Here are a few of the great moments that make up the history of our company.

• In 1973, after working as a harvesting contractor for 30 years (Parent Lumber), Mr. Arthur Parent, who was 51 years old at the time, built his first sawmill in Saint-Quentin. At that manufacturing plant, forty people were employed transforming logs into planks and thick boards.



• In 1975, he acquired a shingle manufacturing plant where an additional 20 people were employed.



• In 1979, extreme bad lick struck Mr. Parent when his sawmill was destroyed by fire. Forty employees were affected by that disaster. Without hesitation he decided to rebuild and the new sawmill was completed and operational within 10 months. He now enjoys a modern and spacious plant that produces 90 000 FBM of softwood lumber every working quarter.



• In 1984, a retail division was added that eventually lead to the construction of a hardware store in 1992, now operating under the name of "Matériaux Parent-Rona."



• In 1986, Mr. Parent built another speciality sawmill, adjacent to the one already in place. It is a half-timbering mill where small logs are transformed. Employing between sixty to seventy workers, further modernization and renovations where made at that saw mill in 1994.



• In 1992, the Parent family decided to respond to market demand in value added products, and installed three dry kiln units with a capacity of 450 000 FBM per drying cycle. In 1997, two other kilns with a capacity of 100 000 FBM per unit were added.



• In 1998, the company took a calculated risk with the acquisition of the entreprise Oscar Bélanger Lumber Mill at Saint-Arthur. Including the forestry sectors a total of 125 workers are added to the 225 already at Saint-Quentin. Both companies are amalgamated into one.



• In 1999, two dry kiln units were added to Saint-Arthur plant. The goal being to add value to the saw millproducts.



• In 2000, another major fire destroyed a big part of the Saint-Arthur sawmill. The fire damage was evaluated at more than two millions dollars. The rebuilding decision was very quickly made and five months later the saw mill was functional.



• In 2001, as part of its continuous modernization and sustained investment efforts, an optimized end-trimming system and a lumber sorter with an automated stacker were installed at the Saint-Quentin site.



• In 2003, another optimized end-trimming system and a lumber sorter with an automated stacker were installed at the Saint-Arthur sawmill.



• Currently, the company is reviewing value added projects for Saint-Quentin.