Fonds F2951 - Cronkhite Supply Ltd. fonds

Cronkhite Supply Ltd. was founded by Norman Cronkhite in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1912 as a wholesale plumbing and heating supply company. In 1950 the founder sold the business to M. D. Muttart who appointed David R. Balfour as manager. In 1956 Balfour and several other employees purchased the firm and moved the head office to Calgary, Alberta where it remains. Other branches were established in Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, and Burnaby as the company kept pace with the western provinces' growing demand for plumbing and heating products. In 1977 Balfour retired and sold the company to his son Fraser Balfour. During the 1980s Balfour divested himself of Manitoba and Saskatchewan assets and expanded in Alberta and British Columbia. In 1989 the company purchased Nicholson Sales, a wholesaler of fire sprinkler systems. By the 1990s Cronkhite had warehouses in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Surrey, Langley and Richmond.