There have been several businesses in Guelph that a family has started. Christian Kloepfer, for example, relied on family members in the early days of his coal and carriage businesses. However, one business from the very beginning was a family affair. This was the Callander Foundry started by Alex Callander.

Alex Callander

In 1915, Alex Callander (1860-1938), age 55, left the Taylor-Forbes Company with plans to set up his own foundry business in St. Patrick’s Ward. Born in Scotland, in 1860,  he learned his trade as an iron moulder before immigrating to Canada. He was just twenty-six when he arrived, settling first in Brockville.

Later, Alex Callander moved to Guelph. The Raymond Sewing Machine Company was his first employer in this city. He spent 17 years with the company before leaving. He resigned from Raymond’s in 1894 to enter the employ of Taylor-Forbes.

He had been a moulder with standing. He had also been a representative to the Guelph Trade and Labour Council for 1900/1901. Construction was to take place in December of that year. Weather intervened In 1916, A. Callander requested tenders for building his foundry come spring. According to the Guelph Mercury, the plan was to construct “a small one to start with, the building of a capacity of 50’ by 100’… [for] small castings for individuals and small companies.”  However, something must have altered the original plan. Although by September 21, 1916, Callander’s Foundry had become a reality, it was to be found not in the Ward, but on Crimea Street.

A Family Business

The Callander Foundry and Manufacturing Co., Ltd. was truly a family business. In 1916, Alex Callander was president of the company. Together with his five sons, Malcolm, the eldest (VP and General Manager),  Harry Drummond (treasurer) and Wilfrid  L. (secretary) and  David and John S. Callander -directors, they formed its basic managerial and operational structure. They began to make their initial mark by jobbing for local industries.

All had experience in foundry work. Alex had been in charge of the moulding department at Taylor-Forbes. His son John S  had also worked there.

They recruited help from another family member, Hugh B. Callander. At the time of the founding of Callander’s, he held another position. He was the treasurer for the Louden Manufacturing Company. He had helped establish the Canadian branch of this American Firm back in 1908. It specialized in making agricultural equipment and farm-related products. Hugh was also responsible for at least one patent – a hanger for elevated tracks (1909).

His association with Louden’s presented no difficulty at the time. Going from the office of one firm to the other was not problematic. The two companies were located side-by-side at 54 Crimea Street.

The Callanders were joined in this new enterprise by a “silent partner” whose name remains unknown. Financial difficulty initially resulted in the silent partner purchasing Callandar’s. It was possibly under his watch that the only known strike at the plant took place.

The 1920 Strike

On August 5, 1920, 150 moulders, members of the International Moulders Union (IMU) 212, went out in protest against the company’s refusal to grant them a wage increase of 25 percent. The moulders were one of the oldest and strongest unions in Guelph. Local 212 had been in existence since 1902. This, however, was one of their extensive strikes since it involved not one but four shops. These were:

             1.   Crowe’s Iron Works

             2.   White Sewing Machine

             3.   Griffin Foundry Company

             4.   Callander Foundry Company

The strike lasted from August 5 to October 23 – for the Callander Foundry. It ended on August 17 for the other companies. Some employees left to work elsewhere, but, eventually, the company and the union reached a compromise. Callander’s was back in business. It was also shortly afterwards, to resume management under the Callander family. No other strikes took place until, once again, it was being operated under new management.

Business as Usual – 1919-1920

In 1919, with Alexander Callander planning retirement (although he remained President of the company long afterwards), it was up to his sons to take over. Each of the family members had a role to play. David (1888-1962)  was in charge of the overall operations of the foundry. His brothers assumed responsibility for the following areas:

            · Wilfrid “Grit” (?-1920), a skilled coremaker: Core room

           ·  John (Jack?) S. (1901-1983), a machinist: Machine shop

           · Harry D.(1890-1946): Office manager and secretary-treasurer

           · Malcom “Mac” (1886-1966), a moulder: General manager or foreman

Even Alex’s daughter, Grace (1898-1995),  helped out in the shop. In 1921, she was listed as a bookkeeper. Malcolm had left home and started his own family, however, his brothers and sisters continued to live in the family home.

Overall, the 1920s were a time of expansion. The company saw a growth in physical size and employees. This included a separate machine shop erected in 1923 to produce electrical conduit fittings and, in 1926, a new building and enlarged foundry. Penton’s Foundry List continued to refer to them through this period as both a machine shop and a pattern shop turning grey iron, brass and aluminum into various components and finished products.

The new facilities were needed to address the needs of their customers. Among them were GM and Chrysler as they turned grey iron into castings. Callander’s also produced components for:

              · Coppifield and Easy Washing Machines

              · Remington Rand typewriters

              · Hoover Manufacturer

By 1929, the foundry had doubled in size. Harry D. had begun to make the right decisions – ones that would earn him the vice-presidency of the company, a position he would hold until his sudden death in 1946. His elder brother, David, was a moulder during this time, but it was Harry and his younger siblings – Wilfrid, Malcolm and John who chose to take a greater interest in the operation of the family business.

