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Let's dance!
Laurent Verreault
and GLV
Lets Dance!
Editors note:
There are as many stories in this book as people who tell them! And memories
have a way of rearranging details. Not to mention the style of the writers, whose
responsibility is to create a narrative, in short, to romanticize the facts. In doing
so, some gaps and embellishments of our own are inevitable. We ask the reader to
forgive any omissions and alterations and enjoy the adventure as presented.
Legal deposit
Bibliothque nationale du Qubec
National Library of Canada
Except for quotes, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or
by any means without the written permission of GLV Inc.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through
the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
Production: IQ Press
Writer: Alain Boucher
Interview transcription: Claire Demers
Feature writer: Elaine Gusella
Translation and revision: Keren Penney and Anna Maria Martinez for Soludoc
Photographs: GLV fonds
Graphic design and page layout: velyne Deshaies and Manon Lveill
Proofreading: Keren Penney
Printed and bound by: Friesens, Altona, Canada
ISBN: 978-2-924200-03-2
IQ Press
iqe.qc.ca
iqcorporate.com
1 2 3 14 13 12
Laurent Verreault
and GLV
Lets Dance!
Table of contents
Prologue
Introduction
Golf November Alpha Sierra, were lined up,
zero five
The Quebecers in Ontario
Building a Man
6
8
12
18
26
28
34
38
42
48
56
58
66
76
88
96
Epilogue
FEATURES
The Acquisitions
GLV and its People
The Boards of Directors
GLV: The New Face
Index
104
106
114
120
128
140
142
152
164
172
178
188
190
196
204
214
222
224
230
238
240
252
262
272
280
Table of contents 5
Prologue
introduction
Prologue 11
Golf November
Alpha Sierra
were lined up,
zero five
New Beginning
Prologue 17
The Quebecers
in Ontario
You know very well that this company is bankrupt. The owner
tried to rope us into buying the whole company: were not sure,
but we have a good idea of how much its value would be after
the bankruptcy. We dont know what ghosts and skeletons are
lurking in the companys closets. Buying shares is too risky.
I prefer to buy assets: I can see what Im buying. The biggest
shareholder, the Joy family, and the other partners know this;
they will have no choice but to sit down with us again if they
wish to pull out honorably from this affair. Weve been negotiating with lawyers, tax experts, accountants, and bankers
for close to a week. The only thing missing is your approval.
Enough is enough, now. Its obvious youre not the one whos
been paying the lawyers and other professionals fees.
These are not good enough reasons to sell you the company at
a discount, argued the banker, faltering slightly.
Dorr-Oliver, with its 425 employees, is technically bankrupt,
and your bank owns the principal debt. You are soon going
to have to announce the bankruptcy and close the company.
That wont be good for your image. Then, youll have to sell its
assets at fire sale prices. Youll be grateful to recover six million.
Minus costs. And in how many months? I am ready to sign a
check, right now, for six million dollars to take Dorr-Oliver
Canadas debt off your hands. GL&V will become the new
owner of the debt, and therefore the principal creditor, I will
declare the bankruptcy, and you wont need to have anything
more to do with it.
A type of reverse butterfly spread, in fact, observed the banker.
Precisely. Its uncommon and daring, but, in this case, it will
work!
Prologue 21
The banker left the office for five minutes to consider the deal.
If he could have, he would have been gone for only thirty
seconds. For forms sake, though, he had to make it look as
though he needed the time. He couldnt reveal himself too
eager for me to relieve him of this enormous burden, even if
it meant selling the company for just over half the value of the
debt. He returned with the approval of his bosses.
From then, events unfolded quickly. Unable to repurchase
the debt, the Joy family accepted our offer, and the financial
authorities in Ontario approved the transaction. The trustee
filed the bankcruptcy petition and we took over the company.
Following the twenty-one days prescribed by law, with no better offer than ours having been made, GL&V became the
owner of Dorr-Oliver Canada. This reverse butterfly spread, a
somewhat risky trading strategy, was the only, though incredibly bold, way to salvage the extraordinary know-how and
unique technologies of this dying company.
In September 1990, the Quebecers had finally arrived in Ontario.
That would turn out better for some than for others.
With the help of the Dependables, I wasted no time getting
down to the business of cleaning house, in every sense of
the expression. As usual following an acquisition, to smooth the
difficult passages, I wanted the changes in ownership and
orientation to be felt immediately. I convened a general meeting
with the employees and the unions to announce our strategy,
lay out the changes, encourage those who were willing to get on
board, and discourage those who were not.
We already had extensive knowledge of Dorr-Oliver before the
takeover, and we had a pretty good idea as to what it was going
to be after, and how it would fit into GL&V. As part of this
22 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Prologue 25
Building
a Man
Gods
Gift to...
29
31
I had plenty of time to chase girls, drink 7UP, hang out, waste
my time, and squander my youth. That was going to have to
come to an end soon.
He wasnt a bad kid; he was just a first-born whose parents, despite
their best intentions, didnt know what to do with him. He was
well-liked by his friends, a team player, and he certainly knew
how to charm the girls. Imagine a sixteen-year-old athletically
built, tanned lifeguard, nicknamed Laurent Secordafter the
courageous Canadian heroine Laura Secord, whose name had
been adopted by a popular chocolate companybecause of the
bravery he exhibited in protecting the young lady swimmers! He
was enthusiastic, hard-working, and sociable, but on the cusp of
adulthood and full of questions.
Lucky Star wasnt going to let Laurent Verreault fritter away his
time like that for much longer. One morning, an idea came: Do
you think you might like to learn to fly?
building a man
33
Flying solo...
in the RCAF
35
crave a different learning environment, and it helps them realize their aspirations and develop structure in their lives. Because
I am more visually inclined, the armys practical methods of
teaching, of encouraging experimentation, of providing handson instrument training to complement the diagrams and
explanations in a book were, for me, a perfect fit.
I did not need it more than any other young man of my age,
but in this Air Force brotherhood, I came into contact and
learned to live with discipline, respect for authority, rules, and
order in every aspect of my life, from my underwear to my files.
I learned to get up in the morning, make my bed, wash, iron
and fold my shirts, work hard, and be organized. I learned to
fly solo.
And what was more, the Air Force decided that I had a bright
future in electronic flight instrument systems. They sent me
to Clinton and Trenton in Ontario, where, within six months,
I had become a certified instrumentation technician, specialized in aircraft flight electronics. I was now responsible for
the maintenance of the flight and navigation instruments:
autopilot systems, altimeter, airspeed indicator, compass, and
radios, among other things. I was also learning English, and it
was better than what I had picked up from the CIPs bosses
daughters! I had no inkling at the time as to how well this
would serve me later.
In early 1959, at seventeen years old, I had a technicians diploma in my pocket along with a five-year contract with the Air
Force. I had been transferred to RCAF Station Chatham in
New Brunswick, Acadia. Located a few kilometers from the
Miramichi River, close to the bay, the city of Chatham was
a great place to live for anyone who enjoyed water. Youd be
hard pressed to find a more pleasant spot. I was not paid a lot,
36 Laurent Verreault and GLV
but I was housed, clothed, and fed. It was more than I had ever
had, I was earning it through the sweat of my own brow, and I
had to manage everything by myself. My family, my parents, the
safety of my childhood... all that was behind me now; this was
real life.
The base at Chatham was mostly specialized in training
personnel to operate a variety of different aircraft. The Golden
Hawks, the elite aerobatic team that was the forerunner to the
Snowbirds, was founded there during my service. They flew
F-86 Sabre fighter jets, which were my specialty. I felt like I was
one of the elite technicians because I took care of the elite
pilots; I felt charmed once again! There, under the best conditions possible, was where I truly began my professional career.
building a man
37
39
building a man
41
Together, well
go farther
43
45
building a man
47
learning
to learn,
to work,
to grow
49
51
Matane, Gaspsie
That was the problem: things were becoming too easy. Lifes goodness results in a little thickening both around the belly and the
head. Burning new challenges were slowly cooling to become mere
workaday tasks. Lucky Star was about to rattle his cage a bit.
Mr. Verreault, the company accepts your salary counterproposal, so we would like to offer you the position of head of
instrumentation and controls at the Matane plant.
Very good, sir. When do I start?
Next January. Good luck, Mr. Verreault.
I talked my way into that one. First, the company had never
offered me the position; I had myself suggested I take on the
job because they couldnt find anyone willing to leave La Tuque
to be the instrumentation and controls technician and to supervise the newly arrived young workers. Second, because I would
be going there without seniority, my salary would take a dive.
I mean, I do enjoy working, but theres a limit, so I drove a
hard bargain! The boss wished me good luck. Yes, there was
probably some good luck involved, but you know what they say
about luck: you make your own.
I had worked for almost five years in Chatham and close to
another five in La Tuque. It was time to take on new challenges. Maria and I wanted to make sure we were not putting
down too many roots and getting too settled, and we wanted
to move closer to her family. Mobility was essential. In early
1968, I became a technician in Matane. It was like falling out
of the nest! No more old hands to fall back on for answers, no
52 Laurent Verreault and GLV
53
also afforded me the opportunity to complete my team of specialists. For the maintenance of the paper machines, I grabbed
the chance to recruit the best mechanical technician there was,
a man I had known seven years before and had worked with in
Matane from 1968 to 1971. I knew exactly who I would be hiring when I invited Jean Desbiens to join us. Without realizing it
at the time, I was laying the groundwork for the creation of the
formidable trio of Laperrire, Desbiens, and Verreault.
