If you're looking for exterior and indoor paints and stains to extend past your painting hopes, simply visit Benjamin Moore. The business has formulated its very own line of Gennex® resins and colourants to provide precise quality and first-class application. They produce every product you're looking for to create a gorgeous home or office update on all of your internal and exterior establishments.



The History of Benjamin Moore

The “Calsom Finish,” a distinctive wall coating, was designed in 1883 by Benjamin Moore. He focused alongside his older brother, Robert Moore, to develop this product in Brooklyn, NY. The brothers saw profits the first year on their treatments and their business grew fast. By 1889, their Corporation was created in New York. Shortly afterward, the present New Jersey Corporation was established.

While in the start-up process, Benjamin Moore identified a personal philosophy that grew into the first credo of the enterprise. He expected the business to adhere to the following statement, “The application of Intelligence to Industry based upon Integrity.” Over time, these three essential words, “Intelligence, Integrity and Industry,” moved on to be the company’s core values.

The businesses’ current Internal Vision dictates these values further as “Leadership, Innovation and Performance.” This philosophy generates the principle foundation for the business policy.

Did you know that the current logo of the “Triangle M,” originated in 1925 and designed by L.P. Moore to showcase the “Integrity, Intelligence and Industry,” concept? This is the logo given today to staff to wear proudly when they receive their service pins. This signifies how the company works with its employees, customers and suppliers.

The Calsom Finish item was refined in 1892 and next, Benjamin Moore manufactured a new finish called MURESCO. MURESCO was an all-in-one wall and ceiling finish that revolutionized the painting industry. It became a popular household name and even a listing in Webster’s Standard Dictionary.

The business continued developing innovative paint products and finishes. SANI-FLAT was a lead-free, flat-finish, decorative product that could handle frequent cleanings. Next, UTILAC came out. This fast-drying enamel became a well-known replacement for dangerous lacquers of the day.

In 1897, thanks to the exponential demand and growth for their paint products, Benjamin Moore and Co. expanded. Their expansion program was created to bring stellar service to clients. Over the following decade, the business created a factory and a subsidiary in Chicago, bought a Cleveland factory and built a New Jersey plant.

On September 7, 1906, the Canadian company was born. On September 11, 1906, Benjamin Moore became the elected president during the company’s first shareholders’ meeting. Benjamin’s half-brother Fred Moore became Treasurer in 1911. He was the managing director of the Canadian branch and in 1937, became the first Canadian residing president. This occupancy established the foundation for what is currently Benjamin Moore & Co., Limited.

Toronto, Ontario is where the first Canadian company was located. The plant situated on Lloyd Avenue was purchased on January 14, 1907. This successful location allowed the business to establish the Montreal warehouse by 1923. Additional warehousing buildings were set up in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Halifax and Vancouver in the 1920s. Originally, the Toronto to Vancouver shipments travelled over 8500 miles on an all-water route through the Panama Canal!

By 1953, the company built its Montreal-based complete factory. A third plant was constructed in Burnaby, British Columbia in 1962. This plant relocated in 1991 to Aldergrove. In the year 2000, the North American company updated their manufacturing.

The Aldergrove location changed to become the Western distribution and office location and production manufacturing stopped. After operating for 94 years, the Toronto plant was closed. The Montreal plant underwent an expansion and transitioned into an all-latex facility.. The Burlington, Ontario plant, formerly known as Technical Coatings Co. Limited, was grown to centralize the solvent-based production.



In December 2000, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased Benjamin Moore & Co. The company acts as a holding company and owns subsidiaries with a variety of interests in many business dealings. The Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is Warren Buffet.

There are over 275 committed Benjamin Moore & Co. Canadian employees offering their best products and services to consumers, contractors and independent retailers.

During these changing economic days, the business remains focussed on its strategy and vision of strengthening and supporting the independent retain channel while protecting, leveraging and enhancing the Benjamin Moore Brand. This business had developed numerous programs including the Strategic Training Triad for the Retailer, the Signature Store Program and the Painting & Decorating Services Initiative.

