Old Time Trains

FRIGIDAIRE PRODUCTS OF CANADA LIMITED 1901 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough, Ont.
History--Frigidaire products were first placed on the market in Canada in the early 1920's when the name "Frigidaire" appeared only on household and commercial refrigeration equipment. All of it was imported complete from Dayton, Ohio, and marketed through distributors who handled the company's Delco-Light farm lighting plants. Later, distribution was made through company-operated sales offices and warehouses located in Toronto, St. Johns, Hamilton, London, Winnipeg and Montreal. In 1932, an assembly plant with warehouse facilities was established in the west end of Toronto and operations were carried on there for five years, by which time the rapidly-increasing demand for "the ice man who comes once and remains always" had made further expansion necessary. In 1937, therefore, Frigidaire leased what at that time was considered very large quarters on Commercial Road, Leaside--the important industrial suburb of Toronto.
A modernization project was initiated that provided a 300 per cent increase in prewar production capacity and included an all-new porcelain enamelling plant, which was one of the largest and most modern in Canada. It was expected to take care of Frigidaire's requirements for many years to come, but the expanded factory had been in operation only four years when an unprecedented demand for Frigidaire products once more made plant and administration facilities inadequate. Further expansion was not possible at Leaside, and it was decided in 1950 that an entirely new plant should be built.
New Plant in 1952--Thelocation selected was an eighty-six-acre tract of land just outside the eastern limits of Toronto in the municipality of Scarborough, Ontario, and ground was broken there in August, 1950. It is a growing industrial section adjacent to a large new residential area, which provides modern close-by housing for employees. The new plant was completed and operations commenced in May, 1952. Plant and offices are contained in one building located well back from the road on landscaped grounds.
A covered railway siding runs along the entire length of the building, so that freight cars and trucks can be brought right into the plant to deliver materials or to receive finished products almost directly from the crating lines.
Frigidaire Products and Users--These include household refrigerators, household electric ranges, food freezers, automatic washers, electric clothes dryers, dishwashers, built-in appliances such as wall ovens counter top and fold-back cooking units: electric dehumidifiers, compressors, cooling units, refrigeration controls, air conditioners, ice cream cabinets, beverage coolers, water coolers reach-in refrigerators, milk coolers, biological refrigerators and frozen food cabinets, which are in general use in Canada.
Use of Frigidaire commercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment is also Canada-wide. Retail food stores are extensive users of Frigidaire equipment for walk-in and reach-in refrigerators and also for various types of refrigerated display counters. Hotels and restaurants use Frigidaire air conditioning for the comfort of their patrons and Frigidaire refrigeration for such purposes as beverage cooling, ice-making, food preservation, preparation and serving facilities. Locker storage plants use Frigidaire-supplied equipment for retail display, for quick-freezing foods and for lowtemperature cooling of locker rooms. Use in bakeries includes dough-retarding in addition to the preservation of perishable ingredients. Apartment houses are large users of Frigidaire household refrigerators in individual or multiple units. Hospitals and other institutions use Frigidaire equipment for such widely varied purposes as blood banks, mortuary cabinets biological refrigerators, ice-making, as well as food preservation. Business offices use Frigidaire air conditioning and Frigidaire water coolers.
Distribution Methods--In Eastern Canada, Frigidaire household appliances and commercial products are distributed direct from the factory to the company's many hundreds of authorized dealers from Ontario to the Atlantic coast. In a few areas, "major" dealers also have one or more sub-dealers.
Management--Frigidaire Products of Canada Limited is a Division of General Motors Corporation. Those who head the company to-day are mainly individuals who have participated in its growth almost from the beginning. The chief executives are: W.C. Cannon, president and general manager; W.C. Kennedy, executive vice-presient.
This essay was written in c 1959. It was copied from the Canadian Register of Commerce & Industry held in the Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario. The original article should be consulted since this copy may contain some errors. The text and/or the images are being made available to researchers for scholarly purposes. They should not be used for commercial gain without the permission of the author or publisher.