And the wheels continued to turn. After just a few weeks,
Mr. Lebreton summoned me to his office one more time.
Have you had a vacation, Laurent? Surely he had not asked
me to meet him to chat about our vacations; we could do that
over coffee.
No, not yet. Actually, Ive been trying to, but I dont see how
I can manage...
Dont worry about the details. Youre going on vacation
immediately, starting from the moment you leave work tonight.
And youre going to take an extra week to make sure youre well
rested when you return. The company is offering this to you.
I dont understand.
Ive made my decision and the company has accepted. Ive
accomplished everything I wanted to since I began working
here. When you return from vacation, Ill be gone and youll
be replacing me as maintenance manager.
I now had one more thing to learn: how to be the big boss. I
felt thirty-two was young to be in this position, but I was eager
to attack this latest challenge, and I knew that my life and work
experiences had prepared me well.
building a man
55
Seizing the
moment
Me?... Im a
consultant for
Cascades
Monday
Early one Monday morning in March 1974, I arrived at Dorval
airport from New Brunswick and immediately called my
friend Gilles Roberge, an engineer I had known in La Tuque,
who had also supervised the interns in Matane.
Salut Gilles! Its Laurent Verreault. Hows it going?
Laurent! Are you in town? I just finished talking to Maria.
She told me you were coming to Quebec this week. We have to
talk, I have something that might interest you.
Yes, Im here to recruit specialized workers. I dont have
enough, because all our guys prefer deep-sea fishing to working. Im on a tour of Sherbrooke, Quebec City, and Montreal
this week.
Listen, weve got a contract with Rexfor, the provincial Crown
corporation that develops forests, for a paper factory in Cabano.
To do some recruiting of our own, in a sense.
What do you mean?
On the phone, Gilles explained that after his years in management at the CIP in La Tuque and Matane, he had founded,
with Guy Tremblay, a small engineering firm that specialized
in pulp and paper. He had obtained a Quebec government
contract to provide support to Papier Cascades in Cabano for
the preparation of a major factory construction project that
would produce corrugating medium, the corrugated paper that
is the main component used in making containerboard.
Everyones heard about that project, after the massive demonstrations by the towns residents in 1970 to get things
moving again.
60 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Wednesday
At the piano bar of the Auberge des Gouverneurs in SainteFoy, Bernard filled me in on the details of the story behind
this factory they were building and told me how he intended
to pilot the project.
At Cascades, were recycling specialists. Since 1957, starting
with my father, Antonio, our field of expertise was household and industrial waste and, in 1964, with my brothers,
we started making recycled paper. Weve managed to convince Rexfor. The Cabano facility will be equipped with used
machinery wherever possible. Well build it with commitment and pride, not collective agreements and big corporations. Money talks, and thats why its going to cost nine
million dollars instead of the fifty-five the Belgians were proposing or the seventy the Swedes had in mind. I explained all
this to Rexfor fairly rapidly, making my point with a quick
sketch on a piece of paper. The population and the town of
Cabano are one hundred percent behind us in this. In fact,
theyve raised close to seven hundred thousand dollars to
back the project. They will all work with us, under honest
conditions, for themselves, for their project. However, were
going to need guys like you, like your friend Laperrire, or
whoever youd like to bring on board, to look after the installation of industrial equipment and to refurbish the used
machines. Thats the one area I know nothing about. Think
about it, and well talk again. By the way, what are you doing
this weekend?
Im going back home on Friday, after my recruitment drive in
Montreal. Why?
64 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Itll be called
Laperrire &
Verreault, and
are we going to
work hard!
Jean! Its Laurent in Cabano. Ive been looking for you everywhere for a week! We need you.
Youre lucky to catch me. Im in between flights. I just got in
from British Columbia and Im on my way to Africa.
Change of plans! Youre not going to Africa, youre going to
take the ferry to Saint-Simon and then youll join us in
Cabano. Louis has been working with me here for a few weeks.
All the controls, pumps, and piping fixtures have been
purchased and delivered and are waiting to be installed, but
Mr. Lemaires technicians are having a lot of trouble refur
bishing the used machines. Bernard has agreed that I ask you
to give us a hand, because we really need you.
Like Ti-Jean, a favorite character in French Canadian legends
and fairy tales, Jean Desbiens was as loyal as ever. He arrived
a few days later, bringing with him the technical solutions we
desperately needed.
Anyone else would have had serious doubts.
Okay, wheres the machine?
There, in the yard.
You got all the parts? Do you have a plan? Whos going to put
this together? Laurent, what do you think?
Of course we have a plan... okay, we have a scrappy piece
of tattered yellowed paper... but we know that youll be able
to make sense of it. Jean, thats how it was assembled before it
arrived here. Were going to have to put it back together like
that. Once youve assembled one of these, youll be able to
build them all, right?
Seizing the moment 71
Un succs d'entreprise
remarquable (A remarkable
business success) proclaimed
Trois-Rivires local newspaper.
Laurent Verreault
will always remember the day in 1981, when we took possession of our new premises at 3100 Westinghouse Street. I
enjoyed discovering a host of details in the new location, along
with Louis, Jean, Bill, and a few others. We were like a little
family moving into a new house.
Whoa! Now youre talking. This is what Id call some pretty
snazzy office space! And with the machine shop in the same
building... this is just fantastic! Freedom from those sardine
cans we called offices at long last! How long were we there? Do
you remember?
Lets see, in 1978 we moved our trailer homes from Cabano
to Cap-de-la-Madeleine to work at Cascades Lupels plant.
Louis Laperrire remembered that move well. At that time, Jean
Desbiens had gone to Kingsey Falls to monitor and supervise a
new paper machine contract for Cascades.
Everyone will have their own space. Bill, where do you want
your office to go?
I dont know yet...
Tell me, how much did we pay for this building?
Quite a bit more than what I had offered the seller, actually,
but Bill Saulnier, our eminently trustworthy accounting controller, had negotiated shrewdly during one of my absences and
obtained an attractive property in the industrial park to house
us all. It was large enough to soon be generating a sizable revenue as we were able to rent out more than half of the floor
area to the residents of Trois-Rivires. After five years of living
in a trailer in Cabano, we finally had suitable living accommodations in the provincial pulp and paper capital. I was giving serious thought to developing even further, diversifying our
clientele. I wanted Laperrire & Verreault to chart a new course
backed by the support of its seven or eight shareholders and the
few professionals we had hired.
During the time I was taking care of developing our business,
Louis was out in the field, on construction sites for factories
and other industrial buildings. He generated a lot of business
through lucrative contracts for SFVF. It was one thing to sell,
but we had to build and deliver the goods too! Jean, our resident
mechanical genius, along with mechanical engineer Bernard
Therrien, electrical engineer Ghislain Roy, instrumentation
engineer Simon Sleigher, and our industrial designers, designed
the machines our customers ordered. Yvon LHeureux then
built them with Raymond Beaudet and Marcel Dub. Finally,
our employees would install them at the clients facility with
Marcel Dub, Yvon LHeureux, and The Same Thing Team.
I have to pause here to pay tribute to the employees who helped
build Laperrire & Verreault with us, with a special tip of the
78 Laurent Verreault and GLV
tructions La
s
n
1
8
9
1
ult Inc.
ea
e&
rrir Verr
e
p
Lucky Star would often arrive in the form of a Blue, which was
both the company color and the label given to dedicated employees,
who would go in person to quickly fix a problem that had come up
here, there, and elsewhere...
Laurent, if I am to do things properly, I really need to be able
to take care of the construction side of things through a corporate entity thats separate from the others. Laperrire & Verreault
is mostly pulp and paper; Vieilles Forges is component machining; I could complete our activities with a third company. It
would really only be formalizing whats already a reality.
From the instrumentation technician he had started out as,
Louis had truly become our construction guru. He was absolutely right about this new company.
Any ideas about how to structure this company?
Thats your specialty, Laurent! I was thinking that a company owned by Laperrire & Verreault could simply be called
Constructions Laperrire & Verreault. It could be incorporated
through us and a few employee shareholders. Guy Croteau is
interested. This company would be responsible for construction
contracts either with clients who want to install paper machines
manufactured by Laperrire & Verreault and built in SFVFs
shops, or with any other industrial or institutional customers.
Its a win-win situation for everyone. And the company will be
located in Quebec City, close to where I live.
Seizing the moment 81
Co
And so we purchased a small machining company in TroisRivires, in the Mauricie region, called Massicotte & Arcand,
which we soon resold, as well as a microcomputer business
called Ormique. The shop was not nearly big enough, but the
administrative and financial exercises of purchasing and reselling allowed us to try our hand, in a manner of speaking, at
acquisitions, to evaluate our true manufacturing needs and, in
the process, generate some profit through the transactions.
They were like young wolves. They had progressed beyond the playing
and learning stage of cubs to the point where they now understood
what was involved in the hunt: observe your territory, be hungry,
know your strengths and your means, map out your strategy, and,
especially, be patient. Lucky Star didnt need to teach them that;
it was in their instinct, with Laurent leading the pack. But Lucky
Star was never very far away.
Yvon LHeureux was an
industrial mechanic for
the Socit de Fabrication
des Vieilles Forges. He joined
the GL&V team when it
merged with SFVF in 1986.
He was involved in the
integration of several
acquisitions and completed
his career with GL&V as
President of the Pulp and
Paper Group in June 2004.
In 1982 and the years that followed, the global economy was hard
hit by American interest rate policies. Neighboring Quebec didnt
escape unscathed, and the pulp and paper sector, along with many
others, suffered a significant slowdown. Laperrire & Verreault
understood the importance of diversifying their activities. Laurent
was constantly looking to grow. He had this gut feeling that the
hunt would be worth it only if he waited for the most attractive prey.
