Ed Bryant, founder of Unilock, passed away at his home in Horseshoe Valley, Ontario, on Jan. 28, 2021.
Born on Nov. 30, 1935, in Edmonton, Bryant spent his early years in Alberta. After two years at the University of British Columbia he enlisted in the military and was eventually stationed overseas in Soest, Germany. Upon returning, he worked in B.C. and Alberta on the pipelines with Mannix, a career path that ultimately brought him to Toronto where he received training in computers. He used this knowledge to help create one of the first companies, Global Travel Computer Services, to offer computerized booking systems to the travel industry.
However, an encounter while Bryant was building his home in Horseshoe Valley, ultimately led him to set the wheels in motion for an entirely new market, now known as the North American Hardscape Industry. A Swiss stone mason who worked with Bryant on his Horseshoe Valley home convinced him that paving stones were the answer for his sloped driveway. Unfortunately, at the time, no one in North America was manufacturing paving stones. To Bryant, this seemed like an intriguing opportunity, and soon the company that would become Unilock was born.
With the help of his new friend, Fritz von Langsdorff, he raised the capital to purchase a new Hess multi-layer machine and began producing one product (UNI-Stone) in one color (natural), at scale. In Ontario, immigrants from Holland and Germany took an interest in becoming paver installation contractors. Bryant’s company helped train them, promoting the German DIN standard for pavers to ensure the quality of installations. In the late 1970’s, Bryant and von Langsdorff traveled to the U.S. and formed the Uni-Group, first uniting companies who had purchased licenses to manufacture the UNI-Stone, and then adding other unique paver shapes.
Soon, Bryant had evolved Unilock from a manufacturing company to a marketing organization with full color product catalogs, installation videos, advertising campaigns and programs such as the Unilock Authorized Contractor program. In the 1980s, additions were made to manufacturing plants in Ontario, and new locations were opened in Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit and New York, followed by Cleveland and Boston in the 1990’s.
Bryant and his beloved wife, Heather, built Unilock into one of the most respected paving stone manufacturers in the world. In 2012, Bryant received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, an honor bestowed upon Canadians for significant achievements, in recognition of his business success and philanthropy.
Bryant is predeceased by his wife of 31 years, Heather; and son, Ted Bryant; husband of Mary Bryant, and loving father of Roland Wood (Rita), Stacy Bryant, Jeannie Slade (Paul), Andrew Bryant (Kristina) and Sydney Bryant Kodatsky (Alec). He will be sadly missed by his beloved aunts, Marge Woods, Norma Catrano and (late) Margaret “Peggy” Allan; siblings, Rick Bryant (Nancy), Sandra Wood (Stan), Lincoln Bryant and Beverley Bryant (Loretta), nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and friends.
A celebration of life will be held virtually on Feb. 20, 2021, at 1 p.m. EST. Details regarding this service are available here. In lieu of flowers, Ed’s family encourages those interested to direct donations to the Answering TTP Foundation or to The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation directed to the “Health Services Research Program Fund” for Dr. Finelli.
