Pilkington Glass Co. to Hayes-Dana; the industry of Thorold

The Pilkington Glass Co. was founded in 1826 at St. Helen's, Lancashire, near Liverpool, England. Originally known as St. Helen's Crown Glass Co., in 1829 the name was changed to the Greenall and Pilkington Glass Co. to reflect the ownership. With Greenall's departure in 1845, it became Pilkington Bros., named for (William) Windle and Richard.

At the time the company was founded in the 1820's, crown glass was the standard.

Crown glass was an early type of window glass. The glass was hand blown into a

"crown" or hollow globe and then transferred from the blow pipe into a "punty", where it was gradually flattened by reheating and spinning. Pilkington helped to pioneer the introduction of sheet glass in the 1830's and 40's. By the early 1900's they were the sole British manufacturer of sheet, rolled and plate glass, employing nearly 100,000 people in their various operations.

*the key to Pilkington's ongoing success seems to have been their inventiveness and willingness to embrace new technology. In the early 1920's, Pilkington, along with the Ford Motor Co., developed the continuous flow process. In the 1950's, they would again surge ahead in the markets with the development of the

"float" glass process; involving pouring molten glass on a layer of very pure molten tin). Pilkington North America now sponsors a continuing education centre (aka Pilkington University), teaching glass design, specification and production.

In the early 1900's, Pilkington began establishing overseas operations. Canada would become one of the most important of these so-called "depots" or "agencies" A subsidiary was established in Thorold around 1914/15. Approximately 200 acres were purchased in Thorold South. It was an ideal location, situated between a main road and the Welland Canal. It also had direct access to the GTRR, with a station actually located on the site. As with Niagara generally, there was also easy access to the U.S. and the Golden Horseshoe.

The plant, once completed, covered about 40 acres. Popular at the turn of the century was the idea of "company towns". In keeping with this concept, "Windle Village" was established for employees. Orginally 30 houses were built, eventually growing to over 200. A

recreation hall was also constructed, which became the hub of Windle's social life; the community boasting such things as their own dramatic society and orchestra! At its peak, the Thorold operation 

employed about 300 people. Windle village was located west of the GTRR line, next to the Welland Canal.

The Thorold plant made sheet windows for houses and office buildings. While good quality, the operation struggled to remain competitive with pricing. The facility operated using a so-called cylinder drawn process, while the 1920's saw more of the competition go to the more economical drawn sheet process. By the early 30's the operation was forced to close. They had been unable to take advantage of the growing demand for polished plate glass being generated by mass car production.

For the next 10 years or so, the plant was basically empty. During World War 2 it was actually used to inter POW's. Some long time residents of the Allanburg area can still recall seeing German prisoners taking exercise outside the plant. In the late 40's, the plant was purchased by Hayes Steel Products. Hayes was founded in 1922, opening a plant on Oakdale in Merritton. At that time it was called the Hayes Wheel Co.. They manufactured auto parts, becoming even more established as a supplier for allied planes and tanks during World War 2. In the early 60's a second plant was built in Thorold, bringing the total employment at its peak, for the three plants, to 2500 workers. The company name was again changed; now being known as Hayes-Dana. The plants were located on Hayes Rd (While the access road predated Hayes' takeover of the site, I'm not certain if it had a name prior to being called Hayes)

The 1980's saw the beginning of a period of gradual decline. In 1987, the Oakdale plant was closed. In 2006 the Company, now known as Dana Canada, was forced to close the Thorold Framing Plant, laying off 650 workers. Finally, in 2008, the Thorold driveshaft plant closed, resulting in the loss of another 150 jobs.

As before, the site sat unused for a time. Then, in 2012/13, a Chinese-owned firm, TSP Canada Towers Inc., purchased the property, for the purpose of manufacturing wind towers. Operations began in 2013. Within a couple of years that company also fell into various difficulties. I believe the site is now once again empty awaiting yet another rebirth.