Canadian Industries Limited
| Company type | Subsidiary (historically) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Chemicals, explosives, paints, agricultural and industrial chemicals, plastics, sporting ammunition, synthetic textiles |
| Predecessor | Hamilton Powder Company, Dominion Cartridge Company, Acadia Powder Company, Ontario Powder Company, Standard Explosives Company, Western Explosives Company, Victoria Chemical Company |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Founder | Joint venture between Nobel Industries (Scotland) and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Delaware) |
| Defunct | 1990 (renamed ICI Canada Inc.) |
| Fate | Renamed ICI Canada Inc. in 1990; operations later dissolved by AkzoNobel in 2013; brand now owned by PPG Industries |
| Successor | ICI Canada Inc. |
| Headquarters | Montreal (until 1981), then Toronto , Canada |
Area served | Canada |
Key people | William McMaster (President 1910–1925), Arthur Blaikie Purvis (1925–1941), George William Huggett (1941–1951), Harold Greville Smith (1951–1958), Sir Peter Christopher Allen (1959–1962), Leonard Hynes (1962–1970), Eric Lyon Hamilton (1971–1975), Wilfred John Mandry (1975–1981), Charles Harold Hantho (1981–1988), Bernard Hendrik Lochtenberg (1988–1990) |
| Products | Chemicals, explosives, paints, cartridges/ammunition, plastics, coated fabrics, varnish, lawn and garden supplies |
| Owner | Imperial Chemical Industries until 2010; AkzoNobel 2010-2014; PPG Industries from 2014 onwards (brand ownership) |
Number of employees | 33,000 (during WWII peak) (1940s) |
| Parent | Imperial Chemical Industries (until 2010) |
Canadian Industries Limited, which adopted the name C-I-L Inc. in 1980, was a Canadian manufacturer specializing in chemicals, originally established in 1910 under the name Canadian Explosives Limited. The company began as a joint venture between Nobel Industries of Scotland and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company from Delaware. Following Nobel's integration into Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in 1926, ICI maintained its ownership interest in C-I-L. A 1954 decision by a U.S. court declared the collaboration agreement between Imperial and du Pont illegal, resulting in C-I-L being split: half remained with Imperial-controlled C-I-L, while the other half became Du Pont of Canada Limited.
In 1980, Canadian Industries Limited was rebranded as C-I-L Inc., and the company moved its headquarters from Montreal to Toronto the following year. In April 1988, Imperial merged its Canadian affiliate, ICI Investments Canada Inc., with C-I-L; the unified firm continued as C-I-L Inc. until May 1990, when it was renamed ICI Canada Inc. After AkzoNobel acquired Imperial Chemical in 2008, ICI Canada operated until its dissolution on January 9, 2013. That same year, AkzoNobel divested its Canadian holdings to PPG Industries, which now runs these operations under PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc.
The C-I-L brand remains active today on paint products marketed by PPG and on lawn and garden supplies manufactured by Premier Tech.
Hamilton Powder Company
The earliest forerunner of C-I-L was the Hamilton Powder Company, founded in 1862 through the acquisition of assets from the Canada Powder Company (established in 1852). This company specialized in producing black powder used for blasting purposes and was purchased in 1878 by American entrepreneur Dr. Thomas C. Brainerd to fulfill explosive requirements during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hamilton Powder expanded by establishing a dynamite manufacturing facility in McMasterville, Quebec, acquiring additional black powder plants throughout Quebec and the Maritime provinces, and opening its first explosives plant in western Canada near Nanaimo, British Columbia, in 1890. Another significant predecessor was the Dominion Cartridge Company, created in Brownsburg, Quebec, in 1886 by Captain A. L. ("Gat") Howard, who was instrumental in introducing the Gatling gun to Canada and deploying it during the Riel Rebellion.
Canadian Explosives Company
In 1910, Hamilton Powder joined forces with Dominion Cartridge Company, Acadia Powder Company, Ontario Powder Company, Standard Explosives Company, Western Explosives Company, and Victoria Chemical Company to form the Canadian Explosives Company (CXL). During World War I, CXL became a primary supplier to the Canadian Expeditionary Force, constructing a new manufacturing plant in Nobel, Ontario, in 1914. The company also managed an additional facility nearby on behalf of British Cordite Limited. However, all Nobel-based plants ceased operations after the war ended in 1922 due to insufficient secondary markets and were subsequently destroyed by fire in 1923.
Canadian Explosives Limited
Throughout the 1920s, the company broadened its product range to include paint, varnish, coated fabrics, and plastics. Reflecting this diversification, it adopted the name Canadian Explosives Ltd. (CEL) in 1927. The Nobel plants were reopened in 1928 along with the acquisition of Dominion Cartridge Company. In 1929, CEL merged with Canadian Salt Co. Ltd. (CSXX), Grasselli Chemical Co. Ltd., and part of Mond Nickel Company (MNX), leading to a rebranding as Canadian Industries Ltd (CIL).
