Founded in 1907, Electrohome was Canada's largest manufacturer of
television set
A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...
s (TVs) from 1949 to 1987. The company was also involved in television broadcasting, and was a leader in data, video, graphics displays and projectors.
From 1984 to 1999, Electrohome-branded TVs were produced under licence by
Mitsubishi Electric
, established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...
, and from 1999 to 2007 by Jutan (distributed by Canadian distributor Citizen Electronics).
The company underwent an orderly wind-up in late 2008. In February 2010, the Electrohome brand was acquired by Bluetronics Group a division of Circus World Displays Limited (CWD).
History
In 1907, Arthur Bell Pollock founded Pollock Manufacturing Co. Ltd., after winning a coin flip with his wife. The
Kitchener, Ontario
)
, image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg
, image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, blank_emblem_type = ...
company manufactured the first phonographs in Canada. In the 1920s and 30s the company branched out into other consumer goods such as records, radios, furniture, and was the largest Canadian maker of electric fans. In 1933 the company name became Dominion Electrohome Industries Ltd. and the Electrohome brand was introduced for products ranging from heaters to food mixers.
With the outbreak of World War II, however, everything changed. Electrohome devoted 99% of its production to the war effort. It manufactured wooden aircraft elements including wings, munitions components, and communications equipment, including a radio transmitter for the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war, Electrohome ranked as a nationally known and important company with 1,400 employees geared to meet the demands of the post-war economy. The war enabled the company to acquire new equipment, more production capacity and a wider range of skills. There was also a perception that Electrohome could be a major player on the Canadian national electronics scene.
The company began manufacturing and selling television sets in 1949, competing with companies such as
Northern Electric
Northern Electric was an electricity supply and distribution company serving north east England.
History
It had its origins as the North Eastern Electricity Board, formed as part of the nationalisation of the electricity industry by the Elect ...
and
Canadian General Electric
GE Canada (or General Electric Canada) is the wholly-owned Canadian unit of General Electric, manufacturing various consumer and industrial electrical products all over Canada.
GE Canada was preceded by the company Canadian General Electric (CG ...
for a share of the Canadian market. Electrohome developed its reputation with large console model TV sets made with real hardwood cases.
In 1954,
Carl Arthur Pollock, son of the company's founder, led Electrohome in joining the Famous Players theatre chain to launch Kitchener-Waterloo's first television station,
CKCO-TV
CKCO-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Part of the CTV Television Network, it is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside London, Ontario, London-based CTV 2 statio ...
, as a
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
affiliate. It joined
CTV in 1964. Electrohome assumed full control of CKCO in 1970 when broadcasting laws substantially reduced the amount of foreign ownership in Canadian media (Famous Players was controlled by Paramount Pictures).
In the 1960s, Electrohome continued to manufacture consumer products including organs, radios, console stereos, speakers, high fidelity tube amplifiers, and televisions, as it became the first and only Canadian company to make colour television sets. By 1965, Electrohome products were being sold in 23 countries. Total sales in 1968 were $44.5 million. Over the years the company had ten manufacturing plants and two administrative offices in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
In 1972,
John A. Pollock, grandson of the company founder, became the third generation president of Electrohome. By this time Electrohome was widely known as the Canadian equivalent of US companies like General Electric or RCA. Pollock led the company into a number of different electronics ventures and products, both consumer and industrial. Electrohome's most successful products during this period were a line of display projectors that evolved from single CRT monochrome data projectors into stereoscopic virtual reality projectors and digital movie theater projectors, based on the
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
Digital Light Processing
Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a set of chipsets based on optical micro-electro-mechanical technology that uses a digital micromirror device. It was originally developed in 1987 by Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments. While the DLP imaging ...
technology.
In 1984, suffering from years of competition with
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and other Japanese television makers, Electrohome ceased production of TV sets, and licensed the brand name to
Mitsubishi Electric
, established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...
. In 1988, Electrohome purchased a second television station,
CFRN-TV
CFRN-DT (channel 3) is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside cable-exclusive CTV 2 Alberta. The two outlets share studios with siste ...
in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
.
In 1995, Electrohome and
Baton Broadcasting
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
entered a partnership, sharing ownership of CKCO, CFRN,
CFCN-TV
CFCN-DT (channel 4) is a television station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside cable-exclusive CTV 2 Alberta (based in Edmonton with sister station CFR ...
in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
CFPL-TV
CFPL-DT (channel 10) is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, channel 13 (although the two stations maintain separate oper ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
CHWI-TV
CHWI-DT (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting CTV 2 programming to the Windsor area. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station has studios at the Bell Canada Building in downtown Windsor wit ...
in
Wheatley Wheatley may refer to:
Places
* Wheatley (crater), on Venus
* Wheatley, Ontario, Canada
* Wheatley, Hampshire, England
* Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England
** Wheatley railway station
* Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England
* Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...
and
CKNX-TV
CKNX-TV was a television station owned by CTVglobemedia (now known as Bell Media) which served mid-western Ontario, Canada. It was part of the A television system. The station's offices, studios, and transmission facilities were located in Wingh ...
in
Wingham. The following year, the partnership was reorganized: Baton took over full ownership of all of the stations – and with it, controlling interest in CTV. In return, Electrohome received cash and shares in Baton worth $270 Million Canadian, which changed its name to CTV Inc. a year later. Since 2002 CTV has been the top rated Canadian TV network.