Well, my friends, I think Ive found a good one this time!
Its called Les Industries Couture. Its a large machine shop
in Chicoutimi, and I think its a good deal from a number of
standpoints. Yvon, would you like to give us the details?
Yvon LHeureux had taken part in the detailed study and due
diligence review of the project.
First off, with this acquisition, Laperrire & Verreault will
extend its presence beyond the Mauricie region. Couture is well
placed in the heart of the SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean region,
Seizing the moment 83
upe Lap
er
Gro
r
Verreau
lt
c.
In
&
re
i
8
19
Laurent Verreault at
3100 Westinghouse Street,
in Trois-Rivires.
CA
ON
R
N
9
8
9
1
The foundry had closed seven years prior, but the machine shop
was operating smoothly. What did not work so well had more
to do with the owners of the parent company: an overly conservative senior management, too many stuffed shirts based in
Ontario that communicated in English only and made decisions
in advance based on how things had been done for the past ten
years. The plant manager, Michel Glinas, could barely move
a paper clip without first getting authorization from Toronto.
We had never run things like that at Laperrire & Verreault. We
were particularly dynamic entrepreneurs, and they were somewhat taken aback by this new style of management.
In the beginning, I would have regular meetings with Michel to
discuss projects and get a feel for how things were working on
Seizing the moment 85
the shop floor. One morning, one of the employees came into
his office:
Mr. Glinas, our damn forklift truck is broken again. Its going
to cost four thousand dollars to fix, but we need
authorization.
Can we get by without it for a while? Michel asked him.
Not for too long. There are only three, the worker answered.
You see, Mr. Verreault, Ive had a new forklift in the last three
yearly budgetary projections I sent to Toronto and they still
havent given me an answer...
How old is this piece of equipment?
Oh, fifteen years old, at least. We invest five to six thousand
dollars in repairs on it each year, just to keep it going. But its
old.
How much does a new forklift cost? I asked Michel.
Buy a new forklift. Yes, you understood correctly, a new
forklift.
It took thirty seconds instead of three years, and we werent
even officially the owners yet!
When it came to acquisitions, Laurent Verreault believed that
you had to act fast and intelligently to put your stamp on
every area of the company, so that from the get-go, employees
understood that they had new owners and new bosses. That
way it was easier to break bad habits or change procedures
that no longer suited the way the company would now be
managed.
86 Laurent Verreault and GLV
ATELIE
R
BRON INC
FA
.
9
8
9
1
welcome to
the big league I:
Groupe
Laperrire &
Verreault Inc.
I could not just sit still, waiting for things to move. If I did
not move forward, I would fall back, because there were
others nipping at my heels who themselves were moving forward. It was simple: if I stayed small, I would die. Id seen it
happen to others too many times. We had come this far and
everything was in place for us to make great strides forward,
including our seventy-five employees and the best partners and
shareholders...
Bill, in my office right away.
Laurent... Money doesnt grow on trees, you know. Plus, you
need time to...
Go, go, go! Bill, you have to come up with a plan to get us out
of this ditch. Listen, a while ago, Bernard Lemaire talked to me
about the public market, of being listed on the stock exchange...
And thats how Laperrire & Verreault, the humble business
we founded in 1975, became Groupe Laperrire & Verreault,
following a merger of its two main subsidiaries, Socit de
Fabrication des Vieilles Forges and Les Services Maxi-Plus.
We had other plans for our third company, Constructions
Laperrire & Verreault.
All the partners exchanged their shares in the subsidiaries for
shares in the new GL&V on a pro-rata basis, and they retained
a similar position on the organizational chart of the new
corporation. We designed a flexible share capital structure that
allowed us to sell the number of shares required to generate
the money we neededno more, no less. The original shareholders, Jean, Louis, and I, decided to retain the option of
selling our part in the company and to not sign the shareholders agreement, even though that was common practice. Each
of the three musketeers could, in this way, break away from
90 Laurent Verreault and GLV
the group for any reason. None of us ever sold, but, should we
have so desired, we were free to do so, and that helped keep us
together.
We had some difficulty trying to conceive what GL&V should
be because we did not know what the future held. This new
entity was a little like an ugly duckling, in that we had no inkling of what it would turn into. Either way, we had to work
with what we had, and, especially, proceed with caution, without
projecting too far ahead or picturing ourselves too big. With this
relatively simple corporate and administrative reorganization, we
had made the switch from an old car to a newer, bigger, more
powerful and more comfortable model.
Louis, Jean, Bill, and Robert Dorion, our lawyer, and I were
meeting with the brokers representatives in a cramped office at
the Montreal Exchange. We looked serious.
Laurent, if its because youre arguing and you want me to play
referee... Ren knew us well and was quick with a joke to
lighten the atmosphere.
No, no! The broker, Lvesque Beaubien, has just given us a
check for the shares we sold on the market.
Bill Saulnier, Louis Laperrire,
Laurent Verreault and Jean
Desbiens during GL&Vs initial
public offering on July 7, 1986.
welcome to
the big league I :
Hydro-Mcanique
Inc.
Laurent, this man will be your guide for the weekend. Jean,
this is yours, and this guide will be mine. The lakes here are
vast, we wont be fishing together, and we cant go out alone
without a guide.
Sounds good, Louis, I answered. Okay then, I said to my
guide. Its only about four in the afternoon, how about we go
and see if the fish are biting?
No, he answered. Were going to have supper soon, in about
an hour and a half.
Oh... Right... Okay, well go after supper!
No. We dont fish after supper here.
I was a bit surprised, and soon became grumpy...
No problem. Im always up with the sun at this time of year
anyway: well head out early tomorrow around five.
No, we eat breakfast at eight. Well go fishing after that.
What was Louis up to?
Once again, I was in too much of a hurry! Louis had brought
us to an anglers paradise where we would soon be fishing for
brook trout; the trip had been superb, the fishing had been
great, and we were all feeling good. He was setting the stage.
In the hydroplane on the way back, he cast his line:
Im about to complete two intense years of working here in
Port-Cartier. Im returning to Trois-Rivires with my hands
empty, with no contracts and no orders on the table. I have
men whose livelihoods depend on me. This is the way its always
been, but it cant go on like this any longer.
98 Laurent Verreault and GLV
First, we take
North America
Groups within
the Groupe
The backache
years
Yeah? Well, just watch me. Call a meeting with all the employees immediately.
A half hour before lunch, some time in January 1993.
Listen up, everyone. Six months ago, in July, we mapped out
our strategy together, and I asked you for some flexibility in the
collective agreement to make sure the company could remain
competitive and profitable so that you could all keep your jobs.
Yesterday, on the advice of your union, you voted unanimously
not to change anything. Your representative told you: With
a strong vote, Ill make Verreault bow. Well, heres how Im
going to bow: Im announcing that at four oclock today, the
shop will close. Permanently.
The scene was at Les Industries Couture in Chicoutimi.
One morning, the following July, I visited another shop.
Times are tough, ya know... Look, we cant...
This isnt a problem we cant solve, I answered. I explained
to these old workers, If we manage this together, if were
partners, well overcome our profitability problems.
Hey, if you cant manage your shop, why not just close it
down?
Yeah? Just watch me...
first, we take north america 115
Our strategy failed, most likely due to the enormous and insurmountable differences in the French entrepreneurial culture:
thirteen-month salaries, a tedious social hierarchy, innumerable administrative and legislative technicalities, unfamiliar
banking practices, incomprehensible contractual language, a
fastidious, strict and inflexible style of personnel management,
the administration, the company committee, the former managers, the unions, the holidays, the days off . . . Everything,
absolutely everything was working against us! Thankfully, we
were able to unload it without losing too much money!
Theyll tell you that the only good moments at Allibe were when
Lucky Star was there, looking over Laurents shoulder when he was
about to explode in a meeting, whispering in his ear that it might
be a good idea to just get up and go and cook his famous poulet au
champagne dish for his group, with Vincent Fortunato, the chef and
owner of the Auberge de Malatras. Michel Glinas, Ren LHeureux,
Bill Saulnier, and the accountant, mile Guilbert, lived at this inn
first, we take north america 117
nor responsible for themselves or anything else for that matter, well,
that made him blow his top.
The Quebec and North American industrial context of the
1980s and 1990s had been in great upheaval due to repeated
classic and technical recessions: 1981-1982, 1990-1991, and
1995. Runaway inflation, interest rates approaching 20 percent, unemployment rates of between 15 and 16 percent, the
banking crisis, the stock market crash, the restructuring of the
economy, international competition, privatization, deregulation: it was within this storm that we were building GL&V!
The banks, with whom we had been clients for decades, were
unilaterally changing the rules of the game, hitting us with all
sorts of low blows and forcing us to jump through hoops of
red tape. They decided, for example, that our assets, patiently
accumulated upon their recommendation, were devalued and
would no longer be accepted as loan guarantees at the value we
had them pegged. It was not surprising that, with the load that
was on our shoulders, we would occasionally experience some
back pain.
But, in 1974, with Jean and Louis, I had taken the bull by
the horns, and there was no way we were going to backtrack
twenty years later. Or give up.
The Canadians
in France
North America,
here we come!
Richard Verreault
currently serves as President
and Chief Executive Officer of
GLV. From 2005 until his
appointment,
he was President and Chief
Operating Officer. He joined
GL&V in 1983 and has held
various positions that have
allowed him to develop
extensive experience in all
the companys areas of activity.
