The United Company of Canada occupies Up-to-date structure
In 1900 the Canadian United Shoe Machinery Company occupied the top story of a small building in the downtown district of Montreal. Fifteen years later it occupies the most up-to-date and finest plant of its kind in Canada, with branch offices in Montreal City, Toronto, Quebec and Berlin, employing, in all, almost five hundred persons, including traveling agents in the Eastern and Western Provinces.
The Berlin News Record, in a recent issue, refers to the establishment of this new branch at Berlin as follows:
“The company has leased the building formerly occupied by the Bricker Livery, near the corner of King and Gaukel streets. It was induced to locate in Berlin chiefly through the efforts of George and Oscar Rumpel, aided by the shoe manufacturers.
“Berlin is becoming known as a large shoe center and is well situated for shoe manufacturing plants.”
The head office and factory are situated in Maisonneuve, one of the largest suburbs of Montreal, only a short distance from the center of the city. A wide open country surrounds the buildings with large fields and and plenty of beautiful shade trees.
The buildings are all fireproof construction, and as can be seen from the picture above, the greater per cent of wall space is windows, giving all the daylight possible and plenty of fresh air. The main building is 280 feet long and 60 feet wide, four stories high and contains the general offices, machine shop, Parts Department and Shipping Department, also a dining room with a setting capacity of one hundred. In the rear of the main building are the tack factory, die factory, blacksmith shops and boiler room.
There is a splendid athletic association amongst the employees and fine athletic fields at one side of the factory, as well as a tennis court and quoit pitch. Baseball and football are the most popular sports and the association is represented in the leading amateur leagues of both of these sports. Shower-baths and dressing rooms are provided in the main building.
The women employees of the Company have not been forgotten: two large recreation rooms have been provided for their use at one end of the offices; one as a reading and rest room, having a piano, library table, couches and lounging chairs, the otnerbeing used as a lunch room, having an electric stove and several small lunch tables.
Above article from a 1915 edition of “The Three Partners”, a company publication of United Shoe Machinery Co.
Bank of Cut Tack machines at United Shoe Canada