Woodworking maker Jackson, Cochrane & Co. is now almost forgotten, but at one time they made a full line of woodworking machinery. They dated back to at least 1895.

From June 1920 Canadian Woodworker and Furniture Manufacturer

In 1952 the business was acquired by Beisinger Industries, Ltd. of Kitchener, which seems to have been a local "conglomerate" would would also acquire the venerable but moribund Cowan & Co., Ltd. Jackson-Cochrane became the Jackson-Cochrane Division of Beisinger Industries, Ltd. By 1960 Beisinger Industries was looking to sell a complete machine-tool factory which seems to be the Jackson-Cochrane business. The only mentions of Jackson-Cochrane we can find after that date are in supplier listings, where company names can linger for years after they have disappeared.

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.

Information Sources

• 1953 issue of Industrial Canada (volume 54 issues 7-12, page 94).

  Jackson-Cochrane Limited, Kitchener, Ont. The firm's name has been changed to Beisinger Industries Ltd., following the issue of letter patent. Over 99 per cent of Jackson-Cochrane stock was bought by Beisinger in 1952. However, it has been decided to preserve the Jackson-Cochrane name and so the firm will be known as the Jackson-Cochrane Division of Beisinger Industries Ltd.

• 1955 report from the Government of Canada's Dominion Bureau of Statistics, The Machinery Industry: 1953, page G-16, lists "Jackson-Cochrane, Division of Beisinger Industries Ltd. / 16 Victoria St. N., Kitchener".
• 1958 issue of Timber of Canada (volume 19, page 95).

  BEISINGER INDUSTRIES LTD.
  J. Beisinger, Sales Mgr.
  Jackson-Cochrane Div. & Cowan & Co. Div.
  16 Victoria St. N.
  Kitchener, Ont.
  Warehouses: Que. Quebec City
  Ont. Toronto

• 1960-06-13 Foreign Commerce Weekly, page 38, "Investment Opportunities" section.

  Canadian Manufacturing Facilities Available

  A complete plant manufacturing machinery and tools, as well as facilities for rebuilding and repairing machinery, are offered for sale, lease, or merger by Beisinger Industries, Ltd., Kitchener, Ontario.

  Machinery now installed in the plant, which occupies 5,500 square feet, includes band saws, boring mill, drill presses, hydraulic surface grinder, cylindrical grinders, lathes, milling machines, planers, shapers, gear cutter and welding equipment.

  Interested firms are invited to write to C. J. Beisinger, President, Beisinger Industries, Ltd., 16 Victoria N., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

• 1961 issue of Canada Lumberman, volume 81 page 76, in a listing of "Manufacturers and Distributors". "Cowan & Company: Jackson-Cochrane Div., 16 Victoria St. N., Kitchener, Ont. J. Beisinger, Sales Manager."
• Thanks to John Bartley for providing us scans of pages from Ontario Gazetteer and Directory for 1895, which lists Jackson, Cochrane & Co. as a maker of woodworking machinery. An advertisement there reads "Berlin Machine Works... JACKSON, COCHRANE & CO. / Manufacturers of Wood Working Machinery, Shafting, Pulleys, Etc. / Repairing and Casting Promptly Attended to. / BERLIN, ONT." The same Gazetteer from 1884-1885 does not list Jackson Cochrane.
• This maker was seen in a 1914 issue of Waterloo County: Outlook Edition, a promotional booklet put out by the Waterloo County council.
• Most machines we have seen have been labeled as being from "Jackson.Cochrane & Co. / Berlin, Ont." Berlin changed its name to Kitchener in 1916. A correspondent reports a 16-inch jointer with "Jackson & Cochrane—Kitchener" in the casting.
• Thanks to Guy Pelchat for providing us pictures of several examples of machines from this maker.
• Correspondent Barry Larson researched a Jackson-Cochrane overarm router. It is labeled as, "Jackson-Cochrane Ltd. / Wood Working Machinery / Kitchener, Canada / Machine No. 2182." Immediately below that label is a second one, "Jackson Cochrane Ltd. / Kitchener, Canada / Machine No. 609 / C.E.S.A. Approval No. 6629".
  • The "Kitchener" location implies 1916 or later.
  • "C.E.S.A." indicates "Canadian Engineering Standards Association", which, according to Barry's correspondence with the CSA, was used only between 1940 and 1944 until the name was changed to the "Canadian Standards Association". This confirms that Jackson-Cochrane survived until at least 1940.
  • The motor on the machine has an unusual frame with the mounting on the end opposite the shaft. This motor appears to be original to the machine, and is from the Lincoln Electric Co. of Canada, Ltd., Toronto. Its tag also says, "CSA approval number 1776". The mix of C.E.S.A. and CSA suggests that the machine is perhaps from 1944 or 1945.
• Correspondent John McDonnell reports that Jackson-Cochrane was listed in a November 1957 telephone book, at 16 Victoria Street North.
• A web search revealed a Jackson-Cochrane belt sander for sale.