Georges W. Veillette

Georges W Veillette (1918-1993) was the founder of the mattress company Matelas Suprême Inc in Saint-Narcisse, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Several companies working in complementarity or as suppliers of Matelas Suprême have established themselves in Saint-Narcisse in the concept of industrial cluster.

Starting in business Georges Veillette made his early entry into the workforce, first helping his father Welly Veillette (married to Alphonsine Massicotte) who operated a demonstration fruit and vegetable garden; agricultural products were sold on weekends at the Trois-Rivières market. In winter, Georges was a lumberjack, carter or assistant cook in the forest sites of Haute-Mauricie. From the age of 19, he worked 3 or 4 years in the iron and rag recovery business.

Georges Veillette and Georgette Veillette were married on October 19, 1942 in Saint-Narcisse. They had 10 children, from 1943 to 1955. His children got involved in family businesses.

Founder of Matelas Suprême inc

In 1944, he himself invented a filleting machine for the manufacture of mattresses, while he remained in the Second Row in Saint-Narcisse. The first floor of their house served as the first mattress manufacturing plant; then the old barn was used for the business.

In 1964, a modern 71,000 square foot (6,596 m2) Matelas Suprême Inc. factory was built in the village of Saint-Narcisse. Together with his team, he builds his own concrete mixer truck and the crane used to hoist construction materials. Matelas Suprême Inc operated with a production capacity of 700 mattresses per day. The products manufactured were delivered to the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and Western Canada. The Saint-Narcisse plant closed in 1981.

Other companies

In 1964, Georges Veillette built the Motel Robinson, on a peninsula bypassed by the course of the Batiscan River. Then, he set up a campground with 400 sites. He had this business in 1976 when it welcomed up to 10,000 visitors a year. The tercentenary of the Veillet/te d'Amérique was celebrated on this site by 2000 participants on August 13–14, 1988. In 1973, Georges acquired a farm of 50 arpents and 10 horned animals; then he acquired other lots around. Finally, he sold in 1979, when the farm had 400 arpents and 325 horned animals.

Notes and references

Monograph "Saint-Narcisse 1804-1979", by Father Jean Gagnon, p. 258-260, Éditions du Bien Public, section “Matelas Suprême inc”.

Georges W.