Throughout the mid to late 20th century, Canada played a significant role in the engineering and manufacturing of chainsaws, making key contributions to the industry’s growth. While much of this history is Canadian, its roots trace back to Europe, with the German firm, Stihl. The company’s founder, Andreas Stihl, was a pioneering figure in the early development of the power saw, creating some of the first electric power saws and one-person chainsaws. By the 1930s, Stihl was a leader in the industry, and North American loggers had to import these German designs. The first place these imports saw use on the BC coast was at the Bloedel, Stewart and Welch camp in Franklin River.
However, with the outbreak of World War II, the supply of parts to Canadian and American distributors was severely disrupted, providing little incentive to respect patents held by an enemy entity.
D.J. Smith, a Vancouver entrepreneur who had been Stihl’s North American distributor since 1937, began manufacturing the Timberhog “A” two-person saw, which closely resembled the Stihl “BD.” Other North American models, including the Titan “A,” Shade/Burnett “Forest King,” and the IEL “K,” were similarly influenced by Stihl’s design. In 1940, Smith’s business was acquired by the American tool manufacturer Reed-Prentice, though he remained in charge of daily operations. By 1943, the US corporation was looking to exit the chainsaw business, prompting a group of Vancouver-based investors and engineers to acquire the Canadian manufacturing operations and form Industrial Engineering Limited (IEL).
The following 20 years marked a Golden Age for Canadian chainsaw manufacturing. IEL moved production to Burnaby and introduced several successful models, including various versions of the popular Pioneer and Super Pioneer chainsaws. Despite the departure of D.J. Smith and Sandy Megaw (who went on to form Hornet Industries Ltd. and Power Machinery Ltd. (PM) respectively) IEL remained dominant in the Pacific Northwest forest industry. In 1956, IEL was purchased by Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), a Wisconsin-based firm, and its production was relocated to Peterborough, ON in 1958. The Pioneer branding continued under OMC until 1977, when the company ceased chainsaw production.
A brief revival by a group of former Pioneer engineers followed, but in 1983, the company was acquired by Swedish manufacturing giant Electrolux (which had previously acquired the Husqvarna, McCulloch, Partner, Poulan, and Jonsered chainsaw brands). The newly merged Pioneer/Partner brand relocated production to the United States in 1993, marking the end of chainsaw manufacturing in Canada.
In a little over 50 years, Canada evolved from a single entrepreneur capitalizing on wartime opportunities to a thriving industry driven by engineers and manufacturers who created tools that remain part of the legacy and memory of our community. The BC Forest Discovery Centre is proud to showcase this important history in our chainsaw exhibit, the Vern Wellburn Saw Shop. In addition, we have recently completed an inventory of many saws that were previously not on display, and photos from this collection are now available in our online photo database. You can view the collection here, and we encourage you to explore our extensive collection of over 3,500 images, with new ones being added regularly.
If you would like to learn more about the history of chainsaws, this article is heavily indebted to the excellent research of David Lee and Mike Acres, whose work provides invaluable insight, photos, and detailed information about the companies and models discussed here, as well as those from other European and American manufacturers.
Link to David Lee’s book (Chainsaws: A History): https://harbourpublishing.com/collections/david-lee/products/9781550179118?variant=32808911896675
Link to Mike Acres’ site: https://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.nsf/GasbyManufacturer?OpenView
BC Forest Discovery Centre Photo Archive – Chainsaw Photos: https://bcfdc.pastperfectonline.com/Search?search_criteria=%22saw%2C+chain%22&onlyimages=true
