You can’t miss the massive Sico outdoor sign in Longueuil as you leave the Lafontaine Tunnel and speed toward Quebec City.

Therein lies a remarkable tale of Quebec entrepreneurship and an example of how globalization can deliver real benefits to a local company and its 1,000-strong workforce.

Quebec paintmaker Sico Inc., founded by entrepreneur Marcel Deslauriers in Quebec City in 1937 with one tiny factory, had vaulted toward Canadian market leadership by 2006, with toeholds in the U.S., Europe and Mexico, and several manufacturing plants.