The negotiations, due diligence review, and contractual arrangements for the acquisition only lasted a month. In March 1996,
we were the owners of the renowned Black Clawson-Kennedy,
of its broad and well-respected line of products, its clients and
territory across the continent, and even some of its prospects
in Asia. The dream had come true; GL&Vs Pulp and Paper
Group now had a part of the North American market!
Pierre Glinas was made the managing director of Black
Clawson-Kennedy, and Richard took the helm of the American
division in Watertown.
Five months later, we repeated this strategy to take over market shares in the United States, under the nose of Dorr-Oliver
International, with the acquisition of LaValley Industries in the
state of Washington, and its Construction subsidiary in Biloxi,
Mississippi. Yvon LHeureux, the indispensable Dependable sent
there to lead the operation, successfully integrated this specialized filtration equipment company into our Process Group in
just a few months.
And, always in keeping with GL&Vs business philosophy of
divesting itself of manufacturing and installations operations, we
resold LaValley Construction in Biloxi one year later, after having
returned it to profitability through our strict control practices.
132 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Ke
on - nnedy
s
w
1996
e
Lt
Black C
la
Quebecois corporate culture. The next step was to build confidence and earn respect at every level of the company.
Confidence between the new managers and the employees; confidence
between the local, experienced managers and the parent company;
confidence in the old methods but also in the new practices; confidence
in the decisions being made and in the future. Lucky Star knew that
confidence would bring success, which would foster respect.
Among Black Clawson-Kennedys main products were drying
cylinders for paper machines. In the dryer section of a machine
were huge, smooth cast iron pressurized steam-heated cylinders that would evaporate the moisture in the paper sheets.
Our cylinders were finished and coated by Black ClawsonKennedy, but we first had to subcontract out their production to
external foundries.
One of our main competitors for these components was the
Sandy Hill division of Valmet, a paper machinery manufacturer
based in Finland. Sandy Hill produced cylinders in its foundry in Hudson Falls in the state of New York, which gave it a
significant competitive edge over us.
So, according to Richards strategic plan, we bought Sandy
Hill from Valmet in October 1997. We became the only
North American supplier of drying cylinders for small paper
machines, which were the most common, with the advantage that the technology we used allowed for greater steam
pressure. The acquisition of this highly specialized foundry
also gave us the chance to divest ourselves of Black ClawsonKennedys less productive facilities in the United States,
beginning in April 1998.
Valmet wasnt a bad employer, but who has ever passed up an
opportunity to laugh at the bosses? Lucky Star remembers how,
136 Laurent Verreault and GLV
when Sandy Hill was being integrated into GL&V, the employees
had enormous fun transforming their new name...
Positioning the Pulp and Paper Group to focus on the replacement parts market was going well. These parts were in demand
for a large number of machines across North Americaeven
during a recession, parts get worn and must be replaced.
But for our Process Group, the hunter that I was constantly had
his eye on a catch that had been eluding us for a long time, one
that manifestly did not like us: Dorr-Oliver International. With
their arrogant attitude and the constant disputes over techno
logies and royalties, they were doing everything they could to
prevent Dorr-Oliver Canada from growing.
They exposed their weak spot in the middle of 1999, and
GL&V pounced! Their attitude had led them to grow too
first, we take north america 137
After the acquisition, Greg Bruyea and I had the pleasant task
of clearing the desks of the millionaires in their ivory towers in
the United States. At the same time, I discovered, to my great
satisfaction, how well run, clean, and orderly their German
affiliate was, that it would contribute to the success we hoped
to realize. We transferred the operations to Orillia and soon
had the company back on the road to profitability.
We became not only the North American, but also the world
leader in liquid/solid separation technologies.
And once again, as with LaValley in 1997, we resold the centrifuge
equipment division that sustained Dorr-Oliver Internationals
manufacturing activities for almost the same amount as we had
paid for the entire company four months earlier.
If Lucky Star may be permitted to give itself another pat on
the back...
In December 1999, we would close our wild American decade
with the acquisition of National Refiner Plate, a small company
specialized in manufacturing refiner plates used in the preparation of pulp.
Yes, 1999 successfully concluded our North American decade,
but just the year before, in Sweden, I had already set GL&Vs
European adventure in motion...
Nation
al
quickly during the recent boom years. Once their market in liquid/solid separation technologies for the pulp and
paper, mining, and municipal water treatment industries had
reached its peak, they could no longer support themselves.
finer Plate
Re
9
19
Mixing growth
with pleasure
Vlkomnen
till Sverige!
Why havent we secured our credit margins yet? Why hasnt the
director of Human Resourceswhats her name?taken up her
position yet? And Ive sent several messages to Mikael Sundqvist,
our new president of Celleco, but he hasnt answered me yet.
Doesnt this guy share our sense of urgency? Ren, this is your
file? Tell me where we are with...
Laurent, youre in our way. Go back to Trois-Rivires and find
some other projects. Let us finish this one here at whatever speed
it takes. Remember what Gilles Morin in Human Resources
used to say to you: You hold a twenty-foot pole. You point it at
your target, in the direction youre heading. When you change
your mind or your target moves, you swing around, and the
end of your pole traces a wide arc. The further away from you
we are, the farther the distance we have to travel to follow that
arc and keep up with you. Bill, Yvon, and I, were close to you,
and we can keep up. It takes a little longer for the employees at
the other end of the pole when you change your mind or your
project. Birgitta Bjorkenus will be named director of Human
Resources tomorrow: I was able to convince her that we didnt
need a consensus in her case.
Yvon, tell Mikael Sundqvist to answer my emails! This is
getting on my nerves!
Calm down, Laurent, Yvon said. Yes, we want the Swedes to
answer the four emails in a row we sent them, but we Quebecers
are also going to have to find ways not to ruffle them so much.
Were all different; were as different to them as they are to us.
Laurent, Bill Saulnier also says to tell you, Go back to TroisRivires. Im handling the bankers, and Im able to charm
them... even while I insult them!
148 Laurent Verreault and GLV
... and everything had to be done fast and well so that we could
finalize this European integration and move on to another
hugely important North American acquisition I could see looming on the horizon. Back in 1997, our Pulp and Paper Groups
main competitor had engaged GL&V in a game of chess.
The chess
game
The opening
At this stage in its history, GL&V was not yet on the chessboard, but the tournament had nevertheless begun. On one
side, the whites: Beloit Corporation, the large paper division
of Harnischfeger Industries, a hundred-year-old American
mining equipment supplier. On the other, the black pieces: a
major client in Indonesia, the New York Stock Exchange,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and a number of smaller
Mixing growth with pleasure 153
trial move: they had bought this game piece three years earlier
for more than twice what we were offering. No one was surprised that they refused!
taken off the game board, shut down, and put on the auction
block to cover the kings debts. It was time for another move.
The bidding was on.
checkmate
By the end of December, only a few buyers had submitted offers
for the various divisions of Beloit. The logistics of organizing
the myriad pieces of these divisions for auction was extremely
complicated. Essentially, it was a matter of respecting not only
the existing contracts, collective agreements, and various commitments the company had undertaken, among other things,
but also U.S. competition, business, and labor laws.
In the end, the wood yard equipment division of Rader and
the subsidiary Oasis were sold off in two small, separate blocks;
all that was left was to sell the remaining major divisions
Paper Aftermarket and Roll Covers, Pulp and Paper Machine
Technology, and Finishing.
Metso and Mitsubishi had Service and Technology in their
sights. As in June 1999, during the second move, GL&V was
hoping to buy the Pulp division and all the lucrative technologies
that came with it.
It was crucial for us to enter as a stalking horse, a term
to describe a buyer who places the first bid on a companys
assets, which then becomes the bid to beat. Richard Verreaults
strategy had been to discover the interest of each of the potential competitors, both big and small, in one or the other of the
parts we were looking to acquire: chemical pulp, winders, and
specialized services.
Mixing growth with pleasure 157
two thirds of what we had paid for Beloit. In 2002, the factory was closed permanently, the building was sold, and the
remaining manufacturing operations were transferred to
Trois-Rivires. The same would happen with the research
laboratory in Pittsfield.
In 2002, once the integration and restructuring of the Beloit
acquisitions had been completed, all that was left was the
engineering office in Nashua, New Hampshire, and our
finishing group in Lenox, Massachusetts.
What a coup! What maneuvering! What an amazing game!
Luck Star was proud of both father and son Verreault for having
purchased an excellent company at a very good price and, again,
sold off what was of little value to them for a sizeable profit. The
resale had paid for the purchase.
Mixing growth with pleasure 161
Restructuring
for a successful
relaunch
cts Lt
d
odu
r
P
E.L.P
.
Laurent Verreault
We were especially pleased, along with Bill Saulnier, our controller, to once more be able to post positive results, from one
quarter to the next, despite these challenges. Between 1986
and 2006, we did not produce one negative report in eighty
quarters!
If it saved that part of the company, the restructuring of the
Pulp and Paper Group did nothing to slow the continual
expatriation of the Dependables or the domino effects caused
by the necessity of having to juggle positions.
Greg Bruyea moved around a lot until he retired in
December 2001; Pierre Glinas sat in a variety of chairs, from
Manufacturing to Business Development, to finally occupy the
position of Vice President of Paper Technology; Michel Glinas
replaced him in Manufacturing; our key partner and eternal
brother-in-arms, Jean Desbiens, took a well-deserved retirement from Manufacturing in 2003; and, until Bill Mahoney
succeeded him, Richard temporarily took the reins as President
of Pulp and Paper from Yvon after he, to my great surprise,
announced he was retiring in June 2004.
