Feature

Ninety years! A lifetime, or longer, for most of us. For the Robert K. Buzzell Ltd. Company. It’s just another anniversary, albeit an important one, in the long and continuing history of service to the Maritime Automotive industry for the successful family business.

90 Years At Moncton’s Robert K. Buzzell!

By Terry Waterfield

It’s a history that’s far from over, with third and fourth generations of Moncton’s Buzzell family currently involved in the management of the enterprise, even now thinking about the 100th anniversary of the company coming up in the year 2020. In fact, it could be said that there have been five generations of the Buzzell family who have been involved in this success story, since it was the mother of founder Robert K. Buzzell who, in 1920, loaned her son the $500--no small amount in 1920. In those days he needed to purchase his own business.

At the time Robert was employed in the electrical department the Intercolonial Railway at Moncton, but when the opportunity to buy an automobile electrical shop there presented itself, Robert decided this  was just what he was looking for. Robert, who grew up in the Westmount district of Montreal, where he served his electrical apprenticeship, had discovered that, in addition to the electrical problems he was hired to solve with the Intercolonial, he was spending a lot of time sorting out electrical problems on cars.

It was 1920, and there were not a lot of people who could figure out the intricate electrical workings of the automobile in those early days, so when the automobile shop came on the market, Robert decided this would be a perfect fit for him. One problem remained, however. After a recent marriage and honeymoon, Robert was short the purchase price. Once that was solved by the loan from his mother, he  became the proud owner of his own business.

Buzzell’s new company was located on West Market Street, on a site currently occupied by Assumption Plaza. Robert originally operated the company, which included an electrical shop and a battery shop under his own name, but incorporated the business as Robert K. Buzzell Ltd. in 1949. Since then, the company has shown steady growth to where it now includes 10 branch offices, with outlets in all three Maritime provinces, plus a separate service department in Moncton. In addition, the company owns Atlantic Air Cooled Engines, which distributes parts for small gasoline engines, lawn mowers, snow throwers and chain saws, located in the same building which houses the company’s main branch at 21 Driscoll Crescent in Moncton.

Operating an electrical and battery shop at a time when automobiles were not particularly suited to winter driving,  and many owners simply kept their cars off the road, Robert offered a full battery service, repairing, storing and keeping batteries charged over the winter. The company began manufacturing batteries during the twenties and thirties, bringing in the hard rubber cases and plates from Ontario and Quebec, then assembling them in Moncton. In addition to selling them under their own brand name, Buzzell Battery, they supplied the T. Eaton Company with batteries, under the Eaton brand names of Bull Dog, Viking and Etonia. Later, Buzzell obtained the batteries from the Hart Battery Company of Quebec when competition and costs made it impractical for Buzzell to continue manufacturing their own. The batteries were branded with the Eaton names by Hart, while Buzzell stored and distributed the finished product on behalf of the T. Eaton Company.

Jennifer Buzzell Strictland, Vice President

As automobiles became more common during the early thirties, more and more automotive garages  opened and also performed electrical and carburetor repairs, two things which were mainstays of the Buzzell business. Just at that time, however, a number of large national companies came calling, and Buzzell jumped at their offer to distribute their products throughout the Maritimes. Robert was suddenly representing large companies such as United Motors Service Division of General Motors and Electric Auto Lite Company.

This arrangement led to the company’s first expansion, as  it moved into a larger location on Bonaccord Street. It also changed the company’s method of operation, as Robert Buzzell began travelling throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia promoting his new lines. As the thirties came to a close,  Buzzell welcomed the second generation of his family into the fold, as son Leslie (Les) joined the business in 1939, following his graduation from Success Business College in Moncton. Les took some time off between 1942 and 1945 when he served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was back with the firm when hostilities ended. His brother Robert joined a year later.  Sadly, all three are now deceased, but two additional generations of the Buzzell family have joined the firm to continue the family’s association.

Robert Buzzell, President with a photo of the company founder on the wall

Around the time that Les joined the firm, the company began to get involved in the small engine business. “It was a very small part of our business at first,” Les admitted at the time of the firm’s 85th anniversary five years ago. “Back in the 30s and early 40s there were no snow blowers or power lawn mowers. “Small engines were used primarily on pumps, washing machines and industrial equipment. That segment of the business has really grown since the early days.” Since that time, two of Leslie’s sons, Robert (Bob) and Howard have joined the firm. The two began by working after school and on weekends, later moving into sales, travelling out of Amherst and Bathurst. More recently, Bob’s daughter Jennifer joined and has worked in several departments including sales and marketing as well as accounts payable before becoming vice president.  