The business continues to be competitive and progressive in the market by relying on the success of these programs. Betty Moore created branding as “The Colour Experts,” in the 1950s, becoming the first spokesperson. In the 1960s, the Moor-O-Matic custom colour range was introduced and Moore’s Colour Matching System was born by 1970.

Benjamin Moore has grown to be the most recognized Canadian paint company. This recognition came via public opinion polls from Ipsos-Reid Canada (one of North America’s trusted public opinion and independent research firms), and Readers Digest and independent research.

Research and Development

The company’s commitment to continuous product testing and scientific development has allowed the admirable and consistent paint products to continually be enjoyed by customers.

There are over 100 chemists, technicians, chemical engineers and support staff working hard to maintain stringent product standards. New items are also created by these crews. There are 10 team-based laboratories operated by technical staff at the eighty-thousand square-foot Technical & Administrative Centre.

Every lab is outfitted with the latest technology. These instruments focus on a particular area of expertise. All labs work together to create the Benjamin Moore formulations. The labs work alongside the manufacturing plants and marketing department to meet the variety of demands from DIY, industrial, commercial and professional markets.

The analytic laboratory focuses on instruments using the highest levels of technology to determine paint formulas for Benjamin Moore product formulations.

The Competitive Evaluations Laboratory has two testing stations dedicated to testing Benjamin Moore’s exterior items and competitive brands. There are more than 20,000 stained or painted exposed test panels monitoring weather extremes for up to fifteen years. The panels develop new formulas and undergo analyzing tests to create better products or maintain existing items. Benjamin Moore also tests competitive products in the lab too to see if they match their claims.

The Central Process Lab is responsible for auditing Benjamin Moore’s product quality. These tests are conducted on top of the daily product batch testing that occurs on the Benjamin Moore Plant production line.

The Latex Coatings Laboratory and the Solvent Coatings Laboratory is where solvent-based and new latex-based coatings are developed and tested for performance-enhancing capabilities. These products are tested to ensure they meet or exceed tough company regulations, environmental standards and client expectations.

The Industrial Maintenance Finishes Laboratory creates special, corrosion fighting coatings offering high-performance in industrial settings, on military tanks, in factories, etc.

The main location for most of Benjamin Moore’s research is done at the Polymer Laboratory. This is the location where the binders for products are improved or made. Many paint businesses purchase their polymers from exterior sources. The company is dedicated to maintaining quality assurance by developing in-house production. The binder formulations can be tailored to achieve specific requirements.



Factory standards are created and consistency is checked at The Colour Assurance Laboratory. Their exceptional standards are distributed in each one of Benjamin Moore’s paint plants. This lab is responsible for monitoring the chip accuracy on the Benjamin Moore colour cards as well. This tool helps contractors and homeowners find the perfect shade.

The Colour Technology Laboratory created the first computerized colour-matching system and became the industry standard. This specialized machine is essential for creating Benjamin Moore’s colour-matching capabilities. The scientists working at this lab are in charge of reviewing and evaluating the latest technologies and colour matching equipment.

The Colour Development Lab is where the prescriptions for each paint colour are stored. It examines formulas to ensure consistency for existing shades and creates new formulas for different colours.

The Exterior Testing Facility also called the Testing Farm is the place that 25,000 coating samples are evaluated and studied after extreme element exposure. This data is incorporated into daily research and development. The highly accessible farm is close to where Benjamin Moore paint is formulated and tested in labs.

Every staff chemist can utilize the lab as a place for research and development. The chemists’ staff is encouraged to visit the lab frequently throughout the day to view their coatings and see how they are performing. The marketing and sales employees also utilize the farm to learn specific information on Benjamin Moore items.

Home to the Information Resource Centre, Management Information Services, Corporate Engineering, Regulatory Affairs Departments and Product Information Centre, the Technical & Administrative Centre is the major hub of the company.