Shurly & Dietrich

In 1873, Jerome Dietrich and Cosmos Shurly brought skills learned while working at Disston Saw Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[4] and invested $12,000 to found the Shurly & Dietrich Co. They hired nine saw makers from Rochester, New York and Sheffield, England and began to manufacture saws in Galt, Ontario, now called Cambridge.[1][5] By 1886 the company employed 70 skilled workman.[6] The company held a number of Canadian patents for saw design.[7]

By 1906, Cosmos' son Theodore Shurly was the factory superintendent.[8]

Shurly & Dietrich later expanded into Quebec by purchasing an existing saw factory, Beaver Saw Works, in Sherbrooke.[9]

Between 1904 and 1910 the company expanded its original Galt factory,[10][11] but in 1914 it sustained damage from a fire. By that time they had also built another plant in St. Catharines.[12]

In 1931, Shurly & Dietrich merged with another saw manufacturer, E. C. Atkins of Hamilton, and became Shurly-Dietrich-Atkins.[13][14]

During World War II, Shurly Dietrich produced about 40,000 tons of light armoured plate,[15] bringing in workers from Newfoundland to supplement the workforce.[16]

In 1957, Shurly Dietrich was one of two main saw manufacturers in Canada.[17] By 1968 about 1,400,000 feet of band saw blades designed for cutting metal and over 1,000,000 jigsaw blades were being manufactured each year.[15]

In 1969, Shurly Dietrich was acquired by H.K. Porter.

In 1973, Shurly Dietrich closed its plant after one hundred years in business.

• Company records deposited in the City of Cambridge archives
• Company records deposited in the City of Vancouver archives