Yvon LHeureux left us for good for a life that would be less
frantic than the one he had led with GL&V for the last 25
years.
The energy of the Blues and the Dependables was being
reoriented anyway, due to all the major additions and shuffling
of positions, including that of our tax expert, Marc Barbeau,
the Vice President of Corporate Development, Pierre Lpine,
our lawyer, Gwen Klees, managers Roger Lessard and Roger
Becker, and Alain Mlanon in Human Resources.
170 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Following the difficult episode of the Pulp and Paper restructuring, we once again turned our sights to expanding, but in
other, more promising, directions.
A vision as clear
as... water!
n the early 2000s, while our Pulp and Paper Group was being
redefined and revamped, we should have been rethinking
Groupe Laperrire & Verreault in its entirety, and perhaps
giving it a full makeover, as we had done ten years earlier.
Since 1975, GL&V had grown on the foundation of the
Manufacturing and Pulp and Paper groups. Another large
division, the Process Group, had seen the light of day in 1990,
with the acquisition of Dorr-Oliver Canada, even if the name
did not formally appear until 1996.
For many years, the pulp and paper industry had seesawed up
and down, with more downward swings than up, and we jogged
along in the wake of our clients difficulties. The mining sector,
targeted by our Process Group with its liquid/solid separation
technologies solutions, was also experiencing its share of boomand-bust cycles. GL&V was able to adapt its activities to these
roller coaster rides, but it was definitely far from the most satisfactory situation.
As for me, Im a pulp and paper guy. I was trained and grew up
in a paper mill. That was the case for most of the Dependables,
people who had travelled the same road as me for the last twenty
years, our old vice presidents and partners, Louis Laperrire,
Jean Desbiens, Yvon LHeureux, Bill Saulnier, and Ren
LHeureux..
Now, new Blues were pushing and pulling. Our young vice
presidents in Quebec and OntarioMarc Barbeau, Greg
Bruyea, Michel Glinas, Pierre Lpine, Sylvain Ouellette,
Richard Verreault, and Bart Yulehailed from different backgrounds and had different ideas.
In addition, there were others, who came to us from all over the
world and brought with them global visions: Robert Coomes
and Robert Harrison in the United States, Klaus-Dieter Grner
Mixing growth with pleasure 173
ADDAX Au
Ltd
alia
str
20
00
*
Then we take
the world
Doubled its yearly sales, doubled its staff, doubled its global
presence, and doubled its areas of activity. Doubled everything in
one action, and, what was more, during a difficult period caused
by a slumping pulp and paper market, when mines had depreciated in value and banks were spooked and excessively cautious.
Laurent Verreault was a true long-term risk investor, a charismatic visionary, a hard-headed decision-maker. He wanted this
company and he got it!
Despite GL&Vs excellent financial results, the bank didnt want
to extend them a loan for this money-losing business. That didnt
faze Laurent; he would simply raise $30million through private
investments. Lucky Star would watch over things...
With its sales of $250 million plus its $15 million annual deficit, EIMCOs price tag of $60 million was a relative bargain
in a depressed mining market. It was nevertheless the most
important acquisition in our history. It also made our Process
Group the largest in GL&V, and it would generate more than
60 percent of our revenues from now on.
In customary GL&V fashionquickly, but correctly for the
employeeswe returned the company to profitability, first
by divesting ourselves of the manufacturing plant and a few
marginal operations. Then, under the sensitive and balanced
intervention of Ren LHeureux and Roger Lessard, we brought
the number of employees in all of EIMCOs offices around the
world down to a standard size for this type of company.
Yes, Laurent was invading the world with EIMCO. But EIMCO
would be at the heart of another type of invasion. Laurent would
say nothing; he was considerate, caring, and compassionate with
everyone, but it was far from an insignificant event.
182 Laurent Verreault and GLV
The glut of work that the Trois-Rivires head office now had
to deal with as a result of the acquisition meant that they had
to bring a few specialists on board, and a legal expert in particular. In 2003, Marc Barbeau, Pierre Lpine, and Richard
Verreault hired a rare pearl who appeared well suited to the
position and got along well with management. The last step in
the hiring process was for this person to meet Laurent to obtain
his approval.
Laurents first words to the new hire were: Why should we meet? I
dont need a lawyer; I already have Robert Dorion. The rare pearl
answered, firmly and calmly, in the tactful language of a lawyer:
What Ive been told is that management wants a lawyer and that
they have made their decision. Now, Mr. Verreault, if we cant
meet face to face and get along with each another, its going to be
very difficult for us to work together.
Mixing growth with pleasure 183
kett Gre
e
rac
td
nL
e Came
Elit
r
Ltd
on
Lawyer Gwen Klees held her own and persevered, despite the few
inevitable confrontations with and objectionable jabs from the
troop of men that surrounded her. Her arrival in 2003 signaled
a break with tradition that was to change the make-up of GL&V
almost as much as the acquisition of EIMCO!
And it certainly did not hurt that GL&V also had a presence
throughout the world!
The arrival on the international scene of GL&V/Dorr-Oliver
Eimco, the new public name of our Process Group, radically
changed our position and those of our competitors. DorrOliver Eimco ranked among the key providers of liquid/solid
separation technologies solutions.
Our geographical position as a world-class supplier also changed
our former competitive, procurement, or client relationships
with many companies. It became essential for us to consolidate
our share of the market through various useful and strategic
acquisitions.
All at once, Lucky Star was transported back to those exhilarating
early days in the companys history. In the 1980s, to build Groupe
Mixing growth with pleasure 185
2006
a well-balanced portfolio of high-technology screening, membrane, and biofilter processes for various applications.
In 2005, we bought the British companies Jones & Attwood
and Brackett Green, and, in 2006, the Water division of the
Finnish company Metso, the American firm Enviroquip,
and finally, COPA, with operations in the United Kingdom
and Australia.
Contrary to the early 2000s, when financial establishments had
been skittish, these years were easy and conducive to our acquisition activities. Certainly, the banks were certainly reacting
better to recently expanding markets, but GL&Vs results were
spectacular and reassuring.
In May 2006, we announced record profits for four consecutive quarters, and an annual profit that was 146 percent higher
than the year before. Our order book had also jumped by
10 percent compared to the same date in 2005.
METSO
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Selling it all
to keep it all
Putting on our
dancing shoes
In the fall of 2006, Richard had met the head of this huge
company, who at that time had expressed an interest in
getting together with us to discuss a possible merger. Richard
had played hard to get and refused, but before leaving, he had
hinted that, should he truly be interested in a major acquisition, the door might be open just a crack.
At the same time, I had been thinking, and I had reached the
conclusion that our Process Group had reached its peak value
in a mining market that had attained the maximum expansion
possible in the current context. I was even anticipating an
imminent decrease in mining activity in China, following their
Olympic boom in 2008. If we wanted to continue developing
our water treatment expertise and supporting our Pulp and
Paper Group, which was still a bit slow, now was the time to sell.
As soon as the purchase of Krebs International had been
announced, the phone rang in Richards office.
Nice shot! the boss of FLSmidth told him. We also wanted
Krebs, but you got it. Now, are you for sale? Do you want to
have dinner with us?
My strategy had worked.
Laurent Verreault had bought so many companies in his life that
his sales strategy was now infallible. Well done, old hunter!
Lucky Star still worked very hard to support him again. There
had been all the legal and financial information to prepare,
and all the administrative documentation to assemble during
Christmas 2006. Fast, fast... Laurent had decided he would go
to Copenhagen in Denmark at the beginning of January to launch
his charm offensive. He put on his best dancing shoes.
Thats his style.
selling it all to keep it all 193
Selling
everything,
keeping
everything...
rebuilding
it all
The board of directors had to create an independent committee, supported by external advisors to negotiate with the buyersFLSmidth on one hand, and my partners and me on the
othereach of whom had their own external advisors.
Because Laurent Verreault was sitting in two chairs at once, I
had no choice but to withdraw from the negotiations.
For the first time in my entire thirty-two-year career as an
entrepreneur since 1975, I, who had personally led every transaction to that point, was prohibited from intervening in these
negociations. And this was not just any transaction, it was the
most important one of all: the sale of my own company!
For eight months, Lucky Star shed blood, sweat, and tears practically day and night, and under the most extreme conditions,
earning the Distinguished Lucky Star badge in the process.
Laurent was entirely disqualified from leading or even taking part
in this, the most thrilling quest of his career.
It didnt mean, however, that he would play a negligible role:
he was, after all, negotiating what he had taken all his life
to build. During these eight months, Lucky Star channeled
Laurents absolute, verging on blind, across-the-board faith in
his collaborators.
There was no room for error. Here, you had the most excellent
buyers, FLSmidth and Laurent himself with his partners. Added
to the mix was also the extremely rare phenomenon of family
succession within an outstanding Quebec company of international scope. And in progress was a transaction pegged at close to
$1 billion, an exceptional event in the Canadian business world.
But they were walking on the edge of a dangerous and everpresent precipice of laws, regulations, taxation, administration,
198 Laurent Verreault and GLV
V
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20
Inc.
V Inc.
007
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There was, indeed, much to do, but with less personnel and reduced
financial means. The Process Group had been extremely profitable
and had also generated the cash needed for both everyday operations
and acquisitions, which were needed for the company to grow.
In selling off this group in 2007, GLV had divested itself of more
than six hundred employees, a third of its workforce. It had also
reduced its earnings by about 50 percent. Lucky Star was brilliant,
but not a miracle worker! The companys structure was as complex
as it ever was, with offices around the world, but with fewer Blues
and Dependables to look after everything.
