Moore history

Duncanson had joined Moore in 1910, when the F.N. Burt division was acquired.

House Painting and repair 1913 Seattle Home

In 1918 Harold Moore formed Moore, Stephens & Co with John Robinson Stephens, who had managed the firm while his new business partner served in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War.

Baker became chairman of the board, and W. Norman McLeod, who had joined Moore with Baker in 1920, took over as president.

Whatever the name, a global outlook has always been part of our DNA. In 1921, the firm opened an office in Glasgow and established Moore, Cross & Co. in Brazil a year later.

In 1925 one of several companies controlled by Moore, the Pacific Manifolding Book Company, forged ahead of competition by developing a single-use, disposable carbon paper.

By 1928, Sani-Flat came in 20 colors, and the product is still used for house painting today.

On January 1, 1929, the three largest members of the Moore Group formalized operations, merging into a public company, Moore Corporation Limited.

In 1933, he joined the cabinet of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of State.

When Moore made Baker president of the corporation in 1935, he established a tradition of promoting from within rather than seeking executives from outside.

That was the year he hired David W. Barr, who eventually became chairman; meanwhile Moore saw potential in Edwin G. Baker, whom he had hired nine years ago. It was to the Moore Corporation that the United States government turned in 1936 when it needed a somewhat sizable business-form order: the first 40 million Social Security application forms and cards.

He served in that post until 1940 and died the following year.

In 1945, these firms were brought together under the common brand name Moore Business Forms.

Samuel Moore kept the title of honorary chairman until his death in 1948.

In 1955 McLeod moved to chairman of the board, and Thomas S. Duncanson became president.

The company rolled out Regal Wall Satin, an easy-to-apply latex paint, in 1957.

Duncanson remained president until 1962, when he was elected chairman and W. Herman Browne was made president.

In order to develop markets in British Columbia and, eventually, the northwestern United States, the company opened its facility in Aldergrove's Gloucester Industrial Estates (western Canada), replacing the plant it opened in Burnaby in 1964.

In 1966 Moore printed more than 25 million Medicare identification cards.

1968: Benjamin Moore removes lead from paint formulations.

Dudley Moore, one of the performers in the comic stage review Beyond The Fringe, went on to star in movies in the 1970’s.

He professionalized sales representatives' training and followed through on the firm's internationalization, increasing Moore's interest in Lamson Industries to 52% in 1973.

At home in 1974 Moore merged its Dominion Paper Box Company Limited with Canada's Reid Press Limited to establish Reid Dominion Packaging Limited.

Barr became chairman in 1976, when Richard W. Hamilton, who had been with Moore 35 years, moved into the presidency.

In a 1983 celebration of its centennial anniversary, Benjamin Moore made exception to its administrative secrecy, compiling an in-house brochure titled '100 Years of Progress,' which included biographical information on the founders and accounts of the company's early history.

Maurice Workman, Moore's president at the time, told the Business Journal of New Jersey on June 13, 1985 that the computer sales were not income producing for the paint company, but were offered as a means of increasing paint sales for its dealers.

Nothing will be released to either the sewers or the air,' said Ron Hoare, senior vice-president of the plant, in a November 1991 Coatings article.

Alastair MacDonald, the plant's technical director, explained in a May 1992 Coatings article that the entire industry had moved in the direction of waterborne and powder coatings to meet environmental regulations.

One particularly resourceful marketing tool was a 1993 company publication entitled A Stroke of Brilliance, a book packed with information and tips on how consumers could apply color and paints to their decorating needs.

Following up on a similar campaign the previous year, in April 1994 Benjamin Moore Canada mailed four million customized sweepstakes promotion fliers to retailers for customer distribution onsite or through the mail.

Following up on a similar campaign the previous year, in April 1994 Benjamin Moore Canada mailed four million customized sweepstakes promotion fliers to retailers for customer distribution onsite or through the mail. It marked the first step toward collecting names for loyalty programs planned for 1995, according to President Charles deGruchy of Salter deGruchy Christenson, the agency in charge of the campaign.

In 1996 Benjamin Moore extended its commitment to environmental concerns when it joined the Coatings Care Program, a project spearheaded by the National Paints & Coatings Association.

In 1999, the company released EcoSpec, a house paint made without volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or solvents, and thus less harmful to both the planet and consumers.

On November 8, 2000, after more than a century as a major independent paint manufacturer and retailer, Benjamin Moore entered into a merger agreement with Berkshire Hathaway, the Omaha, Nebraska-based holding company led by Warren Buffett.

Benjamin Moore’s Regal Matte paint, distinguished by a stain-release resin and the ability to tolerate unprecedented amounts of scrubbing, became available in 2003.