Corporate History

Wajax Income Fund is a leading Canadian distributor and service support provider which carries on operations through three core businesses: Mobile Equipment, Power Systems and Industrial Components. With a combined network of over 100 branches across Canada, these businesses sell to and service a customer base that includes companies working in the natural resources, construction, manufacturing, industrial processing, and utilities markets.

In 2008, Wajax celebrated its 150th anniversary.  As one of the oldest businesses in Canada Wajax has played an active role in the development of the country’s infrastructure.  The roots of the Fund trace back to 1858 when B.J. Coghlin opened a blacksmith shop in Montreal. The smithy operation in due course gave way to the manufacture of springs for carriages and later for railcars. Coghlin’s business continued to grow steadily and, in 1954, it acquired its first mobile equipment subsidiary.  From that point onward, until diversification strategies were conceived and developed in the late 1960s and thereafter, the primary focus of the business became the selling and servicing of mobile equipment. Significant diversifications occurred in 1968 and 1978, respectively, w hen the first Power Systems and Industrial Components businesses were acquired.

Wajax grew substantially through 23 acquisitions in the mid-1990’s, and revenues increased from approximately $250 million to over $1 billion. In 2005, Wajax Limited converted to an income trust and changed its name to Wajax Income Fund.

The Wajax 150th anniversary book details the histories of each core business and how they came together to form what is now known as Wajax Income Fund.