Guildfords Group, Dartmouth, NS

Guildford settled in Halifax and set up shop as a ship’s chandler, specializing in supplies for the still new steam-driven trans-Atlantic freighters.
The new mode of transport demanded new products. Guildford saw opportunity in providing insulation for the heat-sensitive steam engines and the many valves and moving parts required to keep the new vessels crossing the Atlantic. That focus on insulation is the common thread that weaves together the various Guildford operations stretching from 1906 to the present day.
In the 1950’s, already a notable 50-year old veteran of Atlantic Canada’s business community, Guildfords began to expand, taking full advantage of the post-war building boom. Substantial manufacturing divisions emerged and Guildfords became a Canadian leader in insulation products for “the basement furnace to the largest industrial job, ” as their 50th anniversary brochure promised.