The Irving Group of Companies is an informal name given to those companies owned and controlled by the descendants of Canadian industrialist K.C. Irving, namely his children J.K., Arthur, and Jack (1932-2010) and their respective children.
Many of the components of the Irving Group of Companies were established or acquired by K.C. Irving during his period of active entrepreneurship between the 1920s and the 1970s. Following his retirement to Bermuda in the 1970s, the conglomerate was operated by his three sons in much the same manner and remained relatively intact and maintained a strong vertical integration. The companies were roughly divided into similar divisions, each controlled by one of K.C. Irving's sons and their respective children.
James Irving (also known as "J.K.") – ownership and responsibility for J.D. Irving Limited and its subsidiaries. This conglomerate has interests in several industries including forestry, integrated forest products, building supplies, frozen food, transportation, shipping lines, and shipbuilding.Arthur Irving (also known as "Art") - ownership and responsibility for Irving Oil and its subsidiaries. This conglomerate has ownership of its retail stores, oil refineries, oil tankers and distribution terminals and facilities.John E. Irving (1932–2010) (also known as "Jack") – This conglomerate has ownership of Commercial Properties, OSCO Construction Group, Source Atlantic and Acadia Broadcasting, Limited.J.D. Irving Ltd. (holding company)Irving Forest Products & ServicesIrving Pulp & Paper Ltd.Irving Paper Ltd.Irving Tissue Co. Ltd.Lake Utopia PaperIrving Sawmill DivisionIrving Woodlands DivisionJDI Integrated Logistics (formerly Irving Transportation Services)New Brunswick Railway Co. Ltd.New Brunswick Southern Railway Co. Ltd.Eastern Maine Railway Co. Ltd.Maine Northern Railway Co. Ltd.Midland TransportMidland CourierRST IndustriesSunbury TransportAtlantic TowingKent LineJDI LogisticsHarbour DevelopmentIrving Shipbuilding & Fabrication ServicesSaint John ShipbuildingHalifax ShipyardEast Isle ShipyardShelburne Ship RepairWoodside IndustriesFleetway, Inc.Oceanic Consulting CorporationIrving Retail & Distribution ServicesChandlerKent Building SuppliesKent HomesUniversal Truck & TrailerShamrock TrussAtlas Structural SystemsJ&H IndustriesEconomy DrywallCavendish Agri ServicesIrving Consumer ProductsIrving Tissue (Royale, Majesta, Scotties, private labels)Irving Personal Care (diapers, training pants)Cavendish Produce (fresh vegetables)Cavendish Farms (frozen potato processing)Indian River FarmsRiverdale FoodsMaster PackagingIndustrial Equipment & ConstructionAtlantic WallboardIrving WallboardGulf OperatorsIrving Equipment (crane rental, heavy lifting, specialized transportation, pile driving and project management services)CFMSpecialty PrintingPlasticraftPersonnel ServicesProtrans Personnel Services Inc.Security ServicesIndustrial Security Inc.Amateur SportsMoncton WildcatsBrunswick NewsTelegraph-Journal (Saint John NB)Times & Transcript (Moncton NB)The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton NB)The Tribune (Campbellton NB)La Voix du Restigouche (Campbellton NB)The Bugle-Observer (Woodstock NB)Le Journal Madawaska (Edmundston NB)L'Étoile (various editions)Édition provincialeÉdition La Cataracte (Grand Falls NB)Édition Chaleur (Bathurst NB)Édition Dieppe (Dieppe NB)Édition Kent (Bouctouche NB)Édition Péninsule (Shippagan NB)Édition République (Edmundston NB)Édition Restigouche (Campbellton NB)Édition Shédiac (Shediac NB)Kings County Record (Sussex NB)Miramichi Leader (Miramichi NB)The Northern Light (Bathurst NB)Here (Saint John NB, Moncton NB, Fredericton NB)Former subsidiariesAcadian Lines Ltd.SMT (Eastern) Ltd. Bus LinesSaint John City TransitIrving Industrial RentalsLexi-Tech InternationalBarrington Environmental ServicesBarrington Industrial ServicesCommercial EquipmentMaritime TireM.I.T.I (Xwave)Hawk CommunicationsSteel and Engine Products Ltd.Scot TruckMITVCHSJ-TVCIHF-TVIrving RefineriesIrving Energy Services Ltd. (home heating fuel)Irving Energy Distribution and MarketingIrving Propane (formerly named Atlantic Speedy Propane)Irving Aviation (supplier of aviation fuel)Portage Energy LimitedOverrideCanaport (deepwater ultra large crude carrier terminal)Canaport LNG (25% partner in deepwater liquified natural gas terminal, 75% held by Repsol YPF)Irving Blending & Packaging (automotive & commercial vehicle lubricants and degreasers)Over 900 retail locations throughout Eastern Canada and New EnglandSource Atlantic (formerly Thornes)PetroService, LimitedCommercial Properties LimitedOSCO Construction GroupSteelOcean Steel Ltd. (structural steel & rebar)Ocean Steel Corp. (structural steel)Allstar RebarYork SteelConcreteStrescon Ltd. (prestressed cast concrete)Borcherdt Concrete ProductsOSCO ConcreteOSCO AggregatesConstruction (commercial, institutional and industrial construction)FCC Construction & EngineeringMarque ConstructionAcadia Broadcasting Ltd. (formerly New Brunswick Broadcasting Company)A selection of the 14 radio stations owned and operated by Acadia Broadcasting
Northwoods Broadcasting Ltd.CKDR-FM (Dryden ON)CFOB-FM (Fort Frances ON)CJRL-FM (Kenora ON)CKTG-FM, CJUK-FM (Thunder Bay ON)Irving companies are private companies; as a result, there isn't as much public information available as there would be for publicly traded organizations. This lack of abundant transparency has led to significant criticism and paranoia regarding Irving business activities.
Irving companies are often criticized for their vertical integration. Examples of vertical integration within the "Irving Group of Companies" (as the Irving family refers to their holdings) include the acquisition or formation of businesses along the entire chain of production, from the Irving refinery (an Irving Oil subsidiary) and its retail outlets, to the transportation subsidiaries of J.D. Irving (RST, Midland, NB Southern, Sunbury), to various construction and engineering companies that assist in building, maintaining and expanding the conglomerate's facilities. Further examples of vertical integration within the conglomerate include Industrial Security Ltd. (ISL), the wholly owned security company that guards facilities, as well as industrial suppliers such as Thornes, Universal Sales and Commercial Equipment Ltd. which provide specialty goods and services to its companies. J.D. Irving, the sister firm to Irving Oil, is a dominant forestry company in northeastern North America, growing trees, harvesting trees and producing lumber, pulp and paper, and various enhanced value products such as glossy paper grades, tissue, and personal care products.
The Dominion newspaper, an independent Canadian newspaper, has criticized Irving's ownership of the New Brunswick Papers, as well as the papers' journalistic integrity, particularly when reporting on companies controlled by the Irving family such as Irving Oil. Canadian Business magazine wrote in a profile of the Irving Group in 2008, "A Senate committee that recently probed media ownership in Canada expressed concerns about the family’s near-monopoly over the province’s print media and “the implications of a dominant media force linked to a dominant industrial base.” While a Brunswick News official denied any pro-Irving bias in the papers’ coverage, the committee’s 2006 report cited other witnesses who feared that Irving journalists exercise restraint and self-edit when writing about the family — “unconscious loyalty to the parental control,” as one put it."
In 2003, there was accusations of Irving family political patronage, notably involving Allan Rock and Claudette Bradshaw of the Liberal Party of Canada.
