Our roots began in an early settlement near Dryden,
where in 1887 the Wabigoon Star was established as
a weekly newspaper for the Wabigoon and Gold Rock
gold mines. Soon after, when gold dwindled, the paper
moved its base of operations to Dryden—13 miles to
the west—and became the Dryden Observer.
In 1940, Alex Wilson purchased the local newspaper
where Wilson’s Business Solutions now stands. Within
a year, he made the decision to add retail space, selling
stationery items such as Quick Ink to be used with ink
wells, straight nib pens,
erasers, pads of paper
and envelopes. Other
stationery items as
well as tourist articles,
such as porcupine quill
baskets and leather
goods of deer hide made
by the First Nations of
Manitoulin Island, were
also added to the mix.
To accommodate growth a new two-story steel and
brick building was added in 1963.
In 1978, Alex’s brother, Roy, purchased the business
and began aggressively expanding the sales territory
with the hiring of two servicemen and two sales
representatives, one of which was his son, Greg.
What started out as a six-person operation quickly
grew to 15 team members.
Recognizing the need for an
office, stationery and supply
company able to provide same
or next day service, Wilson’s
continued its ferocious growth
strategy, hiring and training
local service technicians and
expanding with new store
locations in Fort Frances and Kenora in the 1980s,
including an aircraft service support team to serve
less accessible northern communities.
Through the 1990’s and into the millennium, stores
were added in Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and
Thompson, Manitoba. As a result, the number of
people in the Dryden head office almost quadrupled.
We’ve worked to grow our presence in the North with
bricks and mortar, including a new 16,000 square
foot warehouse in Dryden and electronically with the
introduction of our online store,
.
Today you will find Wilson and affiliate locations
(1)
dotting the map in places as far east as Timmins and
Thunder Bay and as far west as Winnipeg, Brandon
and many other towns in Southern and Northern
Manitoba. Our team of over 125 members is proud
to be a part of the social and economic fabric of the
communities we serve.
–Greg Wilson, President of Wilson’s Business Solutions
2015 marks our 75th year of serving the North!
Since 1940, Wilson’s Business Solutions has expanded
and evolved into the company that we are proud to be a part of today. Staying competitive and relevant for
our customers is more important to us than ever, and we strive to be your one-stop-solutions-shop for your
workplace’s office supplies, office furniture, equipment & IT sales and service needs.
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Wilson’s staff in the ‘80s with Roy & Greg Wilson
Greg and Roy Wilson
(1) Affiliate locations under the name
“Office Innovations”
in the west, and “
Wyatt Image Solutions”
in Timmins
Greg Wilson
Wilson’s Distribution Centre
