One of the Ward’s least-known industries is the Lang Manufacturing Company. It was established in 1919 when a consortium of Gulph men purchased the business created around 1918 under the auspices of R. Bruce Lang and John Skidmore. They had focused on producing oxyacetylene welders.
The incorporation of the company took place June 20, 1919, with the amount of capital stock at $40,000. The number of shares was 400 with each share valued at $100 The provisional directors were the following:
- Lawyers: Charles Lawrence Dunbar and Leo William Goetz
- Student-at-law: Helen Mary McTague
- Insurance agents: John Sutherland, the younger, and James Sutherland
In 1920, R. B. Lang was president and general manager. John Skidmore was vice president and sales manager, and David Bentley was secretary-treasurer.
Location, Employees and Products
The building at York and Harris was a small one. As the Lang Manufacturing Company, it was to expand in its buildings not once but twice.. It was first enlarged in the fall of 1919 and again in the summer of 2020. The foundation was laid for a structure to be 45 x 33 feet.
With its expansion also came an increase in employment. From the original two men focusing on oxy-acetylene welding, the workforce grew to 23. According to a brief article in the Canadian Machinery and Metalworking (January 27, 1921), “The firm is popular with its employees, no doubt to some degree due to the splendid working conditions provided.” However, no description is available of these “splendid working conditions.” One well-known employee who worked there did go on to form his own company. This was Willis Denison, co-founder of Cooke and Denison.
The Lang Manufacturing Company manufactured several products. Among the list of items were:
- Architectural ironwork
- Flax machinery
- Small rubber moulds
- Welded tanks
- Special small machinery
What we would now consider a novelty item was also among their more popular products. These were convertible seats. According to one article, these seats “are so constructed that they can be converted into combination seat and dining table for picnic parties.” In 1920, a “million dollar inn at Huntsville, Ontario had ordered a “large number.”
A “Seat and Tee” combination was also available. It was called the Moodie-Millar Tee Bench. The company had an ad placed for this variation in the Canadian golfer in March 1921.
However, a constant was oxyacetylene welding. It had been the core product of the company since its inception. Another addition was the Ridsdale reinforced bearing. Invented by Guelphite Thomas Ridsdale. The Lang Manufacturing Company claimed it:
- Could “be used in any bearing including those where the speed and pressure is extreme.”
- Has a tensile strength of 36,000 pounds per square inch against a much lower figure for babbitt only.
- Has a high resistance to crushing strain
- Was greatly resistant to heat
The Company’s Demise
Lang Manufacturing Company did not survive in Guelph for long. It was gone by 1923. However, R. Bruce Lang continued to operate a business or service at 179 Wyndham Street. John Skidmore seems to have moved into the insurance business, becoming an agent for the Monarch Life Assurance Co.
