The London Machine Tool Co. dates back to 1880 or '82. It was owned by William Yates (or Yeats or Yeates). By 1889 the firm was manufacturing a line of metalworking machinery exclusively distributed by A. R. Williams Machinery Co.

In 1905 the business relocated from London to Hamilton, probably because Hamilton had better access to raw materials, shipping, and skilled labor. Yates retired in 1910. In January 1911 the company announced that they were now manufacturing lathes under license from R. K. Le Blond Machine Tool Co.; this licensing arrangement included not just the designs but also the jigs and fixtures used to manufacture the lathes.

In 1912 the London Machine Tool Co. was acquired by Canada Machinery Corp. In 1917, manufacturing of the former London Machine Tool line was moved to Galt in order to better centralize CMC's manufacturing.

Information Sources

• The 1889 A. R. Williams catalog provides the information on that retailer's exclusive arrangement with London Machine Tool Co.
• From Sessional Papers, Legislature of the Province of Ontario. "Official list of prizes awarded at the Grand Dominion and Fortieth Provincial Exhibition of the Agriculture and Arts Association of Ontario, held at London, from September 7th to 12th, 1885", the following prizes were awarded to the London Machine Tool Company of London:
  • Best milling machine, $6.00
  • Best planing machine for metals, $10.00
  • Best radial driller, $6.00;
  • Best turning lathe, brass work, $6.00.
• A legal decision sheds some light on this firm: Supreme Court of Canada Williams v. Leonard & Sons, 26 S.C.R. 406, 1896-06-06. "Williams" was A. R. Williams. The decision refers to "one William Yates, a manufacturer carrying on business under the name of the 'London Machine Tool Company'"
• The January 1910 Canadian Machinery and Manufacturing News has this writeup:

  London Machine Tool Co., Hamilton.

  Another company which has made great strides in the redesign of machine tools is the London Machine Tool Co. Practically their whole line of slotters, drills, shapers, boring mills, planers, lathes and railroad machinery has been redesigned to keep pace with the demand for heavier machine tools for use in railroad shops....

A web page about a London Machine Tool lathe says that the business started in London and moved to Hamilton. It implies that the London-to-Hamilton move was pre-WWI. Also, "CMC bought London Machine Tool in 1912; they relocated the LMT plant to Galt in 1917".
• A Practical Machinist discussion about a London Machine Tool lathe provides a few unattributed tidbits of company history.
• From a University of Western Ontario web page on the history of CMC: after the formation of CMC in 1910;

  Two years later, the London Machine Tool Co. in Hamilton was acquired to expand the machine tool section of the business. At this point, CMC was the largest manufacturer of wood and iron working machinery and tools in Canada. In 1917, the Hamilton plant was dismantled and re-erected in Galt in a move to centralize manufacturing facilities.

• The Tool Group of Canada's listing of Canadian tool makers (PDF)

  W. Yeats (London Machine Tool Co.) London, Ont. 1880-1895 tools and machine-tools 70 (1895)

• A home machinist discussion forum thread on this firm has the following text from contributor Herb_W:

  Net searches didn't yield anything but I was able to obtain some info from the London public library.

  The London Machine Tool Co. was established in London (Ontario, Canada) in 1882 by William Yeates, who came to Canada from Liverpool, England in 1854. The company operated in London until 1905, at which time Yeates moved the business to Hamilton. He retired in 1910.