History

Our Corporate Background

This large PVC-lined pond was fabricated and installed in 1986 in Taber, Alberta, and is still performing well. Layfield: the Beginning
Layfield Plastics began in Edmonton, Alberta, during the mid 1950s. Owned and operated by Eric Layfield, the company existed for over 20 years as a small, single-location plastics fabrication business, producing acrylic displays, interior signage, name tags, and custom molded products for the automotive industry.

In 1978, Eric Layfield retired and sold his company to the Rose family. Tom Rose, who continues to this day as the company's president and CEO, saw Layfield as the perfect platform on which to build a much larger plastics processing company. With Tom at the helm, Layfield's next thirty-plus years were a story of rapid expansion, diversification, and strategic acquisitions.

Strategic Acquisitions

1981 Taylor Plastics

1983 Calgary Plastics — provided manufacturing capabilities for poly film products.

1997 Geogard Linings — Toronto: allowed Layfield to serve Central and Eastern Canada with geosynthetic and industrial products.

2004 C.W. Neal — enabled Layfield to establish operations in California; helped build global presence in geosynthetic floating cover systems and geomembrane containment products.

2008 Vision Packaging — acquired to expand Layfield's packaging operations.

2008 Aqua Dam and Diversion — Layfield had been making the Aqua Dam product for nearly 20 years before taking over operations of the company.

Expansion
In 1985, having already presided over two acquisitions and considerable growth, Tom Rose moved to Vancouver, BC, to establish a branch operation. Three years later, Layfield's Head Office was relocated to Vancouver, and in 1989, Vancouver operations relocated to a newly constructed plant, where the Poly Films division and Corporate Office are currently located.

In 1992, Layfield began its expansion into the United States, establishing a branch operation in Seattle, Washington. Two years later, a manufacturing operation was established in Bellingham, Washington. (In 2000, however, the Bellingham plant was closed, and US operations were consolidated in Seattle.)

Also in 1992, the company's Canadian presence restructured into three business units: Fabricated Plastics, Industrial and Geotechnical Fabrics, and Polyethylene Film Products. This prefigured Layfield's current structure: Packaging, Construction, and Environmental Systems. In late 1999 the Fabricated Plastics division, no longer seen as a good fit, was sold.

In December 2000, a newly constructed Edmonton plant was commissioned, where Layfield Geosynthetics and Industrial Fabrics Ltd. and Layfield Environmental Systems Ltd. are headquartered today.

Four years later, Layfield expanded the Richmond film plant and installed a state-of-the-art three layer wide width co-extrusion line to produce packaging and construction films, and to expand its line of geomembrane products.

In 2007, after 10 years of strong growth in central Canada, the Toronto office added fabrication services, completing its expansion into a full-service geosynthetics company with sales, distribution, fabrication, and construction divisions.

Layfield's newest venture is the startup of a dedicated Service Group, which will provide inspections and maintenance, warranty repair, leak location surveys, and Aqua Dam installations. Launched in 2009, the Service Group offers service technicians in Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver, Seattle, and Eugene (Oregon).

The Company Today
Today, with approximately 250 full-time employees, Layfield has offices and manufacturing facilities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto, as well as US locations in Seattle and San Diego.

By investing in acquisitions and technology, expanding and diversifying its product offerings, and by focusing on robust and emerging markets, Layfield has grown from a one-store plastics company in Alberta, into a growing, international corporation.