In 1944 Mr. Charlie Bartle, a businessman in Victoria BC, and Mr. Cecil Gibson, a businessman in Vancouver BC, joined together to start up a plumbing and heating wholesale. Their first two places of business were a small store on Robson Street in Vancouver, near Stanley Park, and another on Yates Street in Victoria; Mr. Bartle was the manager in Victoria while Mr. Gibson managed the Vancouver branch. Today, B&G consists of 31 branches spread throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. There are 2 main distribution points for the company - one in Port Coquitlam, which serves the BC branches, and one in Edmonton that serves the Alberta branches, as well as being the operational Head Office and main accounting centre. B&G employs approximately 350 people company-wide, is privately owned, and is 100% Western Canadian. Their focus is local, but their business scope is global. B&G has directly supplied materials for large projects in China, Siberia, and the high Arctic. Customer service and satisfaction are what B&G is all about - they strive to look after all of their customers, all of the time. "At B&G, we are very conscious of our history and our ability to look after our customers. We sincerely understand the role we play within our industry and we continue to strive for excellence. By combining good people, the latest technology, and quality products we are able to serve our customers better and be their vendor of choice."