In 1999, Electrohome sold the projection systems division to
Christie Digital, a leading film projector manufacturer.
In 1999, Electrohome switched licensees, dropping Mitsubishi Electric and allowing Canadian distributor Citizen Electronics (Jutan) to market TVs and DVD players under the Electrohome brand name.
On March 5, 2007, the Redmond Group of Companies announced the purchase of Electrohome brands effective January 1, 2008. Later that month, on March 27, Synnex announced the purchase of the Redmond Group Electrohome assets.
In January 2008, Electrohome announced the sale of all of its trademarks to Synnex Corporation. Electrohome now derived most of its income from its licensing, minor stock holdings in Mechdyne/Fakespace Systems which provides visualization solutions for data analysis, and owns digital cinema firm Immersion Studios.
The company began an orderly wind-up in late 2008.
In February 2010, the Electrohome brand was acquired by Bluetronics Group, a division of Circus World Displays Limited (CWD). Also included in the purchase were the rights to Magnasonic, Secureguard and Citizen (Canada only) brands, amongst many others. Based in Niagara Falls, Canada, CWD also owns and operates other brands including Fluance, Nyrius, Levana, SVAT, Defender and Pure Therapy.
Plant 4
![Electrohome demolition](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Electrohome_demolition.jpg)
Electrohome Plant 4 was located at 152 Shanley Street in Kitchener.
Built in 1898, it was originally a factory for the Diamond (or L. C. Klippert) Furniture Company, run by industrialist
Leander Klippert. The company only lasted until 1902, and the factory sat vacant until 1905, when it became occupied by the Walker Bin and Store Fixture Company. Walker's was run by William McCuaig until 1912, then Oliver Kinzie. The company produced a variety of retail store furniture such as store counters, wall bins, floor racks, and display units. In 1928, Walker's was taken over by a larger American furniture concern, Jones Brothers, which operated the factory until 1931 when production ended due to the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
The building was yet again disused until 1934, when brothers J. Hogarth and J. North Kennedy operated a fine bedroom and dining room furniture manufacturing company, Kennedy's, out of the building. However, the company was short-lived, and the building was once again vacant from 1935 to mid-1937, when it was taken over by Murawsky's Furniture.
Martin Murawsky was a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
immigrant who had arrived in Kitchener as a child in 1876. With his sons, he had operated his own company, Murawsky's Furniture, out of a plant at 152 Victoria Street, near Park Street. They would operate the Shanley Street plant for sixteen years, until Murawsky's, by then run by Martin's sons, decided to focus on chair manufacturing and pivot toward the rapidly growing retail industry. As a result, they sold the Shanley Street plant to Dominion Electrohome.
Electrohome initially used the plant to manufacture its Deilcraft brand of furniture, but by the mid-1950s was also using it for lighting and heating appliance manufacturing, as well as storage. The company sold the building in 1968 to Morval Durofoam Products. Morval occupied the site until around 1980, where it manufactured plastic and foam products for auto interiors, as well as specialty packaging products. After this, the plant was sold to its final major occupant, Art Rite Advertising, which used the site until 1991.
In the years afterward, the
Ontario Ministry of the Environment
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is an Ontario government ministry responsible for protecting and improving the quality of the environment in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as coordinating Ontario's actions on c ...
became aware that the property was heavily contaminated with various metals, petroleum hydrocarbons,
volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...
s (VOCs), and
trichloroethylene
The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, ...
(TCE), a toxic industrial solvent.
This would prove to be the century-old factory's undoing. For the next few decades, parties ranging from local residents to various government bodies worked toward
environmental remediation
Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may al ...
of the site and the possibly of redevelopment, with or without the original factory structure.
In 2007, the Ministry of the Environment issued a cleanup order, but the property's owner, an absentee numbered company, failed to do so, to undertake basic property maintenance, or even to pay municipal property taxes. In 2011, the City of Kitchener attempted a tax sale of the property after visible deterioration of the brick facade was observed.
This was unsuccessful, and followed in 2018 by a second attempt, with the price being dropped to around $450,000.
By 2019, the city had written off much of the back taxes owed for the property, and issued an order to have an engineer evaluate whether the factory building was still structurally sound.
In late 2019, the property was purchased by a Toronto-based developer, which announced plans to demolish the plant and build a mixed-use development on the site, which would incorporate aspects of the original structure.
Demolition began in January 2020.
See also
*
List of television manufacturers
This is a list of television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television i ...
*
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
References
External links
Company websiteElectrohome Record PlayersGallery of Electrohome amplifier pictures including the rare chrome PA-100 Mark I
{{Bell Media
Electronics companies of Canada
Manufacturing companies of Canada
History of manufacturing in Ontario
Television broadcasting companies of Canada
Companies based in Kitchener, Ontario
Industrial history of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo