Launching a new industrial enterprise despite the ravages of the Great Depression called for considerable faith in Canada's future. National Silicates demonstrated such faith when it began operations in 1931. Just a century after Joseph Elkinton, a Philadelphia Quaker, founded the business that grew to become PQ Corporation (PQ), the Philadelphia Quartz Company optimistically established National Silicates, its first non-U.S. facility. This manufacturing venture was launched in Toronto, Ontario, to supply Canadian customers from a domestic source. The new firm, National Silicates Ltd. (NSL) opened its doors as a partnership with the longtime distributor of PQ's exports to Canada, G.F. Sterne & Sons.

1831 ....
National Silicates' origins go back a full century before the year it was founded. The company's international parent, The PQ Corporation, was established in 1831, when Joseph Elkinton entered into the manufacture of soap and candles in July of that year. A number of years later, as a result of shortages of soap makers' rosin from the South and the appearance in a German scientific journal of an article on the benefits of "soluble glass" in soap making, Joseph's son Thomas, began experiments with the manufacture of this material.

1860's ....
NŽ became the first trademark for a liquid sodium silicate in the United States.

1861 ....
The first recorded sale of the company's new product, sodium silicate, came in 1861. The product, while proven to be useful in soap making, found many new uses, and the company expanded, concentrating its efforts on the manufacture of soap and silicates.

1904 ....
The company became a manufacturer of soluble silicates exclusively.

1931 .... Toronto, Ontario
National Silicates Ltd. was founded in Toronto, Ontario and was the first subsidiary of PQ Corporation. It successfully weathered the depression years in Canada with 10 products and 8 customers. Today, the plant consists of a sodium silicate furnace and four pressure dissolvers. The plant has the ability to ship both liquid and glass by truck and rail.

1940 .... Expansion begins
A Canadian expansion began in the late 1940s.

1957 .... Valleyfield, Quebec
The Valleyfield plant was established. It consists of a sodium silicate furnace and four pressure dissolvers. The plant delivers product by truck, rail (glass and liquid) and has a pipeline to W.R. Grace. It began shipping to the National Silicates western dissolver locations in 1988. The plant operates in the French language with customer service in both English and French.

1960 ....
An anhydrous metasilicate unit was built at the Toronto, Ontario plant. Metasilicate products are also shipped by truck and rail.

1988 .... Whitecourt, Alberta
The Whitecourt Plant was established and was the first mini-plant in PQ. It has one dissolver. It delivers material by truck.

1991 .... Parksville, British Columbia
The Parksville Plant was built on the Vancouver Island. It has one liquid sodium silicate dissolver. The plant delivers liquid sodium silicate by truck and is a back-up for Whitecourt.

1993 .... Surrey, British Columbia
The Surrey Plant has been in production since 1993. It has two sodium silicate dissolvers and one liquid magnesium sulfate plant. The plant delivers sodium silicate by truck. Magnesium sulfate is delivered by truck or rail to customers in Canada and the U.S.

1995 ....
A new high efficiency sodium silicate furnace was installed at the Toronto, Ontario plant.

2000 ....
July 2000 National Silicates Ltd. started operating as a partnership instead of a corporation. The new name for the company is National Silicates.

So far National Silicates' growth has been steady in volume leading to new product development and new markets. Increased production capacity provided the support for a widening involvement in diverse applications and industries. Current major markets include Pulp & Paper, detergents, mining, water treatment and deinking. Also an exporter, the company ships dry silicate products, mostly metasilicate, chiefly to Australia and New Zealand.

Today, this highly innovative and technological company, serving the needs of hundreds of customers with over 70 products, eagerly anticipates new and exciting worlds of industrial opportunity. People, its greatest resource find personal fulfillment and satisfaction during their employment with National Silicates. This is a company with a unique culture where teamwork and innovation thrive. Its experience is unrivaled in Canada's industrial society.

The Future ....
At National Silicates we look to the future with enthusiasm as we look into the past with respect. We hope to assure for our Company a place and purpose as useful in the years ahead as in the years past. And no matter what plans are made for the future-in research, methods, products, or people, we will keep the one dominant note that has been with us from the beginning-the sound advice of our founder, Joseph Elkinton, to his son "to continue to dwell under a proper concern for the best things."