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L  ike many rendering companies, Sanimax started from very   little, but with hard work, tenacity, and the right decisions, it became one man’s dream and a thriving family empire. Born in 1903, Alex Couture was the sixth of 11 children in a poor, French-speaking family that lived on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from Quebec City in Quebec, Canada. Following the death of his father when he was just 16, Couture first began working in Canada’s railway industry in Quebec City, later moving into meat processing during the Great Depression, a sensible choice during difficult economic times. In 1935, he helped establish a slaughterhouse before working for another meat processor that eventually became what is known today as Maple Leaf Foods. It was while working for these various companies Couture became familiar with rendering techniques since at the time most slaughterhouses processed fat, bones, offal, and other animal by-products in their own facilities. After some time, he made a key move from the shop floor to the administrative offices where his commanding knowledge of English, thanks to his mother and years spent in the railway sector, helped propel his career. Motivated, disciplined, and hardworking, Couture moved to senior management positions at a relatively young age. However, at the age of 40, he decided to become his own boss and rendering seemed a natural path. Couture and his older brother Déziel founded Couture Enr. in September 1939, the same year Canada declared war on Germany. The brothers decided Déziel would find new Sanimax   A family story for 75 years By Tina Caparella customers while Alex supervised plant operations in the Lower Town of Quebec City. Using a wet rendering process that was patched together from second-hand equipment, the company’s first clients were butcher shops that received their meat in the form of quartered animals. The material was first collected in horse-drawn wagons before powered trucks were later added, allowing easier access to steeper areas of town and country slaughterhouses that were further out. The company shipped one tanker truck of its main product, tallow, to Toronto every two months, where most of Canada’s main soap factories were located. Its other product, bone meal, had very little market value at the time and was used as fertilizer. After a few difficult years, the business finally began to show a profit even though it still was not processing large volumes. The outbreak of World War II acted as a stimulus for Canadian industry, which started to manufacture military goods not only for Canada but also for its allies, the United States (US) and Great Britain. One of the products needed to manufacture explosives was glycerin, which is obtained from rendered animal fat, and the price shot up. Due to this increase in price and demand, Couture Enr. became a flourishing business by the end of the war.   However, in 1944, Déziel fell ill and died at the age of 44. In accordance with the business agreement signed by the brothers, Déziel’s shares were bought by Alex, who became the sole proprietor of the company that was renamed Alex Couture, Inc. Couture took his love of From left, Murray and Jean Couture stand with their father, Alex, in front of the family business in the 1950s. 20  April 2014  Render www.rendermagazine.com


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