The CEMCO family is deeply saddened to announce the loss of President Emeritus and industry beacon Richard Poliquin on June 27.
Poliquin was born in 1930 and was raised in North Dakota before coming to Southern California to join his brother Raymond in 1939. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Korean War as a mechanics chief of a carrier-based Corsair fighter/bomber crew in the Pacific. Upon completing his service, he was honorably discharged and returned to the United States where he learned the lathing trade. In 1954, with his brother, he started the Western Cornerite Co. In 1960, Poliquin became vice president and general manager as the company renamed itself Western Metal Lath Co. He served together there with his brother, the president, for over 25 years.
In 1980 the brothers purchased California Expanded Metal Products Co. where he served as president and president emeritus for over 35 years. Poliquin’s knowledge of manufacturing, production and building product technology led to many of the industry’s popular products. For over 60 years he shared his expertise with the construction industry, and many of continue to benefit from his leadership, ingenuity and integrity.
