Industry of British Columbia

=Aerospace Industry=

=Shipbuilding & Related Industries=

Vancouver Island

 * Western Stevedoring - Cowichan Bay

Victoria

 * Cameron Genoa Mills - Active during the First World War, built ten cargo ships.


 * Falconer Marine Industries - Builder of fishing boats, built three target tugs and three harbour patrol craft during the First World War for the RBCN. Closed 1931.


 * Foundation Company - Established in 1873 as Colling & Cook's Ways; bought out in 1888 and became Clark & Turpel's Shipyard, subsequently received its current name. Produced wooden coastal vessels for civilian use, during WWI built 25 wooden cargo ships for the RBCN. Closed 1933.


 * Harbour Marine Company - Established in 1914 as a subsidiary of the Victoria Machinery Depot on Songhees Band land. Ceased industrial operations in 1927, but the yard continued in use by the Songhees band as a private repair facility for fishing boats and small craft until 1955.


 * McKay Cormack - A small builder, started up in 1958 to build search-and-rescue boats for the BC Coast Guard. Closed 1969.

Point Hope Shipyards (1938) -> Point Hope Marine (repair yard, Seaspan subsid.) -- Same ways leased by Foundation Corporation (above) in 1917

Victoria Machinery Depot [1900-1967, Burrard subsid. after 1951] -- NB: VMD was orig. engine/boiler maker Albion Iron Works (1882-1900)

Victoria Motor Boat & Repair Works Ltd [WWII, 6 x harbour patrol craft]

ESQUIMALT

Esquimalt Marine Railway Co (1890s) -> B.C. Marine Railway Co -> Yarrows (1913)

Yarrows --> Burrard Yarrows [*] --> Versatile Pacific Shipyards [1984] -- * Burrard subsid. after 1951; name changed in 1970

Victoria Shipyards (2000, Washington Marine Group)

Minor Yards - Armstrong Bros (Victoria); Alberni Engineering Ltd (Port Alberni, 1914); Cowichan Welding (Duncan); Banks Marine Industries (Parksville); Cholberg (Victoria); Halliday Marine (Nanaimo); Nanaimo Shipyard (Nanaimo, 1930s)

Mainland
LOWER MAINLAND

VANCOUVER

Benson Bros. (1907) -> AC Benson Shipyard (1925) -> Benson Bros. Shipbuilding (1942) -- Orig. False Creek, 1938 Coal Harbour, 1974 takes over Star in New West.

BC Marine Ltd (1914*) -> BC Marine Shipbuilders (1962) [Victoria Drive] -- * 1898 subsid. of B.C. Marine Railway; now part of West Coast Manly Shipyards

Hamilton Bridge -> Western Bridge & Steel Fabrication -> West Coast Shipbuilders [WWII] -- NB: 'Western Bridge' on site of dormant J. Coughlan & Sons yard (below)

Hoffar Motor Boat Company (1911) -> Hoffar-Beeching (1926) -> Boeing Canada (1927) -- NB: Boeing built flying boats, actual boat-building stopped in 1939

J. Coughlan & Sons [WWI] (for Columbia St site, see Hamilton Bridge above)

Northern Construction, False Creek (10 x cargo ships, all in 1919)

RivTow Industries (1982) --> West Coast Manly Shipyards -- RivTow Straits tugs took over BC Marine, John Manly, & West Coast Salvage

Vancouver Dry Dock [WWII Burrard Dry Dock subsidiary]

Vancouver Shipyards (1902-1968, then moved to Pemberton Ave, North Van)

West Coast Salvage & Contracting (1914-1977) - 1982 aquired for RivTow to become part of West Coast Manly Shipyards

Western Canada Shipyards [WWI, 6 x cargo ships, 1918] False Creek

West Coast Manly Shipyards (see RivTow Industries above)

Minor yards: ABC Boats; Allied Shipbuilders (see North Van); HH Allen; British Columbia Iron Work; Fryatt/Bel-Aire (see N.Van); GE Cates; McAlpin & Allen

NORTH VANCOUVER

Allied Shipbuilders (1967, prior to that, Columbia St, Vancouver)

Bel-Aire Shipyard (1963, prior to that Cardero, Coal Harbour since 1956)

Matsumoto Shipyards (1956-1989, Dollarton)

McKenzie Barge & Derrick (1932) --> McKenzie Barge & Marine Ways (1970-1989) -- NB: McKenzie B&M still exists at Dollarton but now only as a repair yard

North Vancouver Ship Repair --> Pacific Dry Dock [Burrard subsid. after 1951] -- Repair yard turned shipyard during WWII, Pacific absorbed into Burrard

Vancouver Shipyards (in downtown Vancouver from 1902-1968)

Wallace Shipbuilding/Burrard Dry Dock [North Van corporate history below]

Wallace Shipyard, Ltd. (1909, incorp False Creek, 1905) -> Wallace Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Ltd. (1920) -> Burrard Dry Dock Co., Ltd. (1926) -> Burrard-Yarrows Ltd. (1979); Versatile Pacific Corp. (1984-1988)

William Lyall Shipbuilding Co Ltd [WWI, 1917-1921]

PORT MOODY

Breezedale Marine [m-1980s, fish boats]

