In the early 1900’s S. Norman Sancton set himself up as a representative for various English firms wishing representation in the Maritimes. Norman traveled to England on his return, started selling everything from plumbing fixtures to wire cable, chain and anchors. This continued and as Canadian manufacturing grew up in Quebec and Ontario he gradually added comparable lines from this area. By this time he was dealing with manganese steel wear parts for crushers, Canadian made wire rope and had developed a good business selling baler twine to farmers and manila lobster trap rope to fishermen throughout the Maritimes.
In the late thirties, his son Clifford Harding Sancton joined Norman and together they continued along the same lines but adding screen cloth, synthetic lubricants and dragline buckets to the product range.
After the war Clifford saw the need to incorporate the business as a limited company and this was completed in 1953.
Up until this point the business operated out of an office on Prince William Street in Saint John N.B. With the growing need for warehouse facilities the firm moved to Main Street in Lancaster a suburb of Saint John. In the early 60’s that facility was sold and Clifford built a new building on Wilson Street not far from the Main St location. In 2006 the need for more outside storage area necessitated a further move to a new building in the McAllister Industrial Park.
In 1970, Norman Clark Sancton joined his father and took over day-to-day control on the mid 70’s. The business was converted from a consignment and commission operation to a wholesale/dealer. At the same time the firm became interested in the rental of equipment and purchased a local swing stage rental operation. This grew quickly into scaffold rental and then into a scaffold contractor erecting and dismantling scaffold at commercial and industrial sites in Atlantic Canada.
George Thomas Sancton joined his brother in 1976 and in 1983 opened an office and branch in Dartmouth, N.S. The Dartmouth operation grew and moved within the Burnside Industrial Park until 1997 when premises were set up for a manufacturing facility at 75 MacDonald Ave.
Andrew Harding Sancton and Matthew William Sancton joined the firm in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Andrew works in Aggregate Equipment Sales and Matthew is the General Manager of the Scaffold Division.
With the growth of both divisions a decision was made in 2007 to separate the Access Division from the Equipment Division. Sancton Access Inc. was registered in January 2008 to accomplish this.
The companies are focused on the sale of equipment and parts to the Aggregate/ Paving Industry as well as being a major contractor in the Scaffold industry in Atlantic Canada.