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Cascades plans months-long celebration of 50th anniversary

Anniversary celebrations for Quebec-based tissue and packaging company Cascades will extend to all of the company’s units and their respective regions, and continue from March 26 to the end of the summer.

Anniversary celebrations for Quebec-based tissue and packaging company Cascades will extend to all of the company’s units and their respective regions, and continue from March 26 to the end of the summer.

“In 1964, we brought the old Dominion Paper Co. mill back to life with help from the community. At the time, we had little idea that our bold gamble would transform into a grand adventure that would stand the test of time and take us around the world. Now, 50 years later, we are celebrating our economic, environmental and social success through numerous activities that will remind us just how far we have come,” explains Bernard Lemaire, one of the three brothers who founded Cascades.

On March 26, 2014, Cascades’ official birthday, all of the company’s one hundred or so units will be invited to celebrate the historic event with their employees. A morning ceremony will take place in Kingsey Falls at the very first Cascades mill. In the evening, the Lemaire brothers will pay tribute to all of the company’s builders. Customers, suppliers, financial partners and the mill’s original employees will be invited to a gala in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Cascades’ success.

“We owe this success to the men and women who believed in Cascades and in us. Indeed, this is why we are so proud to have been able to arrange certain activities in celebration of our 50th anniversary; activities that will really let our region shine,” said Laurent Lemaire.

This summer, Kingsey Falls will be host to many events. The Boréalis museum (interpretation centre on the history of the paper industry) in Trois-Rivières will bring the Generations exhibition, featuring the great families of Québec’s paper industry, to Kingsey Falls. The Collection Loto-Québec will make a stop in Kingsey Falls, where it will present an exclusive exhibit highlighting paper through the artistic creation Support papier. Other activities will take place throughout the summer season, including an open house at the Cascades units, and performances in Parc Bernard-Lemaire.

In 2013, as a means of thanking the community for their support, the Lemaire brothers announced the construction of a new footbridge made of recycled materials and used paper machine parts spanning the Nicolet River. Both artistic and practical, the footbridge will connect the municipal park with Parc Marie-Victorin. The footbridge will be inaugurated on May 8, the same day as the annual general meeting of Cascades shareholders, also being held in Kingsey Falls.

A number of partners will also pay tribute to the Lemaire brothers and celebrate their accomplishments. On April 16, the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship will hold a gala for the three founders, where they will be honoured by the Québec business community. The local microbrewery, the Hermite, will even brew a 50th anniversary beer.

“The 50th anniversary of the founding of Cascades gives us the opportunity to revisit and celebrate our history and that of the Lemaire brothers. Bernard, Laurent and Alain Lemaire are giants on the Québec business scene and in sustainable development, and we are their heirs. It falls upon us to continue building on this legacy and to carry Cascades into the future,” concluded Mario Plourde.

Cascades produces, converts and markets packaging and tissue products that are composed mainly of recycled fibres.