With reduced revenues, how would Laurent handle things? What
would be the future of pulp and paper? Where on this planet?
What was the true potential of water treatment? Should the
strategy be to consolidate the acquisitions or buy more?
Oh! If only Lucky Star could predict the future! Well, as it turned
out, it did have an idea, which it was eager to share.
J ENVIR
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NM
dance in March, their business took a turn for the worse. They
found themselves in a precarious financial position and were
unable to refuse our offer. In only a few months, their market
capitalization had dropped from $350 million to $105 million.
The situation they were now in made it imperative for them to
consider a major integration operation. And GLVs specialty just
happened to be integrating companies. Time to make our move!
Thus it came to pass that in November 2009, with the support
of our longstanding business allies, the Fonds de solidarit
FTQ and the Caisse de dpt et placement du Qubec, we
bought Christ Water Technology.
The acquisition of Christ Water Technology immediately
doubled the staff of Eimco Water Technologies and boosted
the industrial portion of our sales, exceeding our targeted earnings in industrial water by one half. It positioned us as one of
the worlds leading suppliers of comprehensive water treatment
services, including ultrapurification technologies that yielded
process water with one of the highest degrees of purity in
the industry.
During this time, industrialized countries were going through
the worst economic crisis since the 1929 stock market crash. In
2008, we carried out a complete restructuration of the Water
Treatment Group, similar to how we had reorganized the Pulp
and Paper Group in 2004, to align supply with demand and be
able to better weather the storm.
Just as paper machines wear out during times of both
austerity and growth, the worlds water needs cleaning in spite
of recessions.
Once again, we made the right choices.
selling it all to keep it all 213
OVIVO:
everyone will
like that
Gwen Klees
Gwen, are you going to propose a solution or are you just providing me with an analysis?
Well, of course Gwen had a solution in mind, and it was one
that would completely change the environment for the newcomers!
Many years ago, Lucky Star had the walls of a foundry repainted
white, introduced French during board meetings in Ontario,
emptied a complete floor of unmotivated managers, renovated the
exteriors of factory buildings, and packed up and relocated entire
companies, lock, stock and barrel. Anything was possible, and
today, Gwen was proposing something similar.
Today, we would change the name of the company, so that all
the employees in all the constituent companies all over the world
would feel included, invited, part of the larger GLV family.
The Water Treatment Group, known throughout the world for
almost ten years under the names Eimco Water Technologies and
Christ Water Technology, would, from now on, be called Ovivo. The
business involved in this rechristening was complicated, but the desired
result was achieved very quickly, to the delight of everyone involved.
September
It is September 2010. I have just celebrated my sixty-ninth
birthday.
For thirty-five years, I have surrounded myself with men and
women who have helped me build a company that was, first, a
very personal endeavor, which then blossomed into a regional,
provincial, national and North American, and, finally, multinational undertaking.
GLV is not a giant, but it is ours, and we are proud of it. On a
global scale, we are a medium-sized company. But size is not
everything. What counts is that everywhere in the world, we
220 Laurent Verreault and GLV
epilogue
Mr. Verreault?
Certainly.
Which one?
not long ago, Richard was telling me that he met the president
of an Austrian multinational that had been managed by the
family for eleven generations. Dreams can come true!
I think the difficulty lies in the fact that, first, a father may
believe that his son is not as smart as he and not equipped to
take his place, and, second, that his son would be afraid of
dislodging the old wolf as the head of the pack. But Richard
and I were well prepared for this transition. Besides, ever since
I was young, it has always been my firm belief that one should
make room for youth!
Moreover, Richard has been with the company longer than
anyone. He started in 1976, mowing the lawn around Bernard
Lemaires buildings in Cabano, while Laperrire & Verreault
installed paper machines inside.
I had the boards blessing. He was really the only one to whom
I could entrust the company: he had been slowly climbing
every rung of the ladder for thirty years. And he had done it
on his own, because I had never pulled strings for him or asked
people to grant him special favors. He himself did not like
people knowing he was Laurents son.
Respect, like knowledge, has always been acquired through
hard work.
And today, it is my two boys, my son Richard and Marc
Barbeau, the Chief Financial Officer, who are working hard to
make a name for themselves, to be appreciated and respected
in the business world.
They really remind me of the three musketeers at the beginning
of the story.
226 Laurent Verreault and GLV
I come here nearly every month, but not much more than that.
I am kept abreast of whats happening. They know where to find
me, and often call me from wherever they happen to be in the
world. I have no worries whatsoever about the future of GLV,
even without me. Actually, especially without me in the long
run, since no one has yet discovered the secret to immortality!
Besides, Im still at home here. I have a comfortable office, I work
according to my pace, and I keep in touch with all my people.
Really though, an office is not important for an entrepreneur. A
company thrives and grows in the field, not in an office.
Everyone understood that Laurent was at his best out in the field.
Its not that he didnt plan things, but Laurent was a visionary
and instinctive manager, naturally a little less strictly organized
and more freewheeling. Because he didnt fear the unknown or
anything new, he was able to turn on a dime to rapidly adapt
EPILOGUE 227
Going with
the flow
To be the best, we need to make sure we have local entrepreneurs in place in our offices around the world, because our
management team cant be everywhere at once, making every
local decision! Marc adds with energy. Weve gained footholds in the world through people who think big like GLV, but
who work on-site, locally, to produce their products, for their
markets, with their employees. Each one has to do as much
of their own research and development as they can. We grow
through our acquisitions, but first and foremost by becoming
firmly anchored in our new territories. That has been the GLV
culture, if you wish, since the beginning.
Not only in the pulp and paper sector? I ask.
Yes, in pulp and paper, Richard answers, but mostly in water
treatment, because thats now GLVs core activity.
Thats a big change, isnt it? Laurent and GL&V began in pulp
and paper. What does he think about that?
Lucky Star, remember that GL&V started out not only in
pulp and paper, but also in what we call processes, which led us
to water treatment. Laurent agrees with the new direction were
taking. He understands, as we do, that the demand for clean
water all over the world is huge and is only going to rise. We
must be continually reinventing ourselves, finding and offering
new and better performing technologies. Reinventing ourselves:
its what the musketeers, both old and new, have been doing
since GL&V began.
Richard, a guy firmly rooted in water, adds:
The worlds population will reach ten billion by the year 2050.
All these people are going to have to eat and drink. The food
industry consumes more water, Lucky Star, than you can
236 Laurent Verreault and GLV
THE END
(and the start of something else...)
EPILOGUE 237
features
The Acquisitions
Timeline of events
June 1975
1978
1981
1981
L&V, SFVF, and Les Services Maxi-Plus merge under the name
Groupe Laperrire & Verreault.
June 1986
March 1987
October 1988
December 6, 1989
features 241
December 1992
January 1, 1993
1993
February 1993
September 1993
October 1, 1997
December 4, 1997
September 5, 1998
April 1, 1999
December 4, 2000
April 2, 2001
October 2002
November 8, 2002
May 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
2004
April 2004
April 1, 2005
Acquisition of Perplas.$415,000
September 6, 2005
November 7, 2005
January 9, 2006
April 1, 2006
December 4, 2006
Acquisition from Metso Corporation of the main assets relating to the Swedish company Kvaerner Pulpings activities in
pulp-washing, oxygen delignification, and bleaching.
$4,700,000
October 3, 2007
March 7, 2008
March 2012
March 2012
Notes:
Transaction value before adjustments.
Recorded after the transaction date.
Not including financial liabilities.
Transactions in foreign currency converted into Canadian dollars
on May 16, 2012.
a Bit of History
At the time of GL&Vs first public offering in 1986, the
company was specialized in designing, manufacturing, and
installing equipment for pulp and paper companies. GL&V
had specific expertise in rebuilding and upgrading this type
of equipment. Its customers were in Canada and the United
States and all services were marketed from its facilities in
Trois-Rivires, Quebec.
Around the end of the 1980s, GL&V implemented a major
expansion strategy through acquisitions and investments in
real estate. The goal was to diversify sector and geographic
markets and to modernize infrastructure. That is why the
company also invested heavily in research and development in
order to expand its array of proprietary products: technologies,
trademarks, industrial drawings, and all rights of this nature.
In the early 1990s, it therefore began to upgrade its manufacturing
equipment, to implement total quality management, to increase
the technological content of its products and services, and to
develop its presence in international markets.
An investment program worth nearly $20 million was therefore
put in place to modernize the companys workshops, including
the purchase of computer-controlled machine-tools. With this
equipment, the company was able to produce parts of a higher
quality, more quickly than ever before.
More than $1 million was also invested in both training the
workers to operate these new computer-controlled machinetools and total quality training.
Thanks to all these investments, made for the most part between
1987 and 1992, GL&V climbed to the top of its industry.
features 249
features 251
features 255
Exceptional teamwork
One person makes a difference. Sharing knowledge and working as a team is even
more effective. Working together makes it possible to overcome all limits and meet
industry challenges. At GLV, the motto is: Winning and Succeeding Together.
Company spirit
Everyone has the ability to recognize great opportunities for ensuring value-added
production and customer satisfaction. Every member of the company is responsible
for taking whatever action is needed to always achieve the targeted level of excellence
and quality.
Accountability
All members of the company are responsible for their actions and for effective risk
management. In doing so, they ensure the companys success.
Integrity
The companys personnel is its most precious asset. That is why the workplace
environment in all divisions must be safe and stimulating. The company places high
value on a culture of transparency and respect. Ethical conduct is the only accepted
standard at GLV, for both its employees and its customers.
