A Brief History of HFI
Established in 1873 – A brief history of HFI…
With Canada Day on July 1st, and US Independence Day on July 4th, we as a business tend to remember our roots. HFI Pyrotechnics (formerly part of Hands Fireworks) has been creating commercial pyrotechnics since 1873, when it was founded by William Hand.
Let’s take a walk back in time….
On May 25th, 1874, in St. Catherines, Ontario, Professor William Hand put on a show at Montebello Gardens. It would be the first fireworks display for Canada, celebrating the 54th birthday of Queen Victoria. The show was a hit and was publicized in the papers the next day. The professor stayed in Canada and in turn Hands Fireworks took off in Canada.
HFI initially manufactured fireworks and then transitioned into a specialty pyrotechnics supplier for the Canadian Military during the First and Second World Wars. As a result HFI developed a wide range of specialty pyrotechnic products to meet the needs of the global defence and security market.
As we continue to grow, producing an increasingly wide range of training and search and rescue pyrotechnic products, we hope that Mr. William Hand would be proud of how far his business has come.
See below a short video about how far we have truly come.
