Hammond Manufacturing: A Century of Service
September 19, 2017
By: Owen Hurst
This year Hammond Manufacturing is celebrating 100 years as a Canadian family run company. The business was founded as O.S. Hammond and Son in 1917 in Guelph, Ontario. The company has since expanded to include international manufacturing and distribution facilities but the headquarters and its primary manufacturing location still reside in Guelph.
Hammond began with the manufacturing of tube radio sets, battery charges and other related products. In the early 1930’s Hammond recognized the growth of the broadcast and communication market and began manufacturing racks and cabinets for this expanding industry. As the use of electrical components began to really boom in the 1950’s and 1960’s Hammond again took the opportunity to expand and began manufacturing transformers, racks, cabinets and electrical/electronic enclosures.
In 2002, The Hammond transformer Divisions, separated to become an independent company, still family owned, called Hammond Power Solutions Inc. Hammond Power Solutions manufactures custom and catalogue transformers and related magnets. Hammond Manufacturing continues to focus on racks, cabinets and enclosures.
Recently I was invited to tour Hammond Manufacturing’s head office and 180,000sg.ft. manufacturing facility in Guelph that has been in operation since 1955. I was met by Sheldon Butts, Hammond’s National Sales and Marketing Manager. Sheldon has been with the company for 23 years and has a unique perspective on the company, having worked his way through the ranks to the position he now holds. He was very welcoming and happy to walk me through Hammond’s history and some of the future endeavours of the company.
He noted that recently Hammond finished construction of a new 120,000sq.ft. manufacturing facility, also in Guelph, which now houses one of the departments that had been in the original facility. The now vacant area in the original facility is undergoing significant refurbishment, with new paint, electrical and lighting being installed. In this way Hammond is going to completely overhaul the 1955 facility, moving another department into the refurbished area, and then working department by department, allowing the facility to remain open and functioning throughout the upgrade.
Touring the facility was interesting and enlightening and one would never know that the area being refurbished had originally been built in 1955. One of the most notable sights was the information posted about the facility that related company output and projections to staff and its philosophy of employee input. Sheldon had wonderful things to say about Hammond’s staff, noting that our manufacturing staff work with Hammond’s products everyday, if they have ideas about making things better the company wants that input.
Working with its employees and customers is the primary focus of Hammond. Their slogan is “Quality Products, Service Excellence”. It is a family business with the family name on the product so quality is paramount for Hammond. Hammond also recognizes that their enclosures may be the housing for intricate and expensive electrical equipment, but it is the enclosure that most end users see, and thus focus on providing functional and visually appealing products is paramount. Their customer driven mentality means they are always willing to work with their customers and distributors to provide products in a timely and efficient manor.
Hammond’s philosophy and employees are the driving force that has kept Hammond at the top of the industry for the last century, and that focus is set to continue carrying them into the future.