World War II
At the outbreak of World War II, CIL founded Defence Industries Limited in September 1939. Government funding and technical assistance from Dominion Cartridge Company facilitated the establishment of cartridge manufacturing facilities in Brownsburg, Quebec. A munitions factory producing cannon shells, along with a neighboring community called "Dilville," was constructed in Ajax, Ontario. Additional operations were set up at the former British Cordite location in Nobel. At its height, the Nobel facility employed 4,300 individuals, contributing to a total workforce of 33,000 across the company.
On May 3, 1944, Mine-Mill Local 598 officially unionized a CIL sulfuric acid plant situated in Sudbury, Ontario.
With numerous men enlisted for overseas service, these factories relied heavily on female labor; for instance, approximately 7,000 women at the Ajax DIL plant manufactured more than 40 million shells.
Post war
Following the war, an extensive construction initiative enabled C-I-L to cater to civilian markets including explosives, paints, agricultural and industrial chemicals, plastics, sporting ammunition, and synthetic textiles. The Nobel facilities were permanently shut down and sold to Orenda Aerospace for purposes related to jet engine research and development.
The predecessor of CXL had established a dynamite facility on James Island, B.C., near Sidney in 1913. This plant was later reacquired by CIL and continued producing explosives until its closure in 1972.
Re-organization
In 1954, as a result of a U.S. court mandate requiring E. I. du Pont de Nemours (now DuPont) to dissolve joint ventures with Imperial Chemical Industries Limited (ICI), C-I-L was divided into two separate entities. Up until 2010, C-I-L operated under ICI's ownership. After ICI was acquired by Dutch chemical company AkzoNobel in 2010, AkzoNobel’s North American architectural coatings division was divested to PPG Industries in 2014 and currently functions as PPG Architectural Coatings Canada. The CIL brand continues to be sold through prominent Canadian retailers such as Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Walmart, and Rona/Réno-Dépôt.
In 1976, Industries Valcartier Inc. purchased CIL’s commercial cartridge manufacturing operations along with rights to the Dominion, Imperial, and Canuck ammunition trademarks.
CIL announced plans in August 1980 to move its headquarters to Toronto. Shortly thereafter, construction began on the new CIL House at 90 Sheppard Avenue East, which opened late in 1981. The building’s architectural design was created by Shore Tilbe Henschel Irwin Peters.
The former production site for Millhaven Fibres was located just west of Kingston, Ontario.
C-I-L’s lawn and garden chemical line was owned by Sure-Gro Inc., based in Brantford, Ontario. Sure-Gro’s brands included Nature Mix, Green Earth, Wilson, and Alaskan Ice Melter. In 2010, Premier Tech from Rivière-du-Loup, Québec acquired Sure-Gro for roughly $13.5 million.
President
- William McMaster, 1910–1925
- Arthur Blaikie Purvis, 1925–1941
- George William Huggett, 1941–1951
- Harold Greville Smith, 1951–1958
- Sir Peter Christopher Allen, 1959–1962
- Leonard Hynes, 1962–1970
- Eric Lyon Hamilton, 1971–1975
- Wilfred John Mandry, 1975–1981
- Charles Harold Hantho, 1981–1988
- Bernard Hendrik Lochtenberg, 1988–1990
Board Chairpersons
- William McMaster, 1925–1930
- George William Huggett, 1949–1954
- Sir Peter Christopher Allen, 1 March 1962 – April 1968
- Leonard Hynes, 1 January 1971 – 1 March 1975
- Eric Lyon Hamilton, April 1975 – April 1978
- Wilfred John Mandry, 27 April 1981 – 1983
- Charles Harold Hantho, 1984 – 31 July 1988
Corporate Histories
- Lank, H. H. and E. L. Williams. The Du Pont Canada History. Du Pont Canada Inc., 1982.
See also
Archival Records
The archival collection of Canadian Industries Limited is preserved at Library and Archives Canada under the fonds reference R15655.
Sources
External Resources
- 1910 establishments in Canada
- 1910 mergers and acquisitions
- 1988 mergers and acquisitions
- 1990 disestablishments in Canada
- Canadian companies established in 1910
- Canadian companies disestablished in 1990
- Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies
- Chemical companies disestablished in 1990
- Chemical companies established in 1910
- Cordite
- Manufacturing companies based in Montreal
- Manufacturing companies established in 1910
- Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1990
- Manufacturing companies of Canada
- Paint manufacturers