As toronto.name notes, George Weston Limited can be called without any exaggerations the “tastiest” Canadian enterprise. It continued production throughout different periods of Canadian history.
In our article, we will tell you the fascinating history of this famous company.
Foundation
In 1882, the Toronto baker George Weston decided to open a baking business.
Thus, he became the owner of a bakery in the central part of Toronto, which specialised in making bread.
His business began to flourish. One of the main reasons was George’s unique bread recipe that included Manitoba No. 1 Hard Wheat and Ontario Fall wheat.
Subsequently, the enterprise underwent expansion four times. Unlike the entrepreneurs of that time, George actively introduced modern equipment that allowed him to automate the baking process.
As a result, George Weston upgraded his business to the level of a full-fledged bread factory.
A new stage
In 1897, Weston opened his Model Bakery. Over time, that enterprise became the largest and most modern not only in Toronto but also in all of Canada.
The newspapers of that time wrote that George Weston often visited other countries to learn about the latest technologies in the baking industry.
George’s factory was the best not only in terms of hygiene and efficiency but also because of its incredible production turnover. The enterprise produced thousands of loaves of bread.
As of 1901, the factory was producing ten thousand loaves of bread every day. The company supplied the entire province of Ontario with its products.
Such a success prompted George Weston to expand the range of the company’s products.
Diversification
Therefore, in 1897, he opened a shop, which produced cakes, donuts, buns and cakes. Later, the enterprise also started selling biscuits and carbonated drinks.
In addition, George actively worked on the creation of new biscuit-making technologies. The company’s engineers tried to improve the related equipment and they achieved a wonderful result in the form of vanilla wafer cookies.
Merging
In 1901, Weston’s enterprise merged with the provincial flour-milling factory. It was supposed to provide the enterprise with selected flour and, accordingly, improve the quality of products.
However, that partnership lasted for only 5 years.
Another deal
In 1911, the company made another deal and merged with several other Toronto bakeries.
Thus, a new organisation called Canada Bread appeared.
In addition, the company launched a new factory producing biscuits.
Wartime
Despite all the difficulties, the company managed to survive and make a good profit in the years of the First World War. In 1922, it even developed biscuit production using the best English ovens, which could provide the most correct temperature for technically difficult processes.
When the Second World War began, the company tried to maintain its pace. The main problem was a big shortage of sugar. Therefore, the company urgently changed the manufacturing technologies of certain products. For example, they decided to make cakes without glazing.
In addition, the enterprise converted its equipment for the production of military rations. Dry galette biscuits became the most favourite ones.