Empty W.C. Wood plant

November 17, 2009
Rob O'Flanagan
guelphmercury.com

GUELPH — The city’s volatile manufacturing sector was dealt another staggering blow Monday, as W.C. Wood Corporation confirmed its Guelph manufacturing facility will close immediately, putting 250 employees out of work.

A process to liquidate the massive plant’s equipment is underway, bringing to an end the 68-year presence of the company in Guelph. The future of the Arthur Street land on which the factory is located is unknown, but building homes on it is a possibility.

Guelph Mayor Karen Farbridge said Guelph is losing a part of its history . . .

. . . W.C. Wood, at one time one of the 10 largest employers in Guelph, has struggled for years under the weight of rising costs of production, a rising Canadian dollar, and tough competition from Asian and American appliance manufacturers.

Founded in Toronto in 1930 by Wilbert Wood and moved to Guelph in 1941, W.C. Wood was run by a succession of wood family generations. The W.C. Wood group of companies was purchased by the private equity firm red diamond capital of New York in 2007, in partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan’s largest trading company.