Our Story

1942 – Weldon Buchanan started Weldon Buchanan Electric after working for Lloyd Bettger Electric for 5 years. They installed complete hydro systems for the first time in many farms, residences and small businesses.

1945 – Weldon opened a shop in Milverton that sold appliances, grain grinders, milking machines and Pittsburgh Paints.

1949 – Weldon hired Willard Schmidt, a refrigeration mechanic. He passed on his refrigeration knowledge to many of the employees until his retirement in the late 1970’s.

1950 – Jim Hall joined Weldon to become Buchanan & Hall. Having experience selling Bettger Industries grain grinders and hammer mills, Hall served as the Sales Manager for B&H.

1950 – Dari-Kool spray can coolers were sold and serviced from the Milverton location. Buchanan & Hall manufactured and sold about 100 spray can coolers under the label Sterling Milk Coolers, soon after getting into the direct expansion bulk milk tank business.

1953 – The property at 615 Huron Street in Stratford was purchased and a new shop was built.

1954 – The first direct expansion bulk milk coolers were sold by Buchanan & Hall. To date, we have installed over 4000 new and used bulk milk coolers.

1959 – The first expansion to the shop at 615 Huron Street took place as the business started to grow.

1965 – Buchanan & Hall became incorporated in Ontario as Buchanan & Hall Limited.

1968 – Bob Buchanan became the first certified Refrigeration Mechanic in Perth, Huron and Bruce counties. In fact, Buchanan & Hall had the first 4 Certificates of Qualification for Refrigeration in these areas. Up until 1964 the Ontario Department of Labour didn’t recognize Refrigeration as a trade. Since 1968, over 30 different apprentices have obtained their license through Buchanan & Hall.

1968 – Buchanan & Hall became a Mueller milk tank dealer, winning many awards during the 1970’s for Canada’s largest Mueller dealer.

1969 – The lot size at 615 Huron Street was increased with the purchase of Finnegan’s Dairy property from DHO.

1975 – A second expansion was added onto the shop at 615 Huron Street.

1982 – Buchanan & Hall installed their first ground source (geothermal) heat pump. As heat pump technology continued to advance, and the geothermal industry started to take shape, B&H continued to lead the way with innovative applications. With over 34 years of experience, Buchanan & Hall has become a national leader in the geothermal heating and cooling industry.

1989 – Buchanan & Hall became a WaterFurnace geothermal heat pump dealer.

2005 – Buchanan & Hall was sold to Rob Anderson. Rob had worked for Buchanan & Hall since 1985.

2009 – Buchanan & Hall purchased their first horizontal directional drilling machine to install geothermal ground loops. This innovative installation technique causes minimal disruption to the soil above and bypasses any potential obstructions on the surface. We’ve installed hundreds of ground loops using this method since 2009, often in places inaccessible by other means.

2015 – Buchanan & Hall built a new 8,400 square foot facility at 551 Wright Boulevard in Stratford. The entire facility is heated and cooled using geothermal heat pumps, with the ground loops installed under the parking lot using a horizontal directional drilling machine. The old property at 615 Huron Street was sold.

2022 – Buchanan & Hall purchased the neighbouring property to expand their parking lot and then built a 7,500 square foot addition onto their existing facility.

2024 – Buchanan & Hall purchased their first vertical drilling rig, enabling us to install geothermal ground loops in a much wider range of locations. This addition to our equipment portfolio allows us to provide geothermal solutions wherever it is technically feasible.