If you're looking for exterior and indoor paints and stains to extend past your painting hopes, look no further than Benjamin Moore. The company creates its personal proprietary Gennex® colourants and resins, ensuring consistent quality control and top quality application properties. Along with the phenomenal colour selection, these materials can help you beautify the interior and outside of your home or workplace.



Company History

The “Calsom Finish,” an original wall coating, was made in 1883 by Benjamin Moore. He worked together with his older brother, Robert Moore, to produce this product in Brooklyn, NY. In the first year of development, the brothers recognized profits and market demand, allowing their business to flourish quickly. In New York, 1889, a Corporation was born and the existing New Jersey Corporation was developed shortly after.

While in the start-up process, Benjamin Moore founded a personal philosophy that grew into the first credo of the enterprise. He expected the business to adhere to the following statement, “The application of Intelligence to Industry based upon Integrity.” “Intelligence, Integrity and Industry,” took over as the hallmarks of Benjamin Moore’s central values.

The company’s Internal Vision describes these values currently as “Leadership, Innovation and Performance.” This is the philosophy that serves as the founding principle of the company policy.

Did you know that the current logo of the “Triangle M,” originated in 1925 and designed by L.P. Moore to showcase the “Integrity, Intelligence and Industry,” concept? Representing the “3 I’s,” it is the logo that the Benjamin Moore staff proudly wear on their service pins. This stands for how business thrives with its suppliers, customers and employees.

In 1892, Benjamin Moore tweaked his Calsom Finish formula and developed a new product called MURESCO. This all-in-one ceiling and wall finish was revolutionary for its time. It became a popular household name and even a listing in Webster’s Standard Dictionary.

Benjamin Moore continued to develop innovative products over the years. A flat-finish, lead-free, decorative item called SANI-FLAT was sought after since it could sustain frequent washing. UTILAC was the next amazing invention. It replaced dangerous lacquers at the time as a fast-drying enamel product that was widely used.

The company continued to expand in 1897 as Benjamin Moore and Co. saw repeated success with their innovative products. The expansion program was launched to deliver optimal service to expanding clients. The next ten years were busy. A Cleveland factory was born, Chicago became home to a factory and subsidiary and the New Jersey plant was constructed.

Benjamin Moore expanded to Canada in 1906. On September 11, 1906, Benjamin Moore became the elected president during the company’s first shareholders’ meeting. In 1911, his half-brother Fred Moore became the company Treasurer. Fred was the first residing Canadian company president in 1937 after being the managing director of the Canadian branch. His occupancy created the basis for the current Benjamin Moore & Co. Limited.

The City of Toronto saw the first company established. They bought the plant on Lloyd Avenue on January 14, 1907. This endeavor was extremely successful and allowed the Montreal warehouse to open in 1923. The company established various warehouses across Canada in the 1920s, including Saskatoon, Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina and Vancouver. Shipments from Toronto to Vancouver were sent via an all-water route at times through the Panama Canal for a route approximately 8,500 miles!

By 1953, the company built its Montreal-based complete factory. In 1962, Burnaby, BC became home to the company’s third Canadian plant. However, it relocated to Aldergrove in 1991. In the year 2000, the North American company updated their manufacturing.

The plant in Aldergrove transitioned to become the main office and Western distribution center and ceased manufacturing abilities. After ninety-four years of running, manufacturing in the Toronto plant was also finished. Conversely, the Montreal location was expanded into an all-latex manufacturing facility. The Burlington, Ontario plant, formerly known as Technical Coatings Co. Limited, was grown to centralize the solvent-based production.



The Benjamin Moore & Co. business was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in December 2000. This business owns subsidiaries and acts as a holding company with a variety of interests in different businesses. The Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is Warren Buffet.

Over 275 employees are committed to delivering stellar service at Benjamin Moore & Co. They work at a variety of independent retailers all across Canada to deliver their best items to consumers and contractors.