Social involvement
Laurent Verreault always felt it was important to give back what he could to his
community. For this reason, he has always been involved with charitable organizations
and with public or para-public organizations, including being a:
Member of the Board of Directors of CDIC (Corporation conomique de
dveloppement industriel et commercial) for the City of Trois-Rivires during the
1980s.
Member, then Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Centre hospitalier
Cloutier, Cap-de-la-Madeleine, 1986 to 1996.
Member of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Exchange from 1999 to
2008 and the Toronto Stock Exchange after the merger of the two exchanges from
2008 to 2011.
Maison Albatros, Trois-Rivires
Centre prvention suicide les Deux Rives, Trois-Rivires
Fondation du Centre de radaptation InterVal, Trois-Rivires
Fondation de lAtaxie Charlevoix-Saguenay
Fondation de lUQTR (Universit du Qubec Trois-Rivires)
Fondation CHRTR (Centre hospitalier rgional de Trois-Rivires)
Carpe Diem - Centre de ressources Alzheimer, Trois-Rivires
Laurent Verreault was also named ambassador for the city of La Tuque during the
municipalitys centennial celebrations in 2011. This title is given to people from
La Tuque who have ensured the promotion of the municipality and who have made
their mark at the regional, provincial, national, or international level.
Plaque for Laurent Verreault at the Centre International de Couchage in Trois-Rivires.
features 257
1
2
6
7
1. Maria Robichaud
and Bernard Lemaire
2. Diane LHeureux,
Payroll Manager, and
Andre Giroux,
Assistant Accountant
in the 1990s
3. Bill Saulnier and
administrative
assistants Johanne
Thort, Mlodie
Lazzarra, and Sharon
Newman
4. Bill Saulnier and
Richard Verreault at
the Christmas party in
2000
5. Pierre Lpine and
Pascale MacDonald
6. Laurent Verreault
and Maria Robichaud
at a Halloween party
in the 1980s
7. Nathalie Bouchard,
Laurent Verreaults
Secretary and
Financial Director
8. Ren LHeureux,
Andre Giroux,
Laurent Verreault, and
Bill Saulnier on the golf
course
9. Bill Saulnier,
Alain Rivard, Yvon
LHeureux, and Ren
LHeureux
10. Yvon LHeureux
on a fishing trip in
the 1980s
11. Laurent Verreault
being carried by
Bill Saulnier
12. Guy Croteau and
Louis Laperrire
13. Claude Leblanc
11
8
9
12
13
10
features 259
features 261
The Boards
of Directors
Sylvie Lalande
1986-1992
Laurent Verreault
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1
Louis Laperrire
Bernard Lemaire
Laurent Mimeault
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier1
1993-1994
Laurent Verreault
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1
Louis Laperrire
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier1
1995
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1,2
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1,2
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier1
1996-1998
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1,2
Jean Desbiens
Paule Dor2
Robert Dorion1,2
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier
1999
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1,2
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1,2
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier
2000
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1,2
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1,2
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre Monahan
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier
2001
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1,2
Jean-Pierre de Montigny1
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre Monahan1
Pierre A. Raymond
Bill Saulnier
Grald Tremblay2
Richard Verreault
2002
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1,2
Jean Desbiens
features 265
Robert Dorion1
Louis Laperrire2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre Monahan1
Bill Saulnier
Richard Verreault
2003-2004
Laurent Verreault
Claude Boivin1,2
Jean Desbiens
Robert Dorion1(2003)
Sylvie Lalande2
Louis Laperrire1,2
Bernard Lemaire
Pierre Monahan1
Bill Saulnier
Richard Verreault
2005-2006
Laurent Verreault
Michel Baril1,2
Claude Boivin1,2
Denyse Chicoyne1
Robert Dorion
Sylvie Lalande2
Louis Laperrire2
Pierre Monahan1
Bill Saulnier
Richard Verreault
266 Laurent Verreault and GLV
2007-2009
Laurent Verreault
Marc Barbeau
Claude Boivin1,2
Marc Courtois1
Guy Fortin2
Sylvie Lalande2
Pierre Seccareccia1
Richard Verreault
2010
Laurent Verreault
Marc Barbeau
Claude Boivin2
Marc Courtois1
Guy Fortin2
Sylvie Lalande2
Jacques Landreville1
Pierre Seccareccia1
Richard Verreault
Pierre Seccareccia1
Richard Verreault
2012
Laurent Verreault
Marc Barbeau
Chantal Blanger2
Claude Boivin2
Marc Courtois1
Sylvie Lalande2
Jacques Landreville1
Normand Morin1
Pierre Seccareccia1
Richard Verreault
2011
Laurent Verreault
Marc Barbeau
Claude Boivin2
Marc Courtois1
Guy Fortin2
Sylvie Lalande2
Jacques Landreville1
Normand Morin1
features 267
was their courage, their judgment, their vision, their risk management that was being questioned here. And they were not
taking it well, at all.
Let me begin with Laurent who had not reacted well to the
decision made by Financire Banque Nationale, with whom
he had been negotiating all summer long to finance their latest
acquisition, EIMCO. Laurent thought he had an agreement
with them, but a few weeks before it was to be signed, there had
been a complete reversal. His bank informed him that a financing loan was no longer feasible and that he would have to raise
capital by issuing new shares. Laurent felt like he had been cut
adrift, unjustly treated by his bank, the one that had supported
him so well until then. There had been a change of the guard
at FBN, and Laurent had been dealing with new people. The
previous officers would have understood him. They trusted him.
To crank up the pressure, Laurent could rely on his long
standing business partner, Bernard Lemaire, who spoke to him
as a brother.
I told you, Laurent, that these guys have never taken a risk in
their lives. You cant count on them; theyre incapable of seeing
beyond the ends of their own noses. Theyre not businessmen!
Bernard Lemaire got up, took off his jacket, undid his tie, put
his fists down on the table and, looking at Laurent, added:
They wont get us Laurent, they wont make us beg. That
wont happen. Well go see other banks! he said, by then
gesticulating wildly with his hands.
This was my first encounter with Bernard Lemaire. I would
never forget it.
features 269
And that was all it took to get Laurents two other associates, Jean Desbiens and Louis Laperrire to jump in along the
same lines:
Theyre afraid of the way the wind is blowing, they arent
tough enough, theyve never wagered a damn penny of their
own in their entire lives, those bastards.
We could have switched banks twenty times, but we didnt
because they had been there for us at the very beginning, and
we remembered that. And to thank us, they want to screw us.
It makes me sick.
And the others also had their say. Claude Boivin, Robert
Dorion, Richard Verreault, Pierre Monahan, Marc Barbeau
they were all just as insulted and disappointed. There was no
chance to say anything, except maybe to ask a question. Deep
down, I hoped that the walls were soundproof enough so that
the shareholders who had travelled to attend this meeting
would not hear us.
The storm lasted two hours. I did not know what to think or
how to act. I wondered if all our meetings would be like this.
A few weeks before, these men had seemed so calm, so poised,
so in control. In short, that was some initiation to the board
of directors of Groupe Laperrire & Verreault. It was an initiation to entrepreneurship, the real spirit of it, the one held by
builders. These nine angry men were of that breed.
Nine angry men . . . but not bitter men. As a testament to
that, during future financing opportunities, they might have
discarded FBN for other financial institutions several times,
270 Laurent Verreault and GLV
Sylvie Lalande
features 271
GLV:
The New Face
features 273
Ovivo
GLV
Canada
Head Office
Canada
GL&V Canada
Canada
Christ Water
Technology
Austria
Ovivo
Finland
Finland
Hinke
Hungary
* Branch
Ovivo GWE
U.S.A.
Ovivo USA
U.S.A.
Ovivo Division
Canada
Ovivo UK
England
and
Wales
Ovivo Spain,
Spain
Ovivo
Holland
Netherlands
Ovivo
France
France
Ovivo Aqua
South
Africa
Ovivo
Taiwan
Taiwan
Ovivo India
India
Ovivo
Australia
Australia
Ovivo
Singapore
Singapore
Geda et Ovivo
Northern
Ireland
MacQuarie
Automation
Australia
Ovivo NZ
New
Zealand
Ovivo
Austria
Austria
Ovivo Aqua
Tunisia
Ovivo
Shangai
China
Ovivo Middle
East
U.A.E.
Ovivo
Aqua
Engineering Switzerland
Austria Switzerland
Aqua
Engineering
U.A.E.
Ovivo
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Ovivo Aqua
Africa
South
Africa
features 275
GLV Inc
Canada
Head Office
Canada
GL&V Sweden
Sweden
GL&V France
France
GL&V
Canada inc
Canada
GL&V Industrial
Equipement Trading
(Beijing)
China
GL&V India
India
GL&V USA
U.S.A.
GL&V Brasil
Equipamentos
Comercio e services
Brazil
Other divisions
In addition to these two groups, GLV has a manufacturing
unit specialized in the production of large custom-made parts,
named GLV Manufacturing, located in Trois-Rivires, Quebec.
