Inside AGF Tecnik: A human and inspiring visit

It wasn’t the 36°C heat and the humidity that warmed me (in my heart!) during my recent first visit to AGF Tecnik, but the extraordinary people who welcomed us, Marie-Pier Lapointe – Vice-President of Human Resources, Gabriel Bonin – International Vice-President and myself.

At the helm of the group is Thirupathi Govindarasu, known as Dhoni, Managing Director, who has been building this team for six years. AGF Tecnik’s mission is to provide AGF’s internal teams with support in estimating, detailing, administration, and artificial intelligence. The team is composed of 170 employees, most of whom hold engineering degrees, and another 60 will join in the coming months. Not to mention the fascinating robotics work a small team of seven enjoys developing in a specially dedicated building.

You can read all about this on our website. What I really want to share, however, is what I experienced within this close-knit team, which considers itself a (very large!) family, during the week we spent there. The members of AGF Tecnik truly live up to their name. Their desire to help and support AGF teams in Canada and beyond is almost as strong as their pride in being part of a group with such deep technical expertise.

Thanjavur, where most of our team is located, is a small town in southeastern India, near Tiruchirappalli. While it’s not a tourist hotspot, its authenticity is remarkable. Everything I had heard about India came to life: bustling crowds, vibrant colors everywhere—on house walls, temples, and clothing; animals living in harmony with humans; extremely dense traffic; constant honking; people crossing streets without worrying about motorcycles; and, of course, cows everywhere. It was incredibly charming! I loved everything I saw and everyone I met.

Our visit coincided with Diwali, the festival celebrating the victory of light over darkness. Buildings across the city were adorned with strings of lights. Since it’s a public holiday, the AGF Tecnik team celebrated it in advance and shared the festivities with us. A thoughtful group of women—Jansi Rani, Saranya, Abinaya, and Seeniammal—helped Marie-Pier and me select brightly colored saris and dressed us up. Gabriel also joined in, wearing traditional attire, and together with Dhoni, we presented each employee with a Diwali gift: a box of sweets and a box of fireworks. Ah! So that’s what the firework noises I had been hearing all over the city for the past two days were!

Our Indian colleagues provide invaluable technical support to the AGF Group. This special team, both in terms of its mission and its location, is dedicated to helping and being an integral part of the larger AGF family. The distance may be great, but the collaborative and human values are the same everywhere.

Nanri to the entire AGF Tecnik team for this incredible welcome.