Wood Wyant - 85 Years

Wood Wyant has seen a great deal of change in its 84 years of existence, but one thing that holds true to this day is the focus of “providing its customers tools to measure the results of their actions” through quality products and services. 

G.H. Wood & Company was founded in early 1922 by a 27-year-old Geoffrey Hutchence Wood. The company started out in a facility at 28 Wellington St. E. in downtown Toronto. At that time, the company consisted of a one room office on the ground floor which housed a roll top desk and chair. After one year, Wood moved the company to the second floor of the building which had two offices. 

Even in the early days, Wood had the foresight of building his company based on the principles of providing improvement of public health and cleanliness in the workplace. When he first opened for business, the only product he carried was the Konex cup – a cone-shaped paper water cup. 

Wood used the sales pitch that current methods of drinking water in restaurant washrooms, fountains and in offices were germ laden and unhygienic. Armed with his disposable paper cups, he sold them to insurance companies and government agencies to help them get rid of the metal cup that was chained to the water bubbler. This was the start of his “clean for health” campaign, which reduced absenteeism and sickness, and saved companies money. With his clientele building, Wood soon opened offices in Montreal and Ottawa to better service his many customers in those areas 

In 1924, Wood purchased the Liquid Soap & Sanitary Products Company in Toronto. This $3000 purchase would lead him to the restrooms of his current customers and would be the beginning of his future success. 

In 1926, Wood purchased the Perfection Water Cooler Company and one year later, he signed on with the Scott Paper Company in Chester, PA, and Interlake Tissue Mills in Canada. Now equipped with disposable paper towels and liquid soap, Wood helped push dirty cloth towels and grimy soap bars out of restrooms. To further compliment his lines, Wood soon added towel and tissue dispensers, waste receptacles and deodorant blocks.

 

At this point, the company was growing tremendously. Early in 1927, Wood applied for a National Charter and set out to operate across Canada. “Sanitation for the Nation” was now born. 

In 1930, Wood moved to a large, four-storey building at 736 Dundas St. E. in Toronto where he consolidated all of the head office and manufacturing into a single location. He followed this move by creating his first-ever, full-line, 32-page catalogue highlighting his sanitation product lines. 

Wood believed strongly in sales promotion and advertising and spent a lot of money promoting his products. His sales people carried samples of the products on their sales calls so that customers could “try” them following a demonstration. Wood believed that “a presentation without a demonstration is all talk.” 

As the company’s success snowballed, devastation would hit the company. In March 1936, a fire destroyed Wood’s head office and manufacturing plant. All was lost aside from a “Formula Book” written by the company’s chemist, Paul Amman, which gave some insight as to what they were making that fateful day. 

Determined to keep going, Wood rented space and with the help of his suppliers, was up and running the next day. Many of Wood’s customers had read about the fire in the local paper and helped him get back on his feet by buying more product. This led to the best sales month in the company’s history. When asked how this was possible, Wood said that he believed in three essentials: Make the best product you can; Treat your customers decently; and keep yourself healthy. 

From rented space at 1244 Dufferin St. to the distribution centre at the Cross & Blackwell Building (now MTV on the Lakeshore), to offices and manufacturing on Keele Street, Wood had to grow the company as his increased business was quickly filling up all his facilities. 

In 1948, Wood took a bold move and purchased seven acres of farm land on the Queen Elizabeth Way in Etobicoke. He filled the swampy land with hundreds of truckloads of soil and then turned his sites on assisting in the design of the distinctive, long yellow brick building which became a landmark on the highway between Toronto and Hamilton.

 

In 1987, at the age of 91, Wood sold his company to the multi-national Ecolab. This was the beginning of many difficult years for the company. In 1993, Ecolab sold the company to the Wyant Corporation. This marriage brought together two companies with similar product lines, but different strengths – G.H. Wood had a strong chemical presence and the exclusivity of the Taski line, while Wyant was the leader in offering environmentally-friendly paper products and systems. 

A major leap occurred in 1998 when the company purchased five companies – The Perigord business located in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay; PSP operating in the Ottawa-Hull area; Midway operating in the lower mainland of British Columbia; Purnell with offices in Castlegar and part of the Cassidy’s business in the Maritimes. 

In 2000, Cascades Tissue Group purchased Wood Wyant from the Wyant family, and in 2005, the Sani-Marc Group scooped it up. This move saw the return of Wood Wyant to its roots – offering customers expert sanitation solutions with measurable results. 

Today, Wood Wyant has  17 Customer Care facilities operating coast to coast across Canada and a direct sales force of over 100 employees.

 

As a leader in the Green revolution (“Paper Without Trees”), Wood Wyant offers paper systems made using recycled material; technology first introduced by Wyant in 1967. Additionally, Wood Wyant carries a wide array of certified Green products, low / no scent and low VOC products. 

To highlight its quality product line and provide value-added services to its customers, Wood Wyant has invested heavily in providing a complete training program. Brock Wylie was appointed director of training and now has four full-time trainers which coordinate all the training activities for both employees and customers. 

As Wood Wyant enters its 85^th year of existence, the company still stands strong with the philosophy of cleaning for health, and providing the vast array of products to make that belief a reality.

For more information, contact Wood Wyant at  or visit the company’s web site at www.woodwyant.com