Highly active in the pulp and paper sector, the Manufacturing
division is specialized in the manufacturing and machining of
large parts. GLV Manufacturings workers have taken on many
built-to-order projects both for the GLV Pulp and Paper Group
features 277
Business Model
Expansion
Through Acquisitions
Targeted
International Development
growth
Provider of Comprehensive
Value Added Solutions
creator of
long-term value
Manufacturing
Outsourcing
Entrepreneurial
Culture
profitability
Competitive and
Flexible Cost Structure
for
our shareholders
our customers
our employees
Strong Aftermarket
Presence
Financial Health
Corporate
Governance
solidity
features 279
Index
3H Mining 245
A
ADDAX Australia 177, 244
AJM 274
AJM Environmental Services
209, 247
Alfa Laval 129, 143, 144
Alfa Laval Celleco 243
Allibe Films 242
Ang, Cynthia 185
Aqua Engineering 274
Arizona, United States 192
Arseneault, Michel 116
Ateliers Allibe 84, 117, 122,
125, 129, 242
Ateliers Fabron 87, 116, 241,
242
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
143, 169
Australia 165, 187, 208, 209,
218, 246
Austria 212, 215, 246
B
Baker Hughes 179, 245
C
Cabano, Quebec 59, 62, 67, 70
Caird & Rayner Clark 274
Caisse de dpt et placement
du Qubec 213
Calgary, Alberta 166, 169
Cameron, Anne 134
Canada Iron Co. 84
Canadian International Paper 49, 51, 179
Canron 84, 87, 116, 129, 241
Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec
72
Cascades 97
Cascades Lupel 72, 77
Celleco 129, 143, 144, 145, 146,
151, 165, 179
Celleco 276
Centre International de
Couchage 110, 129, 243, 248
D
De Montigny, Jean-Pierre 265
Denmark 194, 200, 247
E
EIMCO 179, 180, 181, 182, 245
Eimco Water Technologies
207, 208, 213, 218, 245, 250
Elite Cameron 245
F
Finland 143, 165
FLSmidth 192, 193, 194, 197,
198, 200, 201, 247, 273
Fonds de solidarit des travailleurs du Qubec (FTQ)
116, 213, 242
Fortier, Luc 75
Fortin, Guy 203, 266
Fortunato, Vincent 117
Fournier, Hlne 161, 203
France 165
Froud, Mike 221
index 281
H
Habart, Bernard 118
Hgersten, Sude 149
Harnischfeger Industries
153, 154, 156
Harrison, Bob 160, 173
Hedemora, Sweden 143, 144
Healy, Walter 158
Hinke 274, 278
Hinke Tankbau 248
Hong Kong, China 211, 247
Hoo, Tony 185
Hudson Falls, New York, United
States 136, 137
Huyck Dewatering Equipment
186, 246
Hydro-Mcanique 14, 99, 100,
102, 111, 129, 241, 243
Hydro-Mcanique Construction 241, 243
Hydro-Qubec 102
I
les-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec
102
IMPCO 154
IMPCOTM 276
India 143, 165, 184
Ingersoll-Rand 154
Innovation Flotation 245
Irving Pulp & Paper 15, 53
J
J&L Fiber Services 186, 246
J.M. Huber Corporation 110,
243
Jones & Attwood 187, 245
Jones+Attwood 274
Joy family 21, 22
Junnan, Zhang 150
K
KanEng-Deltec 246
KanEng Industries 186, 246
Kennicott 274
Kingsey Falls, Quebec 59, 61,
72, 77
Klees, Gwen 170, 171, 184, 202,
217, 218, 219
Korea 143
Krebs International 192, 246
Kvaerner Pulping Business
186, 246
L
Lacroix, Yves 160
Laimer, Hannes 221
Lakeev, Igor 185
Lalande, Sylvie 202, 266, 267
Landegger, Carl 131, 132
Landegger, Carl Michael 131, 132
Landreville, Jacques 266, 267
Laperrire, Louis 14, 16, 51, 53,
54, 64, 67, 68, 70, 72, 77, 90, 93,
95, 97, 98, 102, 103, 111, 159,
173, 197, 203, 243, 253, 254,
258, 265, 266, 270
Laperrire & Verreault 81,
241
La Tuque, Quebec 29, 44, 49, 51,
257
Lau, Andrew 185
LaValley Construction Company 243
LaValley Industries 110, 111,
129, 132, 133, 135, 168, 243
Lawes, Graham 174, 202
Lazzarra, Mlodie 258
Leblanc, Claude 258
Lebreton, Hector 53, 55
M
MacDonald, Pascale 258
Mahoney, Bill 169, 170, 202
Manufacturing Group 108,
110
Manufacturing unit 206, 207
Massachusetts, United States 165
Massicotte & Arcand 83
Matane, Quebec 51, 52
Matveeva, Olga 185
Mlanon, Alain 170
Metso 156, 158, 187, 246
Metso Paper 246
Mimeault, Laurent 265
Mintech Canada 110, 243
Mitsubishi 156
Monahan, Pierre 265, 266, 270
Montreal Exchange 241, 257
Montreal, Quebec 169
Morin, Gilles 116, 148, 150
Morin, Normand 203, 266, 267
Morissette, Valre 116
Munich, Germany 221
N
Nashua, New Hampshire, United
States 154, 155, 160, 161, 166,
244
National Refiner Plate 129,
138, 244
Neufchtel, Quebec 100
New Hampshire, United States
165
Newman, Sharon 258
New York, United States 165
index 283
O
Oasis 154, 157
Ocean Falls, British Columbia 72
Ontario, province 15
Orillia, Ontario 13, 19, 24, 129,
138, 245
Ormique Micro-informatique
83, 129
Ouellette, Sylvain 173, 174, 191,
203
Ovivo 220, 221
Ovivo Finland 248
Ovivo Group 116
OvivoWater Treatment
Group 234, 274
Owen Sound, Ontario 131
P
Pag, Pierre 101
Papier Cascades 15, 59, 60, 61,
62, 64, 67
Ppin, ric 155
Perplas 186, 245
Perrin, Gaetan 101
Philibert, Paul 101
Picard, Andr 155
Piette, Andr 75
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United
States 160
Port-Cartier, Quebec 97, 98
Q
Quebec, province 129, 165
R
Rader 157
Raymond, Pierre A. 265
Rebut, Roger 118, 122
Restaurant le Pignon Rouge
44
Rexfor 60, 63, 64
Reynolds, Chris 221
Rivard, Alain 155, 258
Roberge, Gilles 51, 60, 62, 67, 69,
70, 72, 102
Robichaud, Maria 43, 44, 45, 46,
47, 49, 52, 67, 185, 258
Roy, Ghislain 74, 78, 79, 97, 102
Rugby, England 183
Russia 143, 147, 151, 165, 184
S
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
35
Saint John, New Brunswick 15
Saint Petersburg, Russia 147, 185
Salt Lake City, Utah, United
States 180
Sandy Hill 129, 136, 137, 243
Saulnier, Bill 13, 74, 77, 78, 80,
82, 90, 91, 93, 94, 101, 117,
121, 122, 124, 134, 135, 144,
145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 168,
169, 170, 173, 180, 181, 191,
203, 216, 258, 265, 266
Seccareccia, Pierre 203, 266, 267
Sherbrooke, Quebec 169
Singapore 185
Sleigher, Simon 78
Smirnov, Peter 185
Socit de Fabrication des
Vieilles Forges 77, 78, 79,
81, 82, 83, 90, 241
South Africa 165, 174, 245, 246
Spain 165, 244
Steilacoom, Washington, United
States 72
St-Raymond Paper 72, 102
Sundqvist, Mikael 146, 148, 174,
175
Sunds Defibrator 243
SuperBatch 276
Sweden 129, 143, 165, 174,186,
246
T
TamPulping 248
Teoh, Charlene 185
Tepro 274
Texas, United States 211
Thort, Johanne 258
Therrien, Bernard 74, 75, 78, 79
Toronto Stock Exchange 247,
257
Tremblay, Grald 265
Tremblay, Guy 51, 60
Trenton, Ontario 36
Trepanier, Hlne 145
Trois-Rivires, Quebec 29, 78,
84, 109, 129, 169, 249, 257, 277
Tullins, France 117, 122
Tumba, Sweden 143
U
United Kingdom 186, 187, 247
United States 136, 137, 143, 169,
173, 245
V
Valladolid, Spain 162
Valmet 136, 243
Vancouver, Washington, United
States 169
W
Washington, United States 165
Watertown, New York, United
States 132, 135, 243
Water Treatment Group 175,
177, 206, 207, 213, 217, 245,
273
Wetherbee, Douglas 203, 221
Wong, Samuel 185
Woodruff, David 203
Note:
We hope that all those
whose names do not
appear will see themselves
in the role of Lucky Star.
Thank you!
Y
Yong, Jenny 185
Yule, Bart 173, 174
index 285
t the start of my career, when I was an instrumentation and controls technician in New Brunswick,
I had been amazed by a power-transmission system
made by Dorr-Oliver; seventeen years later, I bought
the company.
While working at the paper plant in Matane in 1968,
I did some maintenance work on our brand new Black
Clawson, a remarkable paper machine; in 1996,
I acquired that company too.
In 1963, when I was twenty-one years old, I signed on as
an apprentice with the Canadian International Paper
company in La Tuque. There, I learned about the
process of filtering pulp on the Celleco vortex systems; in 1998, thirty-five years later, I purchased the
company.
For more than twenty years, I lay under machines,
installing, maintaining, or repairing them. Some were
ordinary, others were dream machines, like the ones
manufactured by the one-hundred-year-old EIMCO.
In 2002, I bought EIMCO.
In 2007, for the first time in my thirty-two-year career,
I, who had personally led every transaction to that
point, was prohibited from intervening in the one
under way. And not just any transaction, the most
important one of all: the sale of my own company!
And now, well, things are moving as fast as they ever
were. And full steam ahead! Let me tell you the story.