1948-1949
Harold Eidem opened Bearing & Transmission
Supply in February 1948, using the kitchen in
his Vancouver home as his head office.
After having completed a great buy on surplus
inventory from the U.S. Navy, when it came time
to get the stock from Seattle to Vancouver, he
found himself slapped with an unexpected $1,800
Canadian customs bill. Having used up all his
savings to start the company, Harold turned for
help to his long-time friend, Norm Hnatuk, in
Saskatoon. Norm paid the duty, got the inventory
out of the bond, and found himself part of the
Bearing & Transmission enterprise. It was the
start of a great partnership.
Norm
officially joined Harold in Vancouver in
November of 1948, and together they worked out
of rented premises at 62 East Second Avenue.
Being a prairie boy at heart, Harold suggested
that Norm check out the local economy on a trip
home in the summer of 1949. Based on what Norm
saw, he and Harold agreed to set up a second
Bearing & Transmission location in Saskatoon to
serve the agricultural market. Norm moved back
to Saskatoon in the fall of 1949.
The
Saskatoon office at Avenue B & 19th Street was
an old building with wooden floors that sagged
under the weight of the inventory. This
inventory represented a big step for Bearing &
Transmission: it was kept as part of a formal
distributorship granted by Hoover Ball and
Bearing Co. and Orange Roller Bearing Co. Inc.,
Bearing & Transmission's first distributorships.
The 1950's
On the threshold of the '50s, Harold and
Norm made a critical decision. They could not
afford both offices, so the Vancouver operation
was sold (to Bill Hnatuk, Norm's brother).
Harold and Norm invested all their energy in
developing the Saskatchewan market.
The
economy looked promising. The Saskatchewan Power
Corporation's massive rural electrification
program was producing great demand for V-belts
and sheaves. Bearing & Transmission moved
quickly to fill the need. In fact, Bearing &
Transmission became the first B.F. Goodrich
V-belt distributor in Canada. Around the same
time, the company took on the Morris Chain line
and became a Canadian pioneer by selling chains,
belts and bearings to implement dealers as
replacement parts for farm machinery.
In
1956, the company experienced exciting growth.
Sales for the year reached $356,000 - doubling
the 1955 sales! The company incorporated as
Bearing & Transmission Ltd. and moved into its
own building at 202 - 22nd Street West. This was
one of the first buildings constructed in
Saskatoon under the federal Winter Works
Program.
Throughout the '50s, Bearing &
Transmission continued to expand in new
directions. It became the "first" distributor
for an impressive list of suppliers including
Garlock, Hoover Ball and Bearing Co., Orange
Roller Bearing Co. Inc., Link Belt-Chains,
Renold and Timken. In 1957, the company's first
subsidiary was established: Bearing &
Transmission (Regina) Ltd., with Art Gyles as
partner. With the opening of a branch in the
southern part of the province, Bearing &
Transmission was ready to meet the coming
challenges of the 1960s.
The 1960s
The '60s were a decade of enormous change,
and Bearing & Transmission was not about to be
left behind. In 1961, Red Holder joined the
company to set up a materials handling division
called Convey-it. In 1964, to better serve
Saskatchewan's increasingly diverse markets, the
company was divided into two major divisions:
Saskatoon & North under Norm, and Regina & South
under Harold. Three new locations were also
opened: Prince Albert with Norm Bomphrey as
manager in 1965, Esterhazy with Les Tenning as
manager in 1966, and Yorkton with Ken Pugh as
manager in 1967. The addition of new locations
and new employees added to the growing sense of
"family" at Bearing & Transmission.
The 1970s
A Decade of Change
At the onset of
the '70s, Bearing & Transmission was intent on
expanding its operations to meet the growing
needs of the agriculture industry, coal mining
industry, booming oil patch and Saskatchewan
Power Commission's major coal-fired electric
power generating stations. The company broadened
its market reach by establishing two more
locations; Estevan with Stan Giesbrecht as
manager in 1970, Lloydminister with Jim Coleman
as manager in 1976. The '70s, however was a
decade of change in more ways than just company
growth.
Harold Eidem,
1916-1976
In
1973, Bearing & Transmission celebrated 25 years
in business. That same year Harold bought out
Norm Hnatuk's interests in the company and
established Bearing & Transmission Holdings.
According to Red Holder, "The best thing Harold
ever did, besides setting up Bearing &
Transmission, was to establish Bearing &
Transmission Holdings."
It was an
innovative step. Until that point, the approach
to the bearing business had been fragmentary.
Now Bearing & Transmission Holdings provided the
centralized direction for delivery of marketing
strategies, financing and other policies.
Suppliers soon realized the scope and extent of
the company they were dealing with. They
realized that Bearing & Transmission was much
more than a single shop in one location, it was
the sum of all locations. It was this vision for
the future that set Bearing & Transmission on
its present course of expansion. Sadly, Bearing
& Transmission lost its founding father three
years later when Harold Eidem passed away. The
sense of "family" he had worked so hard to
establish, however, endured. Long-time employees
continued the Bearing & Transmission tradition
of integrity in service and growth, and it was
not too long before Harold's sons, Brian and
Earl, were able to assume corporate
responsibility for the Bearing & Transmission
family.
