In 1903 the Canadian Buffalo Forge Co., Ltd. was established in Montreal as the Canadian subsidiary of Buffalo Forge Co. The company relocated to Berlin, Ontario in 1914, where it began to make drill presses and other machinery for the war effort. In April of 1915 a new company, Canadian Blower & Forge Co., Ltd., was incorporated with a half million dollars of capital, and it took over the assets of the Canadian Buffalo Forge Co. In 1916, Berlin was renamed to Kitchener.

Staff photo from 1943

By 1940, Canada Pumps Limited was at the same street address as Canadian Blower & Forge Co., same telegraph address, and even shared brand names. In 1976, Canadian Blower & Forge Co. formally merged with Canada Pumps, Ltd., with the amalgamated business known as "Canadian Blower / Canada Pumps Limited". In 1984 Aerofin Corporation (Canada) Ltd. was merged into the business, which continued to operate as Canadian Blower / Canada Pumps Ltd. In 2006 the business was discontinued.

Do you have more information?

I am especially interested in woodworking machinery manufacturers from Ontario, so if you have any information on relevant woodworking machinery companies and products, I strongly urge you to contact Jeff Joslin.

Other Resources

• Drill presses from Canadian Blower & Forge are identical to those from Buffalo Forge, except for labeling. Manuals are available under the Buffalo Forge Co. entry, "Publication Reprints" tab.

Information Sources

• 1915—Canadian Industry, Commerce and Financelists, under "DRILLS, Blacksmiths'", "Canadian Buffalo Forge Co., Ltd., Montreal, Que".
• 1915—The 1915-04-15 issue of Iron Age has the following item.

  The Canadian Blower & Forge Company, Ltd., Berlin, Ont., has been incorporated with a capital stock of $500,000 to manufacture engines, heating, ventilating and drying apparatus, blowers, forges, drills, punches, shears, etc. It will take over the assets of the Canadian Buffalo Forge Company, Ltd. The incorporators are William H. and Henry W. Wendt, John M. Chlpman and Charles A. Booth, all of Buffalo, N. Y., and Allan G. McAvity, Montreal.

• 1916—The 1916-10-12 issue of Iron Age has this news item:

  The Canadian Buffalo Forge Company, Kitchener, Ont., will double the capacity of its plant. An addition, 50 x 100 ft. will be erected at a cost of $100,000. The company is engaged in the manufacture of munition machinery.

• 1916—The 1916-11-30 issue of Iron Age has this news item:

  The Canadian Buffalo Forge Company, Kitchener, Ont., has started work on an addition, 100 x 150 ft., that will double the capacity of its plant. The new addition will cost $100,000.

• 1916—Canadian industry, commerce, and finance; published as a companion volume to The Journal of Commerce, by J. J. Harpell: Lists Canadian Buffalo Forge Co., Ltd., Montreal, Que., as a producer of drill presses; blacksmiths' drills; tire benders; blacksmiths' blowers; pressure blowers; refuse burners; drying apparatus; marine engines; portable engines; waterworks pumping engines; electric fans; hot air heating apparatus; humidifiers; air pumps; centrifugal pumps; electric pumps; fire pumps; hydraulic pressure pumps; steampower pumps; hand and power tire pumps; turbine pumps; punches and punch couplings; shears and shear blades; blacksmiths' tools; cooling towers; ventilators; washers.
• 1918—Cairnes' Official Directory of the City of Kitchener lists "Canadian Blower Forge Co., Ltd., Woodside Ave."
• 1920—1920-21 Canadian Trade Index lists Canadian Blower & Forge Co., Limited, Kitchener, Ont., as a maker of anvils and vises, tire benders, blacksmiths' blowers, organ blowers, pressure blowers, rotary blowers, refuse burners, upright and horizontal drills, drying apparatus, marine gasoline engines, portable engines, waterworks pumping engines, planing mill exhausters, fan and exhaust systems, electric fans, mine ventilating fans, portable and stationary forges, hot air heating apparatus, humidifiers, tuyere irons, blacksmiths' machinery, "lumber, brick and tile drying machinery", woodworking machinery, drill presses, air pumps, centrifugal pumps, "cistern, tanks and well pumps", deep well pumps, duplex and triplex power pumps, electric pumps, fire pumps, hydraulic pressure pumps, iron force and lift pumps, ship pumps, size and paper-mill pumps, steam power pumps, turbine pumps, vacuum pumps, punches, oil and steam separators, shears and shear blades, smoke stacks, blacksmiths' tools, cooling towers, steam turbines, ventilators, air washers, and bench vises.
• 1940 Canadian Trade Index.

