A bit of an anomaly

The Vancouver Tool Corporation (VTC) was established in 1996 to sell a range of unique, patented tools for the application and removal of caulk and sealants. Sales were initially achieved in North America, after which the company moved into the European market. VTC continues to exist as somewhat of an anomaly, as all its products are made in Canada. Although VTC originally sold products under its own brand name, today 90 per cent of sales are for large sealant manufacturers in Europe (such as Everbuild Building Products in the UK and Saratoga in Italy) or tool manufacturers (for example Hyde Tools in the USA and Wolfcraft in Germany). These companies have the tools produced in Canada under private label for sale in their own geographical location, often with design modifications and bearing their company logo. As Andrew Dewberry, inventor and president of the company, says: “The Vancouver Tool Corporation was the first to introduce a sealant application tool that actually worked and we’ve now sold over 15 million of them worldwide.” In 2011 VTC patented the Caulk-Wizard tool which it describes as the “Swiss Army Knife” of sealant tools. Conceived to successfully tackle every stage in the task of removing and reapplying sealant, the Caulk-Wizard incorporates three of the company’s patents. It has a number of hooks and gouging points for the removal of old sealant, a blade which cuts off the nozzle of the sealant tube and a flexible end for the neat application of the sealant. The Caulk-Wizard was shown in Europe for the first time this March at the International Hardware Fair in Cologne. Download: