History

Thomas Ahearn and Warren Soper founded Ahearn & Soper in 1881 to pursue the communications business, pioneering telegraph and telephone devices.

Our History Timeline

1890s – Ottawa Electric Railway 
  • On October 20, Ahearn and Soper sent a letter to Ottawa offering to form a local company to construct and operate streetcar railway.
  • Formed the Ottawa Electric Railway on June 29, 1891. First small electric cars appeared on Ottawa streets.
1892 – Thomas Ahearn – Inventor of the Electric Oven and Stove

Born in Ottawa in 1855, Thomas Ahearn grew up in the first telephone era and eventually established his own company as an Electrical Contractor.

1920s – First trans-Atlantics Telephone Call
  • Organized first all-Canada radio broadcast on Dominion Day.
  • Thomas Ahearn together with Prime Minister Justice Ernest Lapointe, made the first trans-Atlantic telephone call to Britain to inaugurate that service.
1947 – Ottawa Transportation Commission
  • Ottawa Electric Railway was sold to the City of Ottawa which led to the creation of the Ottawa Transportation Commission
1950s – Authorization to sell
  • In 1955 Ahearn and Soper receive sales authorization from Siemens for telecommunication equipment and scientific instruments.
  • Company given authorization to distribute Siemens electrical power equipment in 1959.
1960s – Big Changes
  • Harold Soper, nephew of founder Warren Soper, sells company to Industrial Wire & Cable in 1961
  • In 1962 company changes ownership again and sold to the Paul and Zimmerman families
  • Supplier of data collection systems based on early minicomputer technology with digital tape output
1970s – Innovation
  • Produced a proprietary “Multi-writer” daisy wheel word processing terminal
  • Implemented plotting systems for customers in CAD, mapping, and other imaging applications and established an expertise in Raster Image Processing
1990s – Label Production
  • Developed and delivered “Micro-Sign” turnkey sign and poster printing system
  • Brought label production in-house
  • Moved from transaction processes to software
  • Built proprietary software for custom development
2000s – Changes
  • Added two new presses
  • Expanded office location to accommodate manufacturing processing growth in
  • Acquired Capcom Automation
  • Migrated from proprietary tools to customizable off-the-shelf tools
2010 – ProVision WMS Software is acquired by Ahearn & Soper Inc.
  • Became a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in 2010
  • Ruckus Wireless Certified in 2014/2015
  • Acquired proVision WMS Software in 2014
  • Expanded Sales to Vancouver in 2015

Sign up for Ahearn & Soper updates

Since 1975, Ahearn & Soper Inc. has provided barcode and identification software, hardware, supplies and services that improve accuracy, tracking, and efficiency within distribution, manufacturing and healthcare operations.

Sign Up Now