George Weston Limited

Infobox Company
name = George Weston Limited
company_
type =
foundation = 1882
location_city = Toronto, Ontario
location_country = Canada
location =
locations =
key_people = W. Galen Weston
area_served =
industry = Grocery Stores
products =
services =
market c
cite web |url=http://zenobank.com/index.php?symbol=CA;WN&page=quotesearch |title=Company Profile for George Weston Ltd (CA;WN) |accessdate=2008-10-08]
revenue = $29.4 billion CAN (profit10% FY 2004)
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees = 148,000
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
slogan =
homepage = [http://www.weston.ca www.weston.ca]
dissolved =
footnotes =
intl =

George Weston Limited (TSX|WN), often called Weston's or simply Weston, is a Canadian food processing and distribution company, and one of Canada's most recognizable companies. It was founded in 1882 by George Weston. The company represented the North American operations of the Weston food empire, and upon the death of George Weston, control of George Weston, Ltd. fell to his son W. Garfield Weston (1898-1978), who built it into a multi-billion (CAD) dollar company. On his death, the current Chairman Galen Weston continued to expand the business into one of the largest food conglomerates in North America.

While its origins are in the bakery field, it also owned the E.B. Eddy Company, a pulp and paper business acquired in 1943. As well, Weston purchased Loblaw Companies Limited in 1947 and built it into the largest chain of supermarkets in Canada. In recent years they acquired the Neilson Dairy and Gadoua Bakeries.

The company was founded on building strong vertical integration. For example, the Weston grocery stores sold the bread they manufactured which contained the sugar that was refined at their own sugar refineries.

Brands

Bakery

*George Weston Bakeries
*Arnold
*Boboli
*Brownberry
*Entenmann's
*Freihofer
*Maplehurst Bakeries
*Oroweat
*Thomas'
*Interbake Foods [http://www.interbake.com/history.htm]
*Wonder Bread (in Canada)
*Country Harvest
*Arnie's Bagels
*Stroehmann Pennsylvania Dutch Bakers
*Gadoua Bakeries

Grocery

Chains:
*Loblaws
*Zehrs
*Fortinos
*Provigo
*Maxi
*No Frills
*Atlantic Superstore
*Dominion stores in Newfoundland and Labrador
*Real Canadian Superstore
*Extra Foods
*Valu-mart
*SaveEasy
*Your Independent Grocer
*Atlantic SuperValuBrands:
*President's Choice
*No Name
*Exact

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of the company are: A. Charles Baillie, Robert Dart, Peter Eby, Phillip Farmer, Anne Fraser, R. Donald Fullerton, Anthony Graham, Mark Hoffman, Allan Leighton, John Makinson, Robert Prichard, Wendy Rebanks, Galen G. Weston, and W. Galen Weston (chairman).

ee also

Associated British Foods - the company built by George Weston, and controlled by Galen Weston, Sr.'s brother Garry until his death in 2002. Galen Weston, Sr. is currently a non-executive director of ABF.

References

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=42115 Biography for the original George Weston]
* [http://www.weston.ca/ Official site]