Pacific Bolt History

Pacific Bolt has a long history of manufacturing and has helped build Vancouver and the province of British Columbia into what it is now. Around the turn of century Pacific Bolt began making bolts and rivets on the banks of False Creek in an area today known as Granville Island. Though the 1910’s 1920’s Pacific Bolt supplied products to build Vancouver from what was a few houses and sawmills into a city. In these early days it became apparent that for Pacific Bolt and Burrard Rivet to continue to manufacture and supply products, a steel mill would be needed, so Vancouver Rolling Mill came to life.

In the 1930’s and 1940’s manufacturing on False Creek was in its heyday, and with some of the largest ship building yards on the West Coast in the Vancouver area. This was a busy time for Pacific Bolt and its sister companies supplying bolts and steel for both merchant and naval ships. Although times were good, the False Creek industrial area continued to be plagued with massive fires. These fires raced through the timber builds which housed most of the manufacturing operations and once hit by fire, most did not rebuild.

One evening in 1955, Pacific Bolt like other companies on Granville Island, was hit by a fire which destroyed a major part of its factory. This fire meant the start of an era for Pacific Bolt, and work began on a new facility at Marine Drive on the south side of Vancouver.

During this time Pacific Bolt became a division of Western Canada Steel, which along with the bolt division, also owned a scrap division and rolling mill on Mitchell Island in Vancouver. In the late 1980’s, after some years of labour unrest, Western Canada Steel closed its doors, ending steel making in British Columbia.

In 1988 Pacific Bolt Ltd. was reborn with some of the equipment and staff from the old Western Canada Steel operation; Pacific Bolt began manufacturing again at its current location in New Westminster, B.C. At first times were hard, but with time Pacific Bolt grew and now has become the largest Bolt Manufacturer in Western Canada