October 26, 2000 — The Day Everything Changed
On October 26, 2000, I arrived at the office as I normally would. But as I pulled into my parking spot, I noticed that the president of the company (who lived and worked in Montreal) was sitting at my desk. There was only one reason he’d fly across the country unannounced — to terminate my employment.
To say I was caught off guard is an understatement. At that time, I was running the fastest-growing office in the company, with the highest net profit out of five Canadian locations. Our office was only in its third year of operation. During the last sales meeting I attended, the company’s controller had said, “We don’t know how he does it, but he’s redefining what we do as a company. Keep up the good work!”
Still, as I walked in, I knew what was coming.
“Jim,” I said, “it’s always nice to see you — but this is an unexpected surprise.”
He handed me a letter and asked me to read it:
“Due to differences in managerial direction, we have decided to terminate your employment as of this date.”
At that point, my family was just over a year into our first mortgage. Our son had turned one only ten days earlier, and despite the office’s success, we hadn’t seen the financial rewards that should have come with it.
I expressed my surprise, disagreed with his reasoning, but said I didn’t want to be somewhere I wasn’t wanted. I thanked him for the opportunity and left him with one final thought:
“If what you’re saying about me is true, then I wasn’t doing my job. But if this office is still here in a year, you’ll know you were wrong.”
Then I walked out.
Running on Instinct
Without access to the company vehicle, I was given a ride home. On the way, I asked to stop at a gas station, where I made a call to the company that would become CanTorque’s first supplier. Then I asked to stop by my father-in-law’s place — my main father figure and business mentor.
When I explained what had happened, he said, “You seem to be taking it well.” That’s when I realized that, despite having just “failed,” I’d been smiling the entire time. What I felt wasn’t panic — it was relief.
Realistically, I should have been terrified, but instinct took over.
When I got home, I broke the news to my then-wife.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“I’ve made that old son-of-a-bitch money every month I’ve been there,” I said. “I’m sure I can do it on my own.”
She simply replied, “Okay. I know you’ll take care of us.”
And that was that — the decision was made.
I was going to start my own company.
First Steps
The next step was calling my suppliers to let them know I was going independent — and to ask if they wanted to continue working together. By noon that same day, I’d secured all six of the suppliers I’d contacted.
My father-in-law provided me with an area in his shop that would allow me to store some equipment for rental and demo, a work bench to do repairs and his staff was there during the day to help ship and receive product while I was running around trying to make sales. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked:
In the early days, I sold anything I could to generate revenue:
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A van load of Makita grinders
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A van load of CP-772 impact wrenches
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Thousands of meters of Ott 2 welding cable
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An air-powered submersible pump
Basically, I tapped into my network of friends and business associates who weren’t already tied to my former customers. There were plenty of “soap, dope, and rope” businesses in Edmonton already — so I didn’t stay in that lane for long. And I was still working with bolting tools. This is the first hydraulic wrench that I sold to Edmonton Power in 1998:
Picking Our Lane
Once I made the conscious decision to focus on my specialty — bolting tools and joint integrity — everything started falling into place.
We diversified into equipment rentals, product repair, and built our calibration lab by the end of 2003, which today can handle tools ranging from 10 ozf/in to 60,000 lbf/ft.
2003 CanTorque Gets a Permanent Home
By 2003 CanTorque was doing very well. We had a few large rental jobs running at the same time.
The lease on my father-in-law’s shop was expiring, the property management company said that we wouldn’t be allowed to stay but they would find us a new location.
We made the decision that if we were going to have to move anyway that we should consider buying a spot.
Oddly enough, we received a flyer in the mail for a bulding that was for sale less than a block from us. The interior was quite messy, walls were filthy, there was a lot of maintenance and upgrades required-but the building was sound and being listed at a fair price.
If you’ve ever been to CanTorque you should be able to appreciate how much the building has changed. I can say with 100% certainty that we’ve touched every square inch of this place, inside and out.
Before & after
Exterior:
Colin’s Office:
Race Shop
Warehouse
Backyard
2012 — A Turning Point
In 2012, we began marketing tools under the CanTorque name — a major milestone. Initially, our tools were produced by another company using their design, but with our branding. The first few orders were great — virtually flawless. Over time, though, the quality began to fade.
Because it was now our name on the tools, every issue became our problem.
Our partner was making design mistakes and cutting corners on finish quality, leading to serious failures. Looking back, I know we weren’t truly ready to step fully into manufacturing — but we didn’t have another choice.
This was the first tool to bear the CanTorqe name and logo:
The Only Constant Is Change
There’s no way to fully describe how difficult that period was. Our first attempts at manufacturing were… rough. To be blunt, we didn’t produce a properly functioning tool for more than 18 months — closer to three years before we found a predictable formula.
But we kept going. We learned. We improved.
There’s No Place Like Home
In 2018, we began working with a local engineering firm that helped refine our designs and production methods. Through them, we connected with a local machine shop interested in taking on the challenge of producing our hydraulic wrenches and accessories.
On paper, manufacturing locally seemed more expensive than producing overseas. In reality, it wasn’t — and the benefits were massive: no language barriers, no high freight costs, and no expensive overseas trips.
And honestly, it just felt right. We were finally building world-class tools right here in Alberta, supporting the same local manufacturing community that supported us.
25 Years Strong
On November 1st, CanTorque celebrates its 25th year in business.
Sometimes, those 25 years have felt like an eternity. Other times, they’ve passed in the blink of an eye.
As Canada’s leading industrial assembly tool experts, we’ve built our business on a simple principle: solving our customers’ problems.
Our slogan, Problem Solved, means different things to different people — but to us, it’s a promise. We approach every project with the goal of offering a real solution to whatever challenge it presents, then back it up with unmatched technical knowledge, customer service, and integrity.
Those principles have guided us for 25 years, and they’ll continue to guide us for the next 25.
I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built at CanTorque.
Here’s to never compromising on world-class service — and world-class products.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who’s been part of this journey.
Torque It Easy,
Colin Livingston
President, CanTorque Inc.