This maker began as two separate firms: Standard Machine & Tool Co., Ltd., of Windsor, founded 1931, and Modern Tool Works, Ltd., of Toronto, founded 1935. In 1955, conglomerate Staveley Iron & Coal Co., Ltd.—already owning substantial portions of the shares of each firm—acquired all remaining shares of the two businesses and merged then to create Standard-Modern Tool Co., Ltd.

The merged company specialized in engine lathes. The company, which remains as one of the few North American firms still manufacturing such products, also makes CNC lathes. The company began in Toronto; at some point their headquarters apparently moved to Montréal, then moved back to the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. As of 2014 the Standard Modern brand belongs to Racer Machines International, Inc., and the lathes are being manufactured in Cambridge.

We have also seen the name Standard Modern Tool Co.; we do not know how this name relates to the name at the top of this page.

Information Sources

• The lathes.co.uk page on this maker provides information on the company's Utililathe and Series 2000 lines, as well as some of their accessories (taper attachments, steady rests).
• Ad advertisement in the November 1945 Machine Production and Canadian Mill Supply gives the address of Modern Tool Works Limited as 69 Montcalm Avenue, Toronto.
• The 1955-09-08 issue of The Glasgow Herald has the following article:

  The ninety-second annual meeting of the Staveley Iron and Coal Company, Ltd., was held yesterday in London, Mr. Thomas A. McKenna (chairman) presiding. The following is an extract from the chairman's circulated statement for the year ended June 30, 1955:

  In my statement last year, Stockholders were informed of the expansion of their Canadian interests by the acquisition of the great majority of the share capital of Modern Tool Works, Ltd., who are makers of machine tools of the type manufactured by the Standard and Archdale companies. Since that date your company has acquired the remainder of the issued share capital of Modern Tool Works, Ltd., and also the outstanding 25 per cent of the issued share capital of the Standard Machine and Tool Co., Ltd., has been acquired.

  In order to further strengthen your Company's Canadian interests and to secure an efficient selling organisation, capable of handling the sales of the Modern and Standard products throughout Canada, your Company acquired the whole of the issued share capitals of the A. R. Williams Machinery Company, Ltd., and A. R. Williams Machinery Estern Ltd., with its wholly owned subsidiary Pacific Tractor and Equipment, Ltd. Thus, the Williams companies will not only sell the products of your Canadian companies, but also those of your English companies.

  To secure the efficient administration and organisation of these wide-spread interests a new company has been formed known as Standard-Modern Tool Company Ltd., the whole of the issued share and Debenture capital of which was issued to your Company in exchange for its holdings in the underlying companies.

  Although the machine tool company, James Archdale and Co., Ltd., has been fully occupied during the year and has a satisfactory order book, it has suffered severe dislocation of production as a result of a swing in demand from its standard type of machine to its specialised type of multi-drilling, tapping and boring machine with the result that its profits and consequently those of the Group as a whole, have suffered a temporary setback...

• US Department of Commerce's 1959-02-16 Investment Opportunities Abroad.

  Machine Tool License Sought by Toronto Firm

  The Manufacturing Division of Standard-Modern Tool Co. Ltd., of Toronto, Canada, has expressed interest in licensing or production contracts in its field of interest.

  Standard-Modern Tool Co. Ltd., now produces machine tools, dies, molds, jigs and fixtures. It also does engineering, contract machining and machinery building.

  The firm employs about 300 skilled workmen, exclusive of mechanical and electrical engineering staffs, in its plants in Toronto and Windsor, Ontario.

  Standard Modern Tool Co. Ltd., indicates that it would also be prepared to consider expansion which would require addition production equipment in related fields.

  The firm was established more than a quarter of a century ago and is a leading Canadian machine tool manufacturer. Annual sales are reported to be approximately $12 million. Capital stock is controlled by the Staveley Coal & Iron Co. of London, England.

  Communicate directly with Mr. R. J. Barrett, General Manager, Standard-Modern Tool Co. Ltd., 69 Montcalm Ave., Toronto 10, Ontario, Canada.

• A 1959 edition of The Statist carried this snippet:

  The trading interests of the Staveley Coal and Iron group are very widespread, but machine tool manufacture, through the James Archdale, Cunliffe and Croom, and George Richards subsidiaries (a further subsidiary, Standard-Modern Tool, of Canada, is also engaged in machine-tool manufacture)...

• A Standard-Modern Model 1334 lathe manual, dated 1972, says on the title page, "Kestrel Machine Tools Inc. / Sole producer of STANDARD-MODERN lathes." The company address was 7000 Davand Drive, Mississauga. The phone number given has the 905 area code, which was not assigned until 1993. The manual was likely obtained, later, from Standard Modern and they updated the phone number to their then-current listing.
• A Standard-Modern Model 1334 lathe manual, dated 1983, says on the title page, "Standard-Modern Technologies / A division of Baxter Technologies Corporation". The company address was 69 Montcalm Avenue, Toronto—the same address they had in 1945. The phone number given has the 905 area code, which was not assigned until 1993. The manual was likely obtained, later, from Standard Modern and they updated the phone number to their then-current listing.
• The 2001-04-16 version of their website gives the company name as Standard-Modern Lathes Inc.; the address was 7625 Kimbel St., #17, Mississauga. The name and address remained unchanged through to 2013-01-16, but the next sample, on 2015-07-12, changes to Racer Machinery International, 1030 Fountain Street N., Cambridge.
• 2018-09-06 Canadian Metalworking has an >article on Racer Machinery International. The article mentions the headstock being hand-scraped to the ways.