Family members also provided Callander’s with several Canadian patents in the 1920s. Hugh B. Callander retired from Louden’s in 1922. He held a 1921 patent for a clamp for metal pipes. At the end of the year, Malcolm, by this time married to Elizabeth and with children of his own, contributed a patent for a conduit outlet box.

The workforce also grew. The small foundry had proven to be durable. What had initially been a workforce of 25 men, 12 of whom were moulders, soon numbered more than 300 as the foundry entered into the 1930s.

The Depression

During the Depression years (1933, specifically), a small company making woodworking tools was taken over, and yet another addition was made to the foundry. In 1938, the manufacturers’ department increased in size.

Despite the hard times gripping the city of Guelph, the province and the country the Callander Foundry continued working. It held on and stayed afloat. The company sought out and took on various jobbing tasks. They made decorative book ends, plaques and other items along this line. The owners were doing any and everything to ensure employees continued to work no matter the toll it would take on the company’s bottom line. This philosophy was one Callander and his successors, the Brydges, were to retain. As the 1930s ended, the company was offered an opportunity to succeed again.

Gains Made in World War II

The early 1940s saw the company add to its patent line. One man, Paul George Rudolf Ringert, applied for two patents for the company. These were for a conduit box (1943) – possibly an improvement of the one by Malcolm Callander in 1923 and a wire entrance fitting (1944). They were both to help in the shift in production during the 1940s as the company began to take on different types of projects, specifically those directly related to the war effort. Castings were produced for the following:

               · Hand grenade casings ca 2,000,000

               · Brake drums for army trucks ca 800,000 army trucks

               · Machine tools

               ·  Gun parts

              · Tank gun mounts

              · Radar components

Callander’s joined with other companies in doing what it could to help win the war. It established a Marine Department in Toronto (It remained there until the war ended then transferred to Guelph). In aid of the War Effort, Callander set aside all consideration for producing other goods, devoting the entire plant to war supplies. This meant some sacrifices. Yet, while many companies saw a spike in accidents, only one was recorded for Callander’s during this period. Robert Few, age 24, was cut severely enough that it was necessary to sew stitches in his right arm.

Post War Production

The company and its owners never lost touch with reality during the war. They knew adjustments would need to be made if the company wanted to continue to be successful following the cessation of World War II.

When the war ended, it was ready to adapt immediately. Their post-war production had a definite focus on tools, particularly power tools. These tools were made for the average person and quickly became popular under the now-famous name of the Beaver Power Tools line. The name “Beaver” was selected to represent “the original Canadian woodworker.” 

Emerging in 1946, these handy tools – intended not for industrial use but for “small woodworking shops and homecraft,” quickly became their signature product. The man in charge of machine and tool design was W. M. Shaw. 

To help promote the company and its new line, the Callanders hired an advertising firm that same year. This was the Alfred A. Poyntz Advertising Agency. They were part of a plan to increase the visibility of its products to consumers nationwide. 

The company capitalised on the Beaver Tool line in several ways. The most overt was producing paperweights in the shape of a beaver. This type of promotional advertising was available in different metals including silver coated, pewter, brass and iron. Employees and clients alike received them in recognition of work they had performed, milestones the company had reached or as gifts of appreciation. 

This was not the only product Callander’s produced in their foundry. In 1951, they came to an agreement with an American firm – the Eureka Williams Co., to manufacture their Eureka oil burners for the Canadian market. However, the Beaver Tool line remained the product most sought after.

In 1949, a list of their products in this area included a vast array of shop tools including:

            · Band saws

            · Bench grinders

            · Buffing wheels

            · Drill presses

            · Grinding wheels

            · Jack shafts

            · Jointers

            · Lathes

            · Machine tool power transmissions

            · Planers

            · Polishing heads

            · Scroll jigsaws

            · Shaft hangers

            · Shop circular saws

            · Workbenches

At this point, Walter Wesley Brydges (1907-1979) was president and general manager. Wilfrid L. Callander was Vice President and plant manager, M. J. Morton was Secretary-Treasurer, J. S. Callander was Manufacturing Superintendent and J. Allan was Foundry Superintendent. These names were provided in a January 27, 1951 article of the Guelph Mercury that also included the names of some 300 employees.

Rockwell Takes Over

In 1953, Callandar’s, by now owned and operated by W. W. Brydges, was sold. The company now taking the reins was a large American conglomerate – Rockwell Manufacturing Co. By 1955, even though the buildings remained, the name had changed. It was now the Rockwell Manufacturing Co. of Canada, Ltd. The well-respected Beaver Power Tool line was incorporated into another division of Rockwell – one they had taken over at the end of the War – the Delta Manufacturing Co. The new name/division was called the Beaver-Delta Division of Rockwell. Under this umbrella, Rockwell eventually phased out the old, quality Beaver Power Tools, replacing them with their versions.

Eventually, Rockwell metamorphosed into Rockwell International of Canada Ltd. It, too, became a division. However, it was not until 2011 that what little remained of the Callander operations closed down.

Epitaph

The building still remains on Crimea Street. It is part of several structures that once housed other important Guelph industries. Among these were Louden’s, an agricultural implement manufacturer once the employer of Hugh Callander.