The Company History

In 1864, three years before the Confederation of Canada, Rubenstein Bros. was established in downtown Montreal by two immigrant brothers as a brass foundry, catering to the horse and carriage trade. Nickel, bronze and silver plating as well as a small machine shop were added around the turn of the century under the guidance of the second generation of Rubenstein brothers.

The most prominent of this generation of Rubensteins was Louis, a world champion figure skater, president of the Wheelsman Association, the Royal Life Saving Society of Canada and a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Not only a sports celebrity, Louis Rubenstein was also politically involved in the city that he loved, serving as a Montreal city alderman for 17 years. Today, a permanent memorial to Louis Rubenstein stands in Fletchers Field at the corner of Parc and Mount Royal Avenues in Montreal.
Inspiring Figure: The Louis Rubenstein Story is a half-hour broadcast quality video biography on the life of this exceptional athlete, visionary, philanthropist, and civic leader. It is available for purchase from the National Film Board of Canada.
To purchase the video, click here. To see a video preview, click here.

In 1929, Louis Rubenstein - bachelor and last surviving partner - sold Rubenstein Bros. to Jack and Dave Becker, who were button and trimming suppliers to Montreal's burgeoning needle trade. The Beckers used the Rubenstein foundry and machine shop to develop and manufacture the Beaver cutting machine, which featured the first ever automatic sharpening system for straight knives.

Rubenstein Bros., already firmly entrenched in the cutting rooms of the garment industry, expanded into sewing, pressing and distribution systems after World War II when they began importing domestic sewing machines. Rubenstein Bros. enjoyed considerable growth during these post-war years and opened sales offices in Toronto in 1947, Winnipeg in 1949, Vancouver in 1995 and Edmonton in 2001.
(Today, the Toronto office is independently owned and operated.)

In 1959, the senior Beckers retired, and the business was taken over by Hillel Becker, Sam Cossever and Lou Fishman. Later joined by Lothar Frei, this generation of partners spearheaded thirty years of continuous growth in all sectors of the needle industry.