Nowadays, the company focuses its vision and strategy on offering support to independent retailers while growing, leveraging and protecting the Benjamin Moore brand. The company has created many programs such as The Painting & Decorating Services Initiative, The Strategic Training Triad for the Retailer and the Signature Store Program.

This company continually evolves to remain at the forefront of the competitive and progressive paint market by relying on the success of these programs. Betty Moore created branding as “The Colour Experts,” in the 1950s, becoming the first spokesperson. In the 1960s, the Moor-O-Matic custom colour range was introduced and Moore’s Colour Matching System was born by 1970.

Benjamin Moore has become known as the most trusted paint brand in Canada. This has been determined via Ipsos-Reid polls in Canada, being one of the most trusted North American public opinion and independent research firms, along with independent research and Reader’s Digest.

Research and Development

The company’s commitment to continuous product testing and scientific development has allowed the admirable and consistent paint products to continually be enjoyed by customers.

There are over 100 technicians, chemical engineers, support staff and chemists maintaining strict product standards. New products are continuously being developed by these crews. Technical staff is responsible for ten team-based laboratories located at the 80,000 square-foot Technical & Administrative Centre.

Every lab is outfitted with the latest technology. Each instrument focuses on certain expertise. Every lab works together to develop the formulations for Benjamin Moore products. The labs work beside the marketing department and manufacturing facilities to handle the various demands from different markets such as professional, commercial, industrial and DIY.

The Analytic Laboratory utilizes the latest technology and equipment to analyze the Benjamin Moore items.

There are two testing locations at the Competitive Evaluations Laboratory dedicated to testing the exterior products and their competitive brands. There are over 20,000 painted or stained exposed test panels to test different weather issues for up to 15 years. These panels are subjected to different analyzing techniques to create new formulas and make better products or update existing formulas. The company regularly tests their competitor’s stock in the lab as well to check if their products match their claims.

The regulator for auditing Benjamin Moore’s quality is the Central Process Lab. These testing procedures occur over and above the daily product testing on the production line.

The Latex Coatings Laboratory and the Solvent Coatings Laboratory is where solvent-based and new latex-based coatings are developed and tested for performance-enhancing capabilities. These products are tested to ensure they meet or exceed tough company regulations, environmental standards and client expectations.

The Industrial Maintenance Finishes Laboratory designs specific corrosion-fighting coatings for high-performance for industrial use including factories, military tanks and similar applications.

The Polymer Laboratory is the place where most of Benjamin Moore’s research is conducted. This is the location where the binders for products are improved or made. Many paint businesses purchase their polymers from exterior sources. In-house production is important to Benjamin Moore for maintaining quality assurance. Binder formulas can be tailored to meet certain requirements.



Factory standards are created and consistency is checked at The Colour Assurance Laboratory. They have high standards at each and every one of their paint plants. The chip accuracy on each of the Benjamin Moore colour cards is monitored by this lab too. The chip tool is ideal for homeowners and contractors.

The Colour Technology Laboratory invented the first colour-matching computerized system and this has become the industry standard across the board. Benjamin Moore uses this intricate machine to enhance their colour-matching endeavors. The lab is reviewed and evaluated by scientists for developing colour matching technologies.

The Colour Development Lab is where the prescriptions for each paint colour are stored. It examines formulas to ensure consistency for existing shades and creates new formulas for different colours.

The Exterior Testing Facility also called the Testing Farm is the place that 25,000 coating samples are evaluated and studied after extreme element exposure. This colour data is used by the daily research and development teams. The highly accessible farm is close to where Benjamin Moore paint is formulated and tested in labs.

The staff chemists are able to use this lab for all of their research and development work. Chemists are encouraged to visit the facility during the day to check on their coatings and monitor performance. The marketing and sales employees also utilize the farm to learn specific information on Benjamin Moore items.

The Technical & Administrative Centre is home to the company’s Corporate Engineering, Product Information Centre, Management Information Services, Regulatory Affairs Departments and Information Resource Centre.