challenged with mobility issues. 

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About us

Watch our About Savaria video (accessible version of our videos available here)

Our Divisions

While the headquarters of Savaria Corporation are located in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Company operates a number of divisions around the world. Here are the major divisions:

Savaria Concord Lifts Inc.
Elevating & lift division with manufacturing in Brampton, Ontario Canada and Magog, Quebec Canada (ceiling lifts).

Savaria Huizhou
Pre-assembly operations in China for elevating and lifts. Asia website

Span America/ Span Medical Products
Medical beds and therapeutic surfaces with manufacturing in Greenville, South Carolina USA and Beamsville, Ontario Canada.

Garaventa Lift
Elevating & lift division with manufacturing in Surrey, British Columbia Canada and Milan, Italy.

Handicare
Stairlifts and patient care products with manufacturing in Heerhugowaard, Netherlands, Kingswinford, UK, Xiamen, China and St Louis Missouri, USA.

 

Company Leadership

MARCEL BOURASSA
Executive Chairman
With his vision of an aging population in need of accessibility equipment in the future, Mr. Marcel Bourassa purchased Savaria in 1989, taking the company public in 2002. In 2014, he formed the Bourassa Savaria Foundation a registered Canadian charity that provides funding to people with mobility challenges. In 2018 Mr. Bourassa was honored by Les Affaires as CEO of the Year for a medium-sized Canadian enterprise. He holds a BBA from HEC Montreal. On August 5, 2021, Mr. Bourassa, was named one of seven EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2021 Québec winners.

SEBASTIEN BOURASSA 
President and CEO
Mr. Sebastien Bourassa oversees all business segments to help meet sales and profitability targets, as well as helps ensure that strategic initiatives are communicated and implemented across all divisions of Savaria, promoting a teamwork culture. He was instrumental in setting up operations for Savaria in China in 2007. This initiative has provided critical advantages for Savaria and Savaria Huizhou has continuously grown in size. He has a BBA from HEC Montreal and an EMBA from Ivey Business School in Hong Kong.

STEPHEN REITKNECHT
CFO

Mr. Reitknecht assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer for Savaria Corporation in September 2020 and is responsible for providing strategic financial leadership for the company. Prior to joining Savaria, Mr. Reitknecht worked for global and Canadian public and privately-held companies spanning multiple industries including medical device manufacturing, wholesale distribution and technology services. Mr. Reitknecht has a B. Comm. in economics and is a designated accountant in Ontario, Canada (CPA, CA).

JEAN-PHILIPPE DEMONTIGNY
CTO

Mr. Jean-Philippe DeMontigny joined Savaria as Chief Transformation Officer in January 2024. Prior to joining Savaria, Jean-Philippe was a partner at McKinsey & Company starting his career with them in 2004. He has extensive experience in creating successful growth acceleration strategies for manufacturing companies of similar sizes to Savaria. He has expertise in optimizing procurement and supply chain management as well as organization design. Mr. DeMontigny has an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Commerce from HEC Montreal.

ALEXANDRE BOURASSA
President, North America Accessibility

Mr. Alex Bourassa oversees worldwide dealer sales of the elevator and lift division as well as direct store operations in North America and Australia. Under his strong leadership, dealer sales have continued to grow and distribution has strengthened across the U.S. market. His acumen for sales and product knowledge has contributed to the leadership position Savaria enjoys today.

VINCE SCIAMANNA 
President - Garaventa Lift Group N.A.
Mr. Sciamanna joined Savaria in 2018 following the acquisition by Savaria of Garaventa Accessibility AG group. He began his career with Garaventa Lift in 1999. Vince joined the Garaventa Lift Group management team as Global Director of Business Development. Mr. Sciamanna holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Bern.

LES TEAGUE
Group President - Patient Care
Mr. Teague joined Savaria in 2017 following the acquisition by Savaria of Span America Medical Systems. At that time, he was Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Teague was named President of Span America January 1, 2021. Prior to joining Span America, he held a variety of roles, including President, of a large manufacturer and packager of personal care products. Mr. Teague has an undergraduate degree in Biology from The University of Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina.

PATRICK MONGEAU
Vice President Business Development - Patient Care
Mr. Mongeau joined Savaria in October 2021. Prior to joining Savaria, Mr. Mongeau held a variety of positions over 20 years at Arjo, most recently as Global VP of Product Development. He has vast experience in the patient care industry including research and development as well as sales and business development strategies. Mr. Mongeau has a Marketing degree, 1st cycle from The University of Québec in Montréal, Canada.

CLARE BROPHY
President, EUROW Accessibility
Ms. Brophy joined Savaria in 2021 following the acquisition by Savaria of Handicare AB. She began her career with Handicare in 2009 following its acquisition of the stairlift business she had co-founded and grew from GBP 0 to GBP 21M in 13 years, becoming UK Managing Director in 2017 and a member of the senior management team in 2018. In her current role, President of Europe / Rest of World Accessibility, Ms. Brophy oversees sales and operations for Savaria and Garaventa accessibility products in the UK, Europe and Far East.

DAVID TEMPLE
Vice-President Finance, Europe (Accessibility Segment)
Mr. Temple joined Savaria in 2021 following the acquisition by Savaria of Handicare AB. He began his career with Handicare in 2011 as Finance Director of the UK division, and has held various roles in the finance function, the most recent of which is Vice President of Finance for Accessibility in Europe. Previously he had worked in similar roles for Doncasters, CommaTech, and Royal Worcester and Spode. Mr. Temple has a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Management Sciences and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

LAUREEN CUSHING
Global Vice-President, Human Resources

Ms. Cushing joined Savaria in June 2021 in the role of Global Vice President of Human Resources and is responsible for providing strategic Human Resources leadership for the company. She has held several progressive roles in the field of HR, leading large, transformation initiatives and partnering with leaders and stakeholders to ensure the delivery of HR and business strategy. Ms. Cushing has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) Human Resource Management and is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL).

SYLVAIN AUBRY
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Mr. Aubry holds more than 20 years of experience in corporate, M&A and securities laws having worked mainly for publicly traded companies. He joined Savaria in March 2018 and is responsible for providing strategic legal leadership for the company. Prior to joining Savaria, he held the position of Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary at Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. from 2004 to 2018. Prior to, Mr. Aubry has worked for global and Canadian public and privately held companies spanning multiple industries. Mr. Aubry has a Law bachelor’s degree and is a member of the Québec Bar.

Bourassa Savaria Foundation

The Bourassa Savaria Foundation was created in 2014 to support people facing mobility challenges. It aims to provide financial assistance to in-need Canadians with disabilities related to physical mobility. It was founded by Marcel Bourassa, Executive Chairman of Savaria Corporation. 

If you’d like to make a donation, apply for funding, or learn more, visit our Foundation page.

IMPORTANT: Safety notice for current owners of Savaria residential elevators