In 1717, the manufacturing of beaver hats was begun in Montreal. Four finished hats were turned out every day. Then came the order directly from the King of France to kill the industry. There was to be no competition from the colony for French hat makers. “Colonies are established solely for the utility of the country that forms them”, Louis XIV said. Two and a half centuries later, instead of from Versailles, the pressure came from Washington (Orchard, 1999, p.
250).
The creativity, ingenuity, perseverance and skill of the people that created A. V. Roe (AVRO) Canada limited, has set the standard for Canadian technology.
Their foresight and management made it Canada’s largest corporation in just 12 years. A. V. Roe was faced with the challenge of producing a supersonic aircraft with a new engine. The airplane was to operate at twice the speed of any existing model and in all aspects the aircraft was technically advanced, both for the time of it’s design and for the considerable advancements made in the field of aerodynamics (Zur ring, 1999, p. 13)..
