Consolidated-Bathurst Limited

Gillies Bros. & Co. Ltd. modernized its plant in 1958. Brodie Gillies was chiefly responsible for making the plan a reality. He had just completed the Waltham, Quebec mill, which cut hardwood year round.

Improvements at Braeside included conversion to a completely electrical operation. The firm invested in steam heated dry kilns which enclosed five acres of separate buildings. The aim was to increase capacity to handle all annual cuts that had been previously processed in Temagami in addition to the Braeside location and operate year round. They hoped to produce one-inch boards in as little as two weeks compared to 6 to 12 months required before automation.

In the early 1960’s, sales manager W. W. (“Bud”) Gillespie successfully targeted new export markets in the United States, United Kingdom and the West Indies. The $2,500,000.00 cost of upgrading the Braeside operation paid off in increased sales to these markets.

In 1963, Gillies Bros. merged with Consolidated-Bathurst but operated as a separate company under its president, Arnold Muirhead. This was a turning point for the family firm. Consolidated-Bathurst Inc. was one of the largest pulp and paper companies in Canada with sawmills in Grande Mere, Shawinigan Falls, Trois Rivieres and Port Alfred, Quebec.

In 1965, an automatic tally machine was added to provide more accurate measurements of output. Production was reported to be 29,000 board feet the following year, up from 21,000 in 1959.