Sydney R. Stone began his career at 14 at a Toronto print shop. He operated one of the first Heidelberg presses in Canada.That experience later landed him a job as a demonstrator and installer. After serving 6 years in World War II, he moved to selling binders, cutters and even small-format presses and established Sydney R. Stone & Co. Limited. Stone worked closely with Challenge Machinery, providing the original concept and construction of the well-known Paddy Wagon. He retired in 1980 and, sadly, passed away in March of 1981, having dedicated over 50 years of his life to the print finishing industry.
In 1983 employees Shirley MacKay and Harry Day purchased the company from his widow. In 1989 David Marsh, former International Marketing Manager of Computerized Cutters, bought the company and led it into a new technological era focusing on programmable technology and digital print. Securing major brands such as Duplo, Morgana, Triumph, MBM and EBA, Marsh was well known for his foresight. He received numerous manufacturer awards for establishing Sydney R. Stone as one of the leading print finishing distributors in Canada.
In 2008, after 40 years in the industry, Marsh sold the company to two of his employees, Michael Steele and Dylan Westgate. The co-owners soon made bold, extensive changes in rebranding, revamped its website to support 24-hour sales, and created a new service and support team with more comprehensive technical skills while instituting faster response times. At the beginning of January, they will relocate to a larger head office at 6338 Viscount Road in Mississauga, Ontario.
"Our new slogan, 'Giving Meaning to Expertise' is not only what we stand for, but is also part of the long history of this company and is very much related to what Sydney Stone himself did," says Michael Steele. "He was known for travelling the world to find unique equipment that he could import into Canada to sell and service. To do this, he was an absolute expert in not only the finishing processes but also on the print side as well."
"Our customers today really require that. Without it, they may not be able to weave their way through the huge amount of choices out there and arrive at a machine that works best for their applications," he adds.
Today the company distributes Duplo, Morgana, EBA, Ideal, MBM, Akiles, Rhin-O-Tuff, Royal Sovereign and Challenge equipment. Sydney Stone's website is printfinishing.com.
