In 1929 Fred V. Skinner, the son of Sylvester Skinner, sold his company to the Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, and shortly thereafter the Oshawa plant was established and was in full production by January 1, 1930. In 1955 the company name was simplified to Houdaille Industries.
Today Houdaille fabricates and electroplates some 60% of the origional equipment automotive bumpers used in Canada. This plant is also emerging as an important producer of heavy metal stampings other than bumpers and currently serves the automotive, plumbing, construction and recreation industries.
Houdaille in Oshawa is a member of Houdaille Industries Incorporated, a collection of some sixty business concerns in the United States and Canada that produce auto parts, industrial tools and machinery, and construction materials. The Houdaille Corporation dates back to 1919 when an American company was formed to produce a shock absorber invented by a young French engineer, Maurice Houdaille.