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Beatty Brothers Limited was established by two brothers, Matthew and George Beatty, in Fergus, ON in 1874.
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History
The business started as a family run, farming equipment manufacturer. As the business grew province wide, it purchased a farm implement factory on the Grand River. With this growth in resource, the business was able to build their inventory and manufacture larger farm equipment such as: straw cutters, mowers, plows, stoves and kitchen appliances. The company continued to expand in the following century, through the purchase of similar businesses in the general area. In the 1920s, businesses in Ontario including Oshawa, St. Catharines, Guelph, Strathroy and London, were purchased by Beatty Bros. Ltd. in order to expand their organization. The family business prided itself by creating close relationships with both its customers and its employees. By this time in the century, The company had become an international business, having branches in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.
Innovation
The Beatty Brothers' pioneered the use of the Agitator in 1927, a device that moved clothes around in a tub in a circular way, which prevented clothing from getting clumped or tangled. At one point the firm was the "largest appliance firm in the Commonwealth".
In 1961, The family business's shares were sold by the Beatty family to Ralph M. Barford, Robert A. Stevens, and George Gardiner. The business then merged with General Steel Wares to create GSW Limited. In 2006, GSW Limited was purchased by A. O. Smith.