Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Clairtone Sound Corporation was incorporated under the statutes of Ontario on 2 July 1958. Based in Toronto, the company began manufacturing high-quality sound electronics and accessories. In 1960 it established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Clairtone Sales Limited, and opened its first international sales office in New York City. In the following year Clairtone purchased Strathroy Industries Limited and the company's subsidiary, The Middlesex Furniture Company Limited, thereby establishing its own cabinet manufacturing facilities. In the early 1960s the company established an international reputation for stereo and cabinetry design. In 1964 profits decreased and the company entered into an agreement with Industrial Estates Limited to erect a modern plant in Stellarton, N.S. and move its operations to Nova Scotia. The new plant was in full operation in August 1966, producing cabinets with built-in stereo, hi-fi, and colour television sets, and employing a workforce of nearly one thousand. In subsequent years mounting financial losses led Industrial Estates Limited to approve the sale of Clairtone to the Province of Nova Scotia. The company sustained losses totalling $19 million by 1970 and in 1971, it ceased operations when the government closed all manufacturing facilities. All buildings, inventories, and assets were sold but the company was not officiallly dissolved until 1979.