Laval's economy is substantial and still growing: the city's GDP reached $21.7 billion in 2023, up 3.6% over the previous year. Finance, insurance and real estate services form the single largest slice of that output at 20.3%, but the industrial base is just as significant — manufactured goods sales climbed to $4.9 billion in 2023, a 3.8% increase year-over-year. Behind those numbers sit homegrown companies and specialized clusters: Alimentation Couche-Tard was founded and is still headquartered in Laval, Savaria Corporation runs its head office on Autoroute 13, and Structube operates its head office and distribution centre from the city.
That economic base is spread across distinct districts. Chomedey and Centropolis anchor commercial activity, while Cité de la Biotech — Laval's Science and High Technology Park — has grown into a genuine life-sciences hub, home to roughly 120 biopharmaceutical and life-sciences companies and about 5,000 industry experts, including Moderna's mRNA manufacturing facility (hosted alongside INRS) and Charles River Laboratories. Manufacturing and distribution activity concentrates in Parc industriel Centre along St-Martin West and Boulevard Industriel, and in the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul industrial park to the east — both running at 80 to 100% occupancy, meaning most local manufacturers and distributors will grow through better processes rather than new square footage.
That reality shapes what Laval businesses actually need from technology. Manufacturers are contending with a labour market where 53% of Quebec SMEs cite labour shortages as a major barrier to growth and 44% say a shortage of skilled workers directly limits how much they can produce or sell — a gap that automation is increasingly asked to fill. Regulated life-sciences companies clustered around Cité de la Biotech need data systems that meet compliance requirements while connecting R&D, lab and manufacturing operations cleanly. And retail, convenience and food-distribution operators running multi-location networks need backend and e-commerce systems that keep inventory and logistics in sync across every site.
Global Maple System builds the software, web platforms and automation that address these specific pressures. Laval also has the institutional backbone to support that shift: Collège Montmorency trains close to 10,000 students as the city's only CEGEP, the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Laval has represented local business since 1967, INRS maintains a campus at Cité de la Biotech, and Laval Économique serves as the city's economic development corporation. Whether you're a manufacturer trying to close a labour gap, a life-sciences company that needs compliant systems, or a retailer managing several locations, we build the software that lets your team do more with what you already have.