Donald Dick was born in Edmonton, Alberta, CA on December 18, 1923. He received his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Alberta, which led him to a career mostly in the pulp and paper industry for 65 years.
His early career consisted of positions with H.A. Simons, where he supervised the structural department, followed by the engineering office at MacMillan Bloedel’s Harmac Pulp Mill in Nanaimo, BC and on to Northwestern Pulp & Power in Alberta where he was the Plant Engineer.
After a few other positions with the Power Corporation of Canada and Stone & Webster Canada, he formed his own consulting firm in Toronto in 1969, along with son Bill, which subsequently became known as Dick Engineering Inc. While the business began to diversify, Don focused on the pulp and paper industry. During this period other engineering firms were consolidating, but Dick Engineering continued to stand on its own by “selecting projects with great care, interest and efficiency”. The company provided state-of-the-art designs to stay ahead of the industry trends.
While at Power Corporation, Don was responsible for the development of Kruger’s Turcot mill located in Montreal, one of the first containerboard mills based entirely on post-consumer recycled paper. Don went on to further this concept with similar mills for Reed Paper (now Cascades), Sonoco and Solvay Paperboard (now Westrock).
After resisting offers from several larger firms, Don and Bill sold Dick Engineering in 2013. Don retired in 2015.
In March 1951, Don married Jennie, and they raised four children; son, Bill and three daughters, Muriel, Kristina and Rundi.
Don’s professional affiliations include; Professional Engineers of British Columbia, CPPA and TAPPI. His work took him to various parts of the world, often accompanied by his wife. Don’s travels include: Mexico, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, the UK, Italy, Spain, India and China. In addition, Don worked on many projects in Canada and the US.
