Home  »  History

History

The Story

In 1946 two Royal Canadian Air Force buddies James (Jim) Campbell and George Day, out of work because of the infamous Stelco strike had a vision for Hamilton and its need for concrete blocks, these two men having seen a block machine in operation during the war decided to enter business together. With a $600.00 investment and a loan of $600.00 they started building blocks out of a garage on Vine St. in Hamilton. Hence the name Day & Campbell.

Later that year George Day left the business to return to a job in Brantford, leaving Mr Campbell with all the interests in the business. About that time along came an advertising man Harry Sceviour who had also been in Hamilton during the war and trained in Mount Hope with the RAF out of Scotland so with a little talk between the two gentlemen and a $1500.00 investment by Mr Sceviour the two became partners.

In 1947 the two new partners looked ahead and decided to purchase a piece of property in the County of Barton, now known as Hamilton Mountain and built a cement block shed, they were so isolated that a gas engine was used for power. A well was dug (which was black sulphur water but great for making concrete) and no phone lines, they work with the deposit too have these lines brought in.

With business booming and a need for more products it was no wonder that the two entrepreneurs expanded there business to meet the needs of this growing community, now building Septic Tanks along with Blocks.

Over the next 10 yrs. Day & Campbell Ltd went through many changes. With both men being accomplished pilots and a need to stay on-top of new technologies, they would at the drop of a hat take off in a plane to either see a plant in operation or to look for new equipment. It was during this period that they purchased new state of the art block machines and thus the introduction of Autoclaves all took place. This again put Day and Campbell on-top of the industry. Now not only producing Concrete and Slag Blocks but also Septic Tanks, Landscape products and Redi-Mix. It is obvious to us now why in 1957, Day and Campbell was classed as one of the largest septic tank producers in Canada with a staff of 55 employees and the capacity to produce 30,000 blocks in a 24 hour period. With this increased capacity and product lines the purchase of the adjoining property took place.

During the 1960s and 1970s Day & Campbell continued on with many of their core products, however there were economic changes and technology changes that reflected their products. The redi-mix was sold, and the septic tanks being produced were not widely used anymore with the expansion of Hamilton and its infrastructure , so they were discontinued. Harry Sceviour left the business leaving it in the control of the Campbell family again until 1975 when Jim Bethune, another Hamilton native and fellow City Controller like Jim Campbell purchased 50% of the business. This partnership though was short lived and Jim Campbell purchased back the shares and continued to work with their core products: Autoclaved Concrete and Slag Block.

In the 1980’s Jim Campbell handed over the Presidency and day to day operations of Day & Campbell to his son Dan Campbell and daughter Valery Lumack became Secretary Treasurer. Again operations continued as a family owned and operated business. With the boom in construction Day and Campbell brought Mr. Joe Primeau on-board in April 1983 to help with the operations, acting as General Manager until his passing in 1990.

Now in the 21 century and more than 60 yrs of Industry experience Day and Campbell still operates a family run business into its 3rd generation. It continues on to operate as an Autoclave Block manufacturer with Dan Campbell at the helm and his son Justin Campbell as Plant Supervisor, overseeing Plant and Maintenance operations. Along with professional and knowledgeable employees who understand the importance of maintaining the highest quality, value and service to its customers it has demonstrated its ability to adapt to market changes, industry trends and customer needs.

The end result? Day and Campbell produces top quality products which stand the test of time.