  Canada Pumps, Limited, Kitchener, Ont. Branch offices, Montreal, Toronto. Centrifugal sewage and underwriters' fire pumps, pumping machinery and foot valves. Brands, "Canadian", "Canadian Buffalo". Cable address, Forge. Code, A. B. C.

  Canadian Blower & Forge Co., Limited, The. Kitchener, Ont. Blacksmiths' tools; punches and shears, drilling machines, unit coolers. Branch offices, Toronto, Montreal. For. Reps.: G. F. Sims, Proprietory, Limited, P.O. Box 533, Cape town and P.O. Box 5939, Johannesburg, South Africa; Walter Clarke & Sons, P.O. Box 448, Accra and P.O. Box 518, Lagos, West Africa; H.R. Vernon Mapp, Trinidad, B.I.I.; Alan D. Carson & Co., Wellington, N. Z.; Richardson Orr & Co., Limited, 250 Pitt St., Sydney, Australia. Cable address, Forge. Code, A.B.C. Brands, "Canadian", "Canadian Buffalo".

• 1976—Industry Canada lists Canadian Blower/Canada Pumps Limited, 90 Woodside Avenue, Kitchener ON N2G 4K1, as inactive/amalgamated. The amalgamation was of Canadian Blower (incorporated 1915-03-25) and Canada Pumps Limited (incorporated 1931-12-21), the amalgamation occurring 1976-09-29. Their last annual meeting was 1983-08-01. The directors were A. J. Barker and S. A. Young of Kitchener, D. G. McKenzie of Waterloo, J. R. Adare of East Amherst, NY, and M. L. Berkman of Pittsburgh, PA.
• 1981—Proceedings of the Ontario Legislative Assembly mentions "Canadian Blower-Canada Pumps Limited" and its president, Robert Adare.
• 1984—Industry Canada lists Canadian Blower/Canada Pumps Limited as amalgamating with Aerofin Corporation (Canada) Limited, on 1984-12-01. The resulting business operated as Canadian Blower/Canada Pumps Limited, which held its last annual meeting on 2006-11-23, with certificate of discontinuance filed on 2006-12-07.
• A correspondent sent us pictures of a #155 post drill labeled, "Canadian Buffalo Forge Co. / Kitchener, Ont.". This combination doesn't make much sense because Berlin changed its name to Kitchener a year after Canadian Buffalo Forge Co. changed its name to Canadian Blower & Forge Co. But there it is, cast in iron.
• Almost all the drill presses—and most of the other products—we have seen are labeled with the "Canadian Blower & Forge Co., Ltd." maker's name and a model name of "Canadian Buffalo".
• An eBay auction for an anvil says that the anvil is marked, "CANADIAN BLOWER & FORGE CO.—BERLIN ONT."
• A 1999 posting to an AnvilFire.com forum by Earl Gibson describes a blower: "The blower was made by Canadian Buffalo Forge Company, Berlin, Ontario, Canada".
• Thanks to Robert Hawkins for providing a scan of a cardboard label bearing the "Canadian Buffalo Forge Co., Ltd." label and the notations, "Incorporated 1903" and "Montreal".
• Thanks to Mike Ozbun for reporting his drill press labeled, "Buffalo 15" and "Canadian Blower / Canada Pumps Limited, Kitchener Ontario Canada" (there is no "Canadian Buffalo" cast into the sides of the head).

Company Locations

• 1896: Notre-Dame and Darling Sts, Montreal.
• 1918: Woodside Avenue, Kitchener
• 1919: No street address for Kitchener; 220 King St. W., Toronto; 57 Canada Life Bldg., Montreal
• 1922: No street address for Kitchener; 1204 Bank of Hamilton Building, Toronto; 702 Southam Building, Montreal
• 1976: 90 Woodside Avenue, Kitchener
• 1984: 90 Woodside Avenue, Kitchener
• 2006: 5 Hoffman Street, Kitchener