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FRIGIDAIRE PRODUCTS OF CANADA LIMITED 1901 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough, Ont.
History--Frigidaire products were first placed on the market in Canada in the early 1920's when the name "Frigidaire" appeared only on household and commercial refrigeration equipment. All of it was imported complete from Dayton, Ohio, and marketed through distributors who handled the company's Delco-Light farm lighting plants. Later, distribution was made through company-operated sales offices and warehouses located in Toronto, St. Johns, Hamilton, London, Winnipeg and Montreal. In 1932, an assembly plant with warehouse facilities was established in the west end of Toronto and operations were carried on there for five years, by which time the rapidly-increasing demand for "the ice man who comes once and remains always" had made further expansion necessary. In 1937, therefore, Frigidaire leased what at that time was considered very large quarters on Commercial Road, Leaside--the important industrial suburb of Toronto.

A modernization project was initiated that provided a 300 per cent increase in prewar production capacity and included an all-new porcelain enamelling plant, which was one of the largest and most modern in Canada. It was expected to take care of Frigidaire's requirements for many years to come, but the expanded factory had been in operation only four years when an unprecedented demand for Frigidaire products once more made plant and administration facilities inadequate. Further expansion was not possible at Leaside, and it was decided in 1950 that an entirely new plant should be built.

New Plant in 1952--Thelocation selected was an eighty-six-acre tract of land just outside the eastern limits of Toronto in the municipality of Scarborough, Ontario, and ground was broken there in August, 1950. It is a growing industrial section adjacent to a large new residential area, which provides modern close-by housing for employees. The new plant was completed and operations commenced in May, 1952. Plant and offices are contained in one building located well back from the road on landscaped grounds.

A covered railway siding runs along the entire length of the building, so that freight cars and trucks can be brought right into the plant to deliver materials or to receive finished products almost directly from the crating lines.

Frigidaire Products and Users--These include household refrigerators, household electric ranges, food freezers, automatic washers, electric clothes dryers, dishwashers, built-in appliances such as wall ovens counter top and fold-back cooking units: electric dehumidifiers, compressors, cooling units, refrigeration controls, air conditioners, ice cream cabinets, beverage coolers, water coolers reach-in refrigerators, milk coolers, biological refrigerators and frozen food cabinets, which are in general use in Canada.

Use of Frigidaire commercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment is also Canada-wide. Retail food stores are extensive users of Frigidaire equipment for walk-in and reach-in refrigerators and also for various types of refrigerated display counters. Hotels and restaurants use Frigidaire air conditioning for the comfort of their patrons and Frigidaire refrigeration for such purposes as beverage cooling, ice-making, food preservation, preparation and serving facilities. Locker storage plants use Frigidaire-supplied equipment for retail display, for quick-freezing foods and for lowtemperature cooling of locker rooms. Use in bakeries includes dough-retarding in addition to the preservation of perishable ingredients. Apartment houses are large users of Frigidaire household refrigerators in individual or multiple units. Hospitals and other institutions use Frigidaire equipment for such widely varied purposes as blood banks, mortuary cabinets biological refrigerators, ice-making, as well as food preservation. Business offices use Frigidaire air conditioning and Frigidaire water coolers.

Distribution Methods--In Eastern Canada, Frigidaire household appliances and commercial products are distributed direct from the factory to the company's many hundreds of authorized dealers from Ontario to the Atlantic coast. In a few areas, "major" dealers also have one or more sub-dealers.

Management--Frigidaire Products of Canada Limited is a Division of General Motors Corporation. Those who head the company to-day are mainly individuals who have participated in its growth almost from the beginning. The chief executives are: W.C. Cannon, president and general manager; W.C. Kennedy, executive vice-presient.

This essay was written in c 1959. It was copied from the Canadian Register of Commerce & Industry held in the Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario. The original article should be consulted since this copy may contain some errors. The text and/or the images are being made available to researchers for scholarly purposes. They should not be used for commercial gain without the permission of the author or publisher.