GAL Canada and ECI Are Making Some Big Moves

How Elevator Components Inc. (ECI) found stability and growth after being purchased by GAL Canada

Ingenuity in a downturn economy is sometimes all that is required to not only stabilize, but also provide much needed growth. Elevator Components Inc. (ECI) found that stability and growth after being purchased by GAL Canada in 2006. As of October 1, 2012, the two companies have officially merged and will henceforth be known as GAL Canada Elevator Products Corp.

Shortly after the creation of GAL Canada in 2005, its leadership sought to expand the services and equipment it provided to the elevator industry. GAL Canada is the supplier of GAL Manufacturing and Hollister-Whitney products in the Canadian market. ECI had been an established supplier of robust elevator door equipment throughout North America.

GAL Manufacturing Vice President of Sales and Marketing Doug Witham capitalized on an opportunity to acquire competitor ECI to round out GAL Canada’s overall product offerings. GAL Canada, led by Executive Vice Presidents Walter Glaser and Herb Glaser, Jr., and Vice President of Operations Steve Husband, pursued the purchase of ECI. As partial owner of ECI, ThyssenKrupp Elevator agreed to ECI’s acquisition by GAL Canada in summer 2006.

In 2010, it became necessary for ECI and GAL Canada to combine under one roof to operate more effectively and allow for future growth. With the support of Herb Glaser, III; Paul Seifried; and Brian Glaser, Husband was able to open the doors to the 42,000-sq.-ft. Mississauga, Canada, facility in January 2011.

The merger, taking place five years after the acquisition, has enabled GAL Canada to take advantage of the efficiencies of being under one roof; this is expected to help keep costs and prices down. At the same time, customers will be able to have the full team available to them for all products and services previously offered by either company: the people are not changing, the products are not changing, and the support is growing. “Under the great leadership of Husband, the team of GAL Canada and ECI has become rock solid,” Walter Glaser said. Husband remarked, “Our new facility and the merger of our companies have allowed GAL and ECI to work together as a team, which has made both our companies stronger.” GAL Canada strives to exemplify that teamwork, which, coupled with great leadership, is a recipe for success