A New Member of the Family
In
1972, Bearing & Transmission acquired two
hydraulics distributorships and service
businesses in Regina and Saskatoon and
established a new subsidiary, B&T Fluid Power
Ltd. This was the beginning of HyPOWER Systems
Inc.
The 1980s
Growing in New Directions
The '80s saw remarkable growth for
Bearing & Transmission, beginning with a
Saskatoon North location and a new subsidiary in
Edmonton, Alberta's capital city. Alberta's
booming economy proved to be a good market for
Bearing & Transmission. The company extended
into Fort McMurray, with Stephen Thompson as
manager, and Drayton Valley in 1986, and Peace
River in 1988. With the purchase of Sproule
Bearings in 1988, Bearing & Transmission
acquired key locations in southern Alberta:
Calgary, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat. With this
purchase, Darrel and Terry Rosaine became
partners in the Sproule Group.
The 1990s
Bearing & Transmission Comes Full
Circle
Forty-five years after
Harold Eidem closed the Vancouver operation to
concentrate on the Saskatchewan market, his sons
Brian and Earl re-established the company in
British Columbia. Bearing & Transmission came
full circle in 1994 with the purchase of Adanac
Equipment in Delta, from Peter Webb. The company
moved into the interior in 1997, opening offices
in Prince George and Kelowna. In the same year
Bearing & Transmission opened the first combined
branch with HyPOWER in Campbell River. The '90s
also saw the addition of a new location in
Grande Prairie, Alberta under manager Darren
Redlick in 1995. Today Bearing & Transmission
has more than 150 employees serving customer
needs in 27 offices across western Canada.
The 2000s
On June 1, 2000, the network of Bearing &
Transmission branches was purchased by our now
parent company, Applied Industrial Technologies
(AIT). With this merge Bearing & Transmission
became part of one of the largest
distributorships in North America, joining AIT’s
network of more than 4600 associates at 445
facilities in 48 U.S. states, 5 Canadian
provinces, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
Bearing & Transmission’s Ag division was created
in Winnipeg, MB in 2001, and more expansion
followed in 2002 when AIT acquired IECO. Over
the course of a year IECO locations were renamed
and expanded the Bearing & Transmission network
into the cities of Campbell river, Castlegar,
Cranbrook, Edmonton West, Kamloops, Prince
George, Quesnel, and Williams Lake.
Bearing & Transmission has a long history of
responding to the needs of the marketplace. It
is a philosophy that set the company on its
present course of expansion and continues to set
the tone for growth. The latest expansion came
in 2003, with the addition of a branch in
Parksville, British Columbia.
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Corporate
Timeline
| 1948 |
Bearing &
Transmission founded
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1949 |
Saskatoon branch opened on
Ave B and 19th
|
|
1956 |
Bearing & Transmission
incorporated. Saskatoon branch moved to new
location
|
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1957 |
First subsidiary branch
opened in Regina, SK.
|
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1961 |
Sister
company Convey-it was established
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1964 |
Bearing
& Transmission was divided into 2 major
divisions: Saskatoon & North and Regina &
South
|
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1965 |
Prince
Albert branch opened
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1966 |
Esterhazy branch opened
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1967 |
Yorkton
branch opened
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1970 |
Estevan
branch opened
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1972 |
Bearing
& Transmission Fluid Power Ltd. was
established. Now known as HyPOWER systems
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1973 |
B&T
Holdings Ltd. was established as a parent
company
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1976 |
Lloydminster branch opened
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1978 |
Swift
Current branch opened
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1980 |
Second
Saskatoon branch opened
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1981 |
Edmonton South branch opened
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1986 |
Fort
MacMurrary and Drayton Valley branches
opened
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1987 |
Winnipeg branch opened
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1988 |
Peace
River branch opened. Purchased Sproule
Bearings and acquired branches in Calgary,
Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat.
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1994 |
Purchased Adanac Equipment and acquired a
location in Delta, BC.
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1995 |
Grand
Prairie branch opened
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1997 |
Prince
George and Kelowna branches opened. Campbell
River branch opened as the first ever
combined Bearing & Transmission / Hypower
branch
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1998 |
Kamloops branch opened. Distribution Centre
in Winnipeg opened
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2000 |
Bearing
& Transmission was purchased by Applied
Industrial Technologies
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2001 |
Bearing
& Transmission Ag division was opened in
Winnipeg.
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2002 |
AIT
purchased IECO which became Bearing &
Transmission branches in Quesnel, Williams
Lake, Cranbrook, Castlegar, Powell River,
Port Alberni, Nanaimo, and Edmonton West.
Other purchased locations were combined with
existing locations.
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2003 |
Kamloops shop was opened with the
combination of the Kamloops branch and the
purchased IECO shop.
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2005 |
Parksville branch opened when Powell River,
Port Alberni, and the Nanaimo branches were
consolidated.
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2006 |
Bearing
& Transmission project group was established
to service major capital project contracts. |
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