Our journey in Beauce
Our story,
since 1998
From its founding in 1998 to today, the key milestones of Régitex, a self-managed company.
Régitex was founded in 1998 in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce by Lisa Fecteau and her brother Sylvain Fecteau, as equal co-owners, with the support of their father, Réginald Fecteau. Lisa Fecteau later became sole owner. The company has never left Beauce and is now in its third generation, with Kathrine Mathieu, Lisa Fecteau’s daughter and Réginald Fecteau’s granddaughter.
Between that founding and today: an acquisition that opened the protective textiles market, an American plant taken over and later closed, and a change of management model that got people talking well beyond the region.
The key milestones
1998
Régitex is founded in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce by Lisa Fecteau and her brother Sylvain, with the support of their father, Réginald.
2001
The plant is expanded and its floor space is doubled.
2005
Régitex acquires Du-Ré Textile and founds Régifil, moving the company into protective textiles.
2008-2009
Régifil is relocated to Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce.
2010
Régitex takes over the Brodnax Mills spinning mill, in Virginia.
2010-2012
Lisa Fecteau serves as president of the Groupement des chefs d’entreprise du Québec (a non-profit peer network of business owners), the first woman to hold the position.
2012
Lisa Fecteau becomes sole owner. After the production manager’s departure, the position is eliminated and the hierarchy disappears.
2012
The press named Régitex among the member companies of Textiles Techniques Chaudière-Appalaches, a technical-fibre recovery centre in Saint-Éphrem.
2016
Production is centralized in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce and the Virginia plant closes.
2017
Régitex invests several hundred thousand dollars in machines.
2017
In May 2017, Régitex and clothing manufacturer Logistik Unicorp unveiled a prototype combat uniform made from Canadian hemp fibres at CANSEC, the defence trade show in Ottawa. The project entrusted Régitex with spinning the hemp into yarn.
2017
The CRHA’s Revue RH and Radio-Canada profiled Régitex’s management model.
2018
Spaces in the plant are rented to start-ups.
2020
HEC Montréal’s Revue Gestion features Régitex among three SMEs that have adopted a participative management model.
2021
Régitex increased its twisting capacity.
2021
Kathrine Mathieu decides to take over.
2022
Kathrine Mathieu officially becomes owner.
2023
Régitex, recipient of the Sommet Innovation at the 24th Soirée des Sommets.
Kathrine Mathieu also received the Telus “Aidons nos PME” award, worth $20,000.
The recognition received along the way
Since 2000, Régitex has received a series of awards for innovation, exports and human resources. The full list, year by year, is on the Awards and recognition page.
Régitex today
The Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce plant employs 65 people.
Kathrine Mathieu has been president of the company since May 2022. She made the company’s shift toward sustainability a priority: Régitex had been taking various steps in that direction for several years, and she wanted to make them official, intentional and structured. She hired Emmanuelle Gélébart to that end.
Emmanuelle Gélébart holds the role of sustainable impact strategist. Régitex’s GHG inventory is calculated in-house according to the GHG Protocol, and its methodology was reviewed by the independent firm CCG Climat. An R&D pilot project focused on incorporating recycled fibres into a flame-resistant yarn.
Régitex is also targeting the European market, which it has the capacity to serve.
The origins of our eco-design
How long have you been working on eco-design?
Since 2015, with a first research and development project that aimed to repurpose work coveralls for the oil industry. This project is covered on the Industrial textiles page.
What was the turning point in your eco-responsible approach?
In 2022, we accelerated our eco-responsible shift. Our media coverage and podcast episodes are gathered on the News page.
Since 1998 in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. What if your program joined the milestones?
Today, a single plant, and a yarn that leaves Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce. The next chapter of this story is written with the companies that entrust us with their programs.