NEW WESTMINSTER

Fraser Shipyard & Industrial Centre -- NB: operates on former site of Benson Star Shipyard

John Manly Ltd. (1947-1982, bought by RivTow) -- NB: Name is reclaimed by West Coast Manly Shipyards

Star Shipyards (1980, aka Mercer's) -> Benson Star Shipyard (1973-1984)

New Westminster Shipbuilding & Engineering [WWI, 1918-1919] Poplar Island

Westminster MR [WWI]

COQUITLAM

Pacific Construction [WWI, 2 x cargo ships, 1918]

MAPLE RIDGE

Sylte Shipyard, Ltd. (1992, 100+ hulls to date)

DELTA

Vito Steel Boat & Barge Construction (1965-1987)

INTERIOR - NELSON

Bulger, J.M. [1900-1910, CPR tugs & pass boats]

NORTH COAST - PRINCE RUPERT

Prince Rupert Dry Dock

Sam Matsumoto - fish boats until 1941, relocates to N.Van after WWII internment

=Construction, Engineering, and Other Manufacturing Industries= Incomplete list

Vancouver Island

 * Blue Circle Cement - Nanaimo
 * Coulson Manufacturing - Seizai (Port Alberni)
 * Lafarge Cement - Tla’matakw (Campbell River)
 * Pacific Industrial & Marine Steel Fabrication - Cowichan Bay

Mainland

 * Armtec Drainage Solutions - Dawson Creek
 * Bedford Vehicles of British Columbia - Blaenau
 * Blue Circle Cement - Blueberry Creek (Castlegar)
 * British Columbia Rover-Leyland - Lumby
 * Lafarge Cement - Fort St John, Vancouver (South False Creek)
 * Okanagan Glass Works - Lavington (Lumby)
 * IPSCO - Port Moody (steel mill)
 * Vancouver Locomotive Works - Liverpool (Surrey)

= Forestry, Lumber, Paper =

Vancouver Island

 * British Columbia Forest Products - Youbou, Crofton (paper mill), Port Alberni (pulp mill)
 * China Creek Forest Products - China Creek
 * Chinook Forest Products - Royston
 * Coastland Wood Industries - Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo)
 * Domforco - Harmac (Nanaimo, cellulose plant), Lake Cowichan
 * Franklin Forest Products - Franklin
 * MacMillan Bloedel - various
 * Western Forest Products - Duke Point (Nanaimo)

Mainland

 * Balco Forest Products - Haslett
 * BC Forest Products - Boulder (Blaenau, sawmill), Fort St John (plywood factory), Vavenby
 * Cariboo Pulp & Paper - Quesnel
 * Chetwynd Mechanical Pulp - Sundance Lakes (Chetwynd)
 * Clearwater Timber Products - Clearwater
 * Conifex Timber - Mackenzie (sawmill), Tl’azt’en (Fort St James, sawmill and plywood factory)
 * Crown Zellerbach - Gambrinus (Armstrong, plywood factory), Princeton
 * Dominion Cellulose (Celgar) - Hagwilget, Robson (pulp mill)
 * Domforco - Bear Lake (Wakely, Polar pulp mill), Chetwynd (sawmill), Isle Pierre (Prince George, sawmill), Mackenzie, Northwood (Prince George, pulp mill), Taylor (Fort St John)
 * East Fraser Fibre - Mackenzie
 * Eurocol Pulp & Paper - Kitimat
 * Fadear Creek Lumber Company - Louis Creek
 * Gilbert Smith Forest Products - Barriere (sawmill)
 * Houston Forest Products - Barrett (Houston)
 * Interfor - Cuprum (Grand Forks)
 * Lavington Planer Mills - Lavington (Lumby, largest furniture factory in BC)
 * Louisiana Pacific of BC - Dawson Creek (paper mill)
 * Mackenzie Pulp Mill - Mackenzie
 * MacMillan Bloedel - Ashcroft, Donald (Golden, sawmill and plywood factory), Fort St John
 * Martin Paper Company - Sooyoos
 * Nehaliston Lumber Company - Barriere
 * Quesnel River Pulp - Quesnel
 * Vaagen Fibre - Midway
 * West Fraser Mills - Quesnel

= Mining and smelting =

Vancouver Island

 * Cominco - Crofton

Mainland

 * Cominco - Archibald (Grand Forks, Rock Candy Mine (fluorspar and silica), Trail (smelter), Warfield (fertiliser plant)
 * Craigmont Mines - Coyle (Merritt)
 * Dominion Silicia - Dawson Creek
 * Eurocol Pulp & Paper - Kitimat
 * Gibraltar Mine - Gibraltar (McLeese Lake)
 * Granby Copper - Granby (Grand Forks)
 * Imperial Metals - Likely

=Other Industries=
 * Columbia Chemicals - Prince George (primarily sodium chlorate and chlor-alkali products)
 * Molson Brewery - Vancouver
 * North Pacific Cannery - Port Edward
 * Peace District Agricultural Co-Op - Dawson Creek
 * PeroxyChem - Prince George
 * Pickseed BC - Dawson Creek
 * PetroBC
 * Petrol stations of British Columbia