Bill Stroud and the Belt-Press
In 1955 Bill Stroud, a skilled letter printer and lithographer came up with the idea of a machine to sequentially print and collect the pages of a book,calender pad and other multiple page products. This machine would become known as the belt press.
Bills interest in printing started at the age of 9 when he would take corks from medicine bottles, cut letters in them, char them with a candle and press them onto paper. Bill left school at 14 to support his family. He enrolled himself in night school where he studied commercial art,getting his first printing job at 16. When he was 20 he was struck by a automobile and spent nearly two years in a body cast. He was left with a permanent disability.
After the accident Bill acquired an old platen press and a few cases of beat up type with which he used to start a successful printing business of his own. It was a costumers request that led Bill to building the belt press.
Bill knew he could not build the press alone so he enlisted the help of his brother Edward and his sister Edith Bridgeman who had money.The 10" model was made, it had one printing unit and used rubber plates. Bill and his family moved to McKellar after buying a house across the road from the United Church and a double truck garage from Milson Brant. They began to construct a bigger model.
As the development progressed the project become much larger and much more expensive,Bill was running short of money. His wife Lois kept chickens and started making chicken pot pies which she sold to grocery stores in Parry Sound to help make ends meet.
As time went on the potential of the project became obvious and Bill was able to get investors on board to raise money for a 22'' model of the Belt Press. On September 25, 1959 the new 22" machine was moved from Toronto where it had been built to McKellar. After some more tweaking Stroud Bridgeman Press Limited stated their first run during the spring of 1960.
There were two Stroud Bridgeman companies started: Stroud Bridgeman Investment Limited which held the Patents and owned the 22" belt press and the Stroud Brigeman Press Limited which operated the belt press and pilot plant. In 1962 the belt press was sold to a group in Toronto.
Bill and his son Ted became part of the R&D team at the South Channel Company in Parry Sound selling one 30" machine. However, they consumed more capital then anticipated so the South Channel Company discontinued the product.
Bill and Ted then searched for a new company to lease the patents and decided to concentrate on the United States. Four US companies showed their interest. In December 1966 Stroud Patients were leased to Cameron Machine Company Inc in Denver NJ.
Edward Stroud was now active again with the development and went to work on a new lease. Cameron redesigned the Belt Press as a 38" machine with the two printing units side by side. A further patent incorporating a polyethylene belt was issued to Edward Stroud along with Charlie Aaron and was assigned to Cameron. The first "Cameron Book Products System" was sold to Kingsport Press in Kingsport TN.
In 1968 a representative of W.R Grace brought a number of photo-polymer letterflex printing plates to McKellar for testing on the prototype belt press. The test showed a great deal of promise and letterflex eventually became the plates that were used on the Cameron.
After Bill Strouds death in 1972 Stroud Bridgeman Press Limited was sold to Frank McKernan of KemiCorp, a business that forms printers in Toronto. Ted left the company to contract his services to Cameron through Stroud Graphic Equipment Limited.
Throughout the years the press employed many people in McKellar.
Bills interest in printing started at the age of 9 when he would take corks from medicine bottles, cut letters in them, char them with a candle and press them onto paper. Bill left school at 14 to support his family. He enrolled himself in night school where he studied commercial art,getting his first printing job at 16. When he was 20 he was struck by a automobile and spent nearly two years in a body cast. He was left with a permanent disability.
After the accident Bill acquired an old platen press and a few cases of beat up type with which he used to start a successful printing business of his own. It was a costumers request that led Bill to building the belt press.
Bill knew he could not build the press alone so he enlisted the help of his brother Edward and his sister Edith Bridgeman who had money.The 10" model was made, it had one printing unit and used rubber plates. Bill and his family moved to McKellar after buying a house across the road from the United Church and a double truck garage from Milson Brant. They began to construct a bigger model.
As the development progressed the project become much larger and much more expensive,Bill was running short of money. His wife Lois kept chickens and started making chicken pot pies which she sold to grocery stores in Parry Sound to help make ends meet.
As time went on the potential of the project became obvious and Bill was able to get investors on board to raise money for a 22'' model of the Belt Press. On September 25, 1959 the new 22" machine was moved from Toronto where it had been built to McKellar. After some more tweaking Stroud Bridgeman Press Limited stated their first run during the spring of 1960.
There were two Stroud Bridgeman companies started: Stroud Bridgeman Investment Limited which held the Patents and owned the 22" belt press and the Stroud Brigeman Press Limited which operated the belt press and pilot plant. In 1962 the belt press was sold to a group in Toronto.
Bill and his son Ted became part of the R&D team at the South Channel Company in Parry Sound selling one 30" machine. However, they consumed more capital then anticipated so the South Channel Company discontinued the product.
Bill and Ted then searched for a new company to lease the patents and decided to concentrate on the United States. Four US companies showed their interest. In December 1966 Stroud Patients were leased to Cameron Machine Company Inc in Denver NJ.
Edward Stroud was now active again with the development and went to work on a new lease. Cameron redesigned the Belt Press as a 38" machine with the two printing units side by side. A further patent incorporating a polyethylene belt was issued to Edward Stroud along with Charlie Aaron and was assigned to Cameron. The first "Cameron Book Products System" was sold to Kingsport Press in Kingsport TN.
In 1968 a representative of W.R Grace brought a number of photo-polymer letterflex printing plates to McKellar for testing on the prototype belt press. The test showed a great deal of promise and letterflex eventually became the plates that were used on the Cameron.
After Bill Strouds death in 1972 Stroud Bridgeman Press Limited was sold to Frank McKernan of KemiCorp, a business that forms printers in Toronto. Ted left the company to contract his services to Cameron through Stroud Graphic Equipment Limited.
Throughout the years the press employed many people in McKellar.