It was founded in early 1930 by Bert Wood after he lost his industrial job as a research engineer. He saw the introduction of electrical power across rural Ontario as an opportunity for new electrical equipment for farms, and he founded W. C. Wood Co. to manufacture this equipment, according to the company’s website profile. His first product was an electrically powered grain grinder, followed closely by an oat roller, an electric fencer, milking machines and finally the milk cooler, which led the company into refrigeration.

In 1941, the company moved from Toronto to a 25,000-sq.-ft. factory in Guelph. By 1956, it had moved into a 90,000-sq.- ft. plant here, allowing its growth to continue. John Wood, the founder’s son, got involved in the company’s expansion in 1963 while still in university, and he returned after graduation to take on more projects.

By the mid-’70s, the company had 450,000 square feet of space and John Wood had taken over as president. By 1975, all the company’s manufacturing was devoted to appliance production of chest and upright freezers, compact refrigerators, compact kitchens and dehumidifiers. Growth continued, and by 1985 the company had expanded to 600,000 square feet, with more than 95% of its total production destined for the Canadian market.

However, by 1985 free trade was in the air and the company “started to focus on a North American market with all of the opportunities that lay south of the border in the United States and Mexico,” the company website says.

By 1988, planning was underway for expansion into the United States, and the first production there started in 1990 at a new plant in Ottawa, Ohio. The company’s Mexican plant opened in 2004.

David Wood, John Wood’s son, took over as president in 2005. He stayed on as president –but not for long, as it turned out –after the family sold a majority interest in the company to an American private equity firm in late 2007.

W. C. Wood has always been a good corporate citizen, which helped make it the institution it was.

The company will be missed.

Weather break

Thumbs up to the snow holding off to allow leaves to fall and for loose-leaf cleanup. Nice timing and nice to see clear curbs.

Parking thieves

Thumbs down to those who steal parking spots from other drivers who have been patiently waiting with their signal on. Rude!