BDI History

1970 – 1980s

By the time the 70’s arrived, Canada was focused on power generation, resource development and automotive manufacturing. Kenscott was already in its second major facility, had started an electro-mechanical division and acquired other industrial supply companies or opened branches in Hamilton, St. Catherines, Brampton, Markham, Whitby and Ottawa.

Our company’s leaders understood that in order to keep pace with Canadian development we needed to be where our customers were, think like our customers thought, and sometimes get there before them, as their development relied on us being in place to keep them running.

With the uncertainty of markets in the 80’s, Kenscott started to look to global development. The Jaymark division was opened to service flour mill machinery conversions globally as well as here at home. The computerizing of the business by Brad Scott, our founder’s son, allowed the company to secure steel mill contracts and to really penetrate the automotive plants of the Big Three.

In 1988, the company became a subsidiary of Noranda’s Wire Rope Industries division, giving it the resources to acquire Manufactures Industrial Supply. This in turn led to the opening of branches in Sudbury and Elliot Lake supporting the resource industries. At the same time, a new branch was opened in Windsor which significantly raised Kenscott’s status with automakers.