The Brantford Emery Wheel Company: A Century of Grinding Excellence
The Brantford Emery Wheel Company (later the Brantford Grinding Wheel Company) was one of Canada’s renowned industrial firms. Their specialized grinding wheel products and their longevity are a testament to the brand’s versatility and dedication to manufacturing excellence. The Brantford Emery Wheel Company was established at 22 Dalhousie Street in Brantford in 1909 by William D. Schultz, John Muir, B. L. Goold, W. T. Henderson, and Colonel F. A. Howard. The company began making silicate emery wheels with Colonel Howard as managing director. Within a year, expanding demand required that the company shift to a bigger plant at 188 Pearl Street, a building clad in silica-pressed bricks that encompassed the company’s forward-thinking nature. At the Pearl Street shop, the firm added vitrified emery wheels to its product line, which set the stage for growth. Creating hardy, high-quality wheels for various grinding applications, the company quickly became a rising star in Canada’s manufacturing industry.
In 1920, it was bought out by the Waltham Grinding Wheel Company of Massachusetts, whose internationalization marked its first move into the international stage. However, within three years, the firm was transferred to Canadian ownership and renamed the Brantford Grinding Wheel Company. The change offered fresh vision and leadership with Colonel Howard becoming president of the company and J. Agnew Howard secretary-treasurer. The team, led by Montreal’s directors George G. Cuttle, A. L. Niven and S. B. Hammond, steered the firm on a new trajectory. The Brantford Grinding Wheel Company was renowned for its Alobrant and Carbobrant trademarks. These vitrified, silicate and shellac-processed grinding wheels were praised for their quality and strength and gained Dominion-wide distribution and a strong reputation from users across Canada. Throughout the company's existence, it was incredibly innovative and effective. By 1975, the Pearl Street location had been outgrown, with the shipping section moving to 41 Craig Street. Five years later, in 1980, the firm opened a new, state-of-the-art factory at 354 Elgin Street to cater to growing demands. Modernization was part of its ambition to remain ahead in the harsh products industry.
The company’s success brought with it growing pressure from international competition and economic uncertainty. The company was part of Avco Corporation by 1964, and in 1971 it was purchased by Dresser Industries Ltd. of Dallas, Texas. These challenges brought new technologies and tactics, and by 1990 production in Brantford stopped as production shifted to the US. The closing of the Pearl Street and Elgin Street mills was the last straw for Brantford’s grinding wheel industry. Despite this, the firm’s memory lives on as a tribute to its contribution to Canada’s manufacturing past. The transformation of the Brantford Emery Wheel Company from a small regional operation into a major, nationally recognized manufacturer was evidence of the early 20th-century industrial power of the city. Its creativity, craftsmanship and business smarts not only satisfied the needs of the day but established the benchmark in tough conditions. Its products, widely considered the industry’s best, continue to be a reminder of Canadian innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit that inspired Brantford’s industrial development. And though the wheels might not be spinning in Brantford now, the Brantford Emery Wheel Company’s legacy of perseverance and creativity continues.
References
https://history-api.brantfordlibrary.ca/Document/View/c35a2046-4306-441e-ab2f-3fade46ce2f3
Brantford Expositor. (1927). Brantford Expositor, Semi-Centennial Edition, 1877-1927 (Commemorative Newspapers). Brantford. Public Domain.
Brantford Expositor. (1909, October). Greater Brantford Number. Brantford, Ontario. Public Domain.