After serving the firm for a number of years as vice president after Leslie had retired, Howard now is the body shop’s supplies purchaser.
At the time, Jennifer’s addition to the staff meant three generations of the Buzzell family were working at the firm at the same time. Today, Bob Buzzell is the firm’s president, daughter Jennifer Buzzell Strickland is vice president. As the company’s distributorship business continued to grow, so too did the company, which began an expansion program in the early 70s that has continued to this day and undoubtedly will continue into the future. In 1972 Robert K Buzzell Limited opened a new branch in Bathurst. A year later they opened in Amherst. Today there are 10 branches in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, including the main office.

Roger Donovan, Sales and Marketing Manager

In addition, Buzzell operates a separate service department at 65 Pacific Ave. in Moncton, N.B., which was originally built to house the air-cooled engine business and electric motor rewinding shop. The department includes a drive-in service and a unit repair shop, which handles custom electrical rebuilding for contractors, municipal fleets, industrial customers, as well as garages, service stations and car dealers. The shop also performs automobile air conditioning service and recharging of air conditioning systems. The air-cooled division covers areas from Cape Breton to the Quebec border, serving approximately 250 service dealers and 300 service accounts. When Robert K Buzzell Ltd received contracts for all of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with Briggs and Stratton in 1978, the increased inventory meant a need for larger premises, so the company rented a facility on Halifax Street. That same year, the firm began plans to construct a new building in the Moncton Industrial Park to accommodate both the automotive and air-cooled division. The new, 20,000 square-foot building, opened just over 29 years ago and currently houses the main branch of Robert K. Buzzell Ltd.  Atlantic Air-Cooled Engines.

While the expansion of the company’s physical assets has been notable on its own, the expansion in product and services has been every bit as impressive.
In addition to the electrical systems and carburetor parts distribution which the company featured in its early days, they have increased their inventory of automotive parts to include shock absorbers, under-the-car chassis parts, fan belts, hoses, chemicals, test equipment, filters, automotive hardware, truck lighting and mirrors, exhaust parts, brakes, water pumps, clutches, universal joint kits and many others. Robert K. Buzzell Ltd’s list of suppliers covers a who’s who of the automotive industry, including well known international firms such as, ACDelco, Uni-Select Inc., Wix Filters, Raybestos, Tenneco Automotive and ICI, to name but a few. This year marks 75 years as an ACDelco distributer and 25 years as a member of Uni-Select.  

Most importantly, for 90 years the company has continued to operate as a family business. Founder Robert and his son Leslie are gone now, but the business remains in the family, now in the capable hands of Robert K.’s grandson Bob, now president of Robert K. Buzzell Limited, and great-grand daughter Jennifer Buzzell Strickland, the firm’s vice president, with Howard now serving as body shop supplies purchaser. “When I started, things were quite primitive in comparison,” Bob states. “ Inventories were controlled on cards, rather than computers, all invoices were written up and totalled by hand and we had to put the customer’s tax number on each and every invoice.  The best we hoped for was that all of the additions were correct…how many mistakes were made were never known. “When you look at things the way they are now, all of the counter people have electronic catalogues to look up parts and even our customers have the opportunity to link up to our computers directly to look up their own parts, price them, get the amount of labour that should be charged for that particular job and check to see if the inventory is in stock.”

left to right - Tracy Foster, Branch Manager; Ron Chapman, Warehouse Supervisor; Wayne Kitchen, Counterman; Andre Warsenault, Dispatcher; Dave Wilson, Counterman; Mark Murdock, Shipping and Receiving; Dennis Bernard, Counterman and Dick McNulty, Counterman

If there is one thing that the company prides itself on, it is that family feeling that pervades throughout the firm. It’s said that when Leslie held the president’s chair, he knew the first name of each of his employees and greeted them as part of the family. Even after he retired from the firm he visited the office every working day right up to his death, just to see how things were going. That dedication is something that exists throughout the business, which bodes well for the future. “Looking to the future,” Bob Buzzell adds, “We expect to grow every year and open or acquire new branches throughout Atlantic Canada.  “When I started, we had about 15 employees and over the years we have expanded to 10 branches and currently have approximately 120 employees.  It’s been a very competitive market over the years and I really expect the same to be true for the next 90 years. “One thing we have learned is that people buy from people and that’s been a big part of our success.”

(All photos by Terry Waterfield).

Much, much more in the print addition of Auto Atlantic.
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