HISTORY OF G. L. STONE CONSULTING
George L. Stone was born in Clarenville, Newfoundland in 1930.
He excelled in school, and graduated from Memorial University with a Teacher’s Certificate in 1946. After teaching for a year in the same school house where he was a student he left for Toronto, Ontario.
Upon arriving in Toronto he responded to an add in a newspaper for a position as a laboratory assistant with a small Toronto paint manufacture. Recognizing his potential, the paint manufacturer declined to offer him the position he sought, but presented him with another, more senior opportunity in the lab. This began his career in coatings in 1947.
In 1960, George Stone ended the laboratory portion of his career as the Chief Chemist for Glidden’s lab in Montreal. He took a sales position with Corrosion Service Company Limited, who at that time was the Canadian distributor for Carboline coatings.
Prior to 1969 there was no provider of proper coatings inspection services in Canada. Coatings inspectors, if there were any, were generally individuals with little or no training who were unfit for other tasks.
George Stone recognized a need for competent technical expertise in the field, and in 1969 founded G. L. Stone Enterprises. The company was incorporated in 1972.
Through the 70’s growth of the company was slow – owners and engineers couldn’t call for services they didn’t know existed – but growth was steady as there was no real competition. Our work focused on industrial projects, bridges, oil refineries, and a number of oil tankers that were common on the Great Lakes at that time.
In the 80’s there was a period of rapid growth for GLS. In addition to adding up to 15 inspectors, the position of Vice President was created, and it was held by a new shareholder in the company. G. L. Stone was becoming more widely known, not only for inspection services, but also as specification writers, trouble shooters, expert witnesses, and failure analysts. Inspection work was concentrated more on water tanks and rail cars during this period, as the lake tankers were no longer running by the end of the decade.
The early 90’s were difficult times worldwide due to a recession. For G. L. Stone the problems were magnified by a discovered lack of integrity within the company management. A reorganization of the company resulted in the incorporation of G. L. Stone Consulting Ltd. George Stone maintained his position as President, and the position of Vice President was assumed by Jim Stone. Competition among inspection companies multiplied during this time, as a number of other individuals also found themselves without work. G. L. Stone became a smaller company, but maintained the integrity and technical expertise that could not be matched by another firm.
In 2001 George Stone passed away, and management of the company was fully taken over by Jim Stone. The colossal void left by George Stone resulted in a slow start to the new millennium for his company, but since this time G. L. Stone Consulting Ltd. has experienced strong growth again. With patience and some luck, we have gathered together the best team of consultants and inspectors that we have had in many years.
With this team we are ready, willing, and able to provide the quality assurance that ensures the success of coatings projects worldwide.
