History of The Bear Chair Company

T he Bear Chair Company Limited originated in December 1987, as a result of a home woodworking shop in a Northern Ontario basement. Its founder, David Wright, saw a potential in the classic Adirondack / Muskoka chair as a marketable product, if offered in a ready to assemble form. That same year he produced one hundred chairs and made his first sale to five Beaver Lumber stores in Southern Ontario. By the next year two part time workers were hired.

Sales grew both nationally and internationally, over the next few years. Western Red cedar was introduced to the growing line of products as a compliment to the White Pine already offered. In 1991, Al Decloe accepted partnership into the company, bringing extensive sales and management experience with him.

The Bear Chair Company now operates out of a 15,000 square foot plant in South River, Ontario. They recently purchased a 25,000 square foot warehouse for additional production and storage. At the height of the season, over fifty full and part time workers are employed.. Bear Chair products have been exported all over the world , including Holland, Germany, Belgium, England, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Australia and just recently, Japan. The company operates a warehouse in Lewiston, New York to service the steadily increasing U.S. market.

In these days of environmental concern, Bear Chairs are a natural alternative to disposable plastic furniture. Nothing beats the beauty, durability and comfort of solidly built wooden deck furniture.

A combination of all the above reasons has resulted in The Bear Chair Company becoming the largest manufacturer of this style of furniture in Canada.