The Industry and its Founders

Built near the end of the 1930s by Napoléon-Martin Lagueux. Went bankrupt in 1940 after the misfortune of a cardboard box industry and a cookie-making plant. Bought by the St-George's V. Dionne et Fils Company, it employed 8 laborers for cheese boxes manufacturing. In 1943, veneer manufacturing was added. The working force was then consisting of both men and women and counted about 100 employees. The Placo permanently ceased its operations in 1967 following bankruptcy.

Source: Christian Jacques Fund (1938)

In 1954, thanks to the Syndicat Industriel (a union), which gathered the capital required to expand and relaunch the Placo up until its permanent closure in 1967.
Over the following years, several investors briefly follow one another. In December 1983, Jean-Marc Giguère bought the Placo and turned it into the Motel Industriel. In November 1953 and, three months later, on February 18, 1954, two workers from Tring-Jonction fell into the 140°F boiling water outside well. Both workers died, leaving behind 6 and 7 children respectively, all very young. What a tragedy!

Source:  St-Frédéric's 150th anniversary book (1954)

In 1969, a businessmen group consisting of Bertrand Champagne, Clément Nolet and Placide Poulin founded the Moderne Fibreglass Metal Company in Tring-Jonction, now known as Fibre de verre Moderne, a division of Maax Inc. since 1987. Several hundreds of people are still working there today. We are proud of Mr. Poulin's success.

Source: 75th anniversary book (1992)