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• 1 2025-07-28T02:53:47+00:00 Paper & Pulp Industry 8 zaid plain 2025-08-05T23:38:21+00:00

  What is Wire Cloth?

  Wire Cloth is a fine-gauge metal mesh that plays a vital role within the paper-making process. Used in the final stage of production, the wire cloth acts as a screen through which pulp is poured to separate water from fibre. As the liquid drains through, the pulp solidifies on the mesh surface, allowing it to be processed into paper sheets. This process can date back centuries to before the Industrial Revolution when it was hand-woven. With the invention of more mechanized means, faster, and larger paper production could occur, such as the case of the Capital Wire Cloth Factory.
  
  

  Ottawa's Paper and Pulp Industry

  Ottawa emerged as a key centre for Canada's paper and pulp industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Ottawa's key location near forestry and flowing water sources gave the industry room for growth, transport, and power. Companies like the E.B. Eddy Company and figures like J.R Booth influenced the rise and dominance of the lumber industry in this period. the growth of lumber operations in the region helped drive industry related to paper and pulp. The region developed industry, such as the Capital Wire Cloth Factory as it grew, helping meet Canadian and American paper needs. The paper and pulp industry of this region shaped the economic success of Ottawa and gave it a reputation as a growing manufacturing hub. 

  "Among the new industries established in Ottawa and the vicinity during the past year are... Capital Wire and Manufacturing Co. corner Armstrong and Hamilton Avenue... among the industries' already in Ottawa which have enlarged their plants during the year are... McAuliffe-Davis Lumber Co., Ltd., [and]... E.B. Eddy company, [with a] new mill and power house in Hull." - (The Ottawa Citizen, January 11, 1913, 4)

  
  Although the industry was booming through the early 1900s, contributing to the success of wire cloth production, it was increasingly slowing down in relevance to Ottawa's economy. With a loss of most of the local forest and urbanization, the industry was beginning to shift elsewhere. For Capital Wire Cloth Factory however, the industry remained successful for decades after until plastic alternatives took over. According to R.J. Smallian, the president of the factory in 1974, plastic wire screens last 10 times longer than metal, making them a better investment to the metal wires traditionally produced. 

  Additional Readings

  Check out these sources for more information about Wire Cloth and the Lumber industry in Ottawa.
  • Bogdanski, Bryan E.C. "The Rise and Fall of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Sector." The Forestry Chronicle, 2014. https://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/pdf/10.5558/tfc2014-151.
  • Locker Group Ltsd. "The History of Wire Weaving and Wire Working." Locker Group, May 21, 2018. https://www.lockergroup.com/history/history-of-wire-weaving/#:~:text=Hand%20woven%20wire%20mesh%20had,for%20the%20production %20of%20paper.
  • Powell, James. "The Last Timber Raft." The Historical Society of Ottawa. Accessed February 16, 2025. https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/momentous-events-in-the-city-s-life/the-last-timber-raft.
  • Pulp & Paper Canada. "Pulp and Paper in Canada: Its First Century." Pulp and Paper Canada, May 1, 2003. https://www.pulpandpapercanada.com/pulp-and-paper-in-canada-its-first-century-1000152489/.
  • U.S. Department of Commerce. "Fourdrinier Wire Cloth." Bureau of Standards, March 15, 1933. https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/CS/cs36-33.pdf.