'It's kind of bittersweet': Cambridge hockey stick factory moving to Brantford after more than a century

Cambridge hockey stick factory moving From CTV Kitchener's Stephanie Villella: A hockey stick factory is moving from its Cambridge location after 116 years.

CAMBRIDGE — A Cambridge manufacturer of hockey sticks that has been in Hespeler for more than 100 years is moving to Brantford.

Roustan Hockey - formally Heritage Wood Specialities, Nike Bauer and Cooper - has been located at Sheffield Street in Cambridge since 1905. After 116 years at the same location, the company is moving to an industrial site in Brantford.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” said Bo Crawford, General Manager of Roustan Hockey.  “We like the history of the building, we like how old the building is and the tradition of making wooden hockey sticks here. But on the other hand it is old, it’s a little inefficient.”

The new site on Spalding Drive in Brantford will be triple the size of the Cambridge location, sitting at 75,000 square feet.

The president and CEO of the company, W. Graeme Roustan said the facility will be able to produce more than two million hockey sticks a year.

“The building we are moving out of is a relic of the past,” Roustan said.  “In order to invest into the future, the building just did not measure up to what it would take to take this company into the next generation.”

He said the growth comes from a new deal made with Canadian Tire. Roustan said in 2019, the retailer approached him about selling more Canadian made products.

“I decided to invest millions of dollars into this new facility, really for a couple reasons. One, I wanted to grow in the first place, but also, Canadian Tire stepped up to the plate and they said we want to be a bigger customer of yours,” Roustan said.

Roustan said his company is the only factory in North America that builds hockey sticks.

“If you ever go into any retail store and you flip the stick on the bottom and it says ‘made in Canada’, it came from my factory.”

The company said they wanted to stay in Cambridge, but finding an industrial space was difficult.

“I reached out to the Cambridge mayor a few times, and she passed me off to people that report to her.  And everything they had available in this area, it didn’t work with our business model, the buildings were too expensive,” said Crawford.

The new site is also expected to add around 50 jobs.

"We wish Roustan Hockey all the best as they transition to an expanded and more modernized facility. We know their roots will always be in Cambridge. With our provincial and federal partners, the city worked with Roustan Hockey to help find a suitable new location within the Waterloo Region but, unfortunately, at the time there was not a property within the existing industrial inventory that suited their needs. While we are sad to see this long-time business leave the City of Cambridge, we are grateful that they remain close and that highly skilled workers from Cambridge will not be impacted," a statement from the city said.

Roustan said having the factory in Brantford is fitting, as Brantford is home to Walter and Wayne Gretzky.

“Walter was a fixture in our factory for decades,” Roustan said.

He said Walter would frequently visit the factory in Cambridge and would always leave with hockey sticks in hand.

“I have to tell you, selecting this location last year was in part because I wanted Walter to walk these floors, this factory.  I wanted him to feel at home, you know this is just down the street from his home.  And so yes, it did play into the decision, no question.  It’s just sad that he’s passed before I’ve been able to bring him to this facility.”

The company has until the end of the year to move out of the Cambridge location and into the new site.