Trans Canada Glass International (TCGI), a leader of auto glass repair, is taking on new territory.
Effective today, the company is rebranding to Skidmore Group, a portfolio company that invests in retail, distribution and service businesses with a strong potential for accelerated growth. The rebrand will accommodate Skidmore's vision to expand beyond their current ownership in the auto glass industry and into the development of growing businesses in retail, distribution, and service.
The Skidmore Group will offer investment and strategic management to small & medium-sized businesses. With seventy years of business investment success, Skidmore offers a strong partnership for companies looking to boost their return, expand, and refocus. It’s a chance for companies to take entrepreneurial risks with solid backing.
The brand refresh will be a switch of the Skidmore companies’ top tier. The Skidmore Group will now be the holding company for the subsidiary, TCGI, which has long been the titled owner of the Skidmore family’s acquisitions. While the change redefines the breadth of the business, it allows the company to stay true to the values that started the family enterprise—namely, a passion for building successful businesses.
It all started in 1946 when Art and Herb Skidmore opened a small glass shop in New Westminster, BC. Within fifteen years, the brothers acquired two glass businesses and became the glass distributor for Ford Canada. They realized their motivation was not necessarily a passion for windshield repair, but entrepreneurship.
Growth accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s. The Skidmore brothers acquired large and small auto glass repair shops across western Canada, including interest in the oldest auto glass replacement company in the country. By the 1980s, the Skidmore family had officially launched Trans Canada Glass Ltd. as the umbrella of their growing empire. It would later be renamed Trans Canada Glass International after becoming established in the United States, Australia and European markets.
The only way to keep pursuing the family’s entrepreneurial passion was expansion. In 1985, the company began to mesh naturally into the cellular industry due to the demand for cellular in-car products. It was an opportunity no entrepreneur could turn down. The family created Speedy Cellular, which would eventually lead to development of another successful parent company, Glentel.
The Glentel brands Wirelesswave, Tbooth, Wireless Etc and Diamond Wireless would be the path to the Skidmores’ future. The family sold Glentel to Bell and Rogers in 2015, giving Skidmore the resources for the current rebrand and vision refresh.
The Skidmore Group’s evolution reflects the vision, hard work, and excellence that has always directed the company. With its extensive track record of success and passion for business growth, the Skidmore Group is ready to help new industries flourish.