VS Services is Canada's leading diversified service company, spanning the length and breadth of the country, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and from our southern border to Frobisher Bay in Canada's far north. In any one day, more than 21,000 full-time and part-time employees serve Canadians in every walk of life, including executives and employees in business and indus try, travellers at major airports, students and teachers at educational institutions, health care patients, staff and visitors, inmates and staff in correctional institutions, audiences at sports and entertainment events, children in schools for the deaf, seniors at homes for the aged, and customers enjoying a meal or snack in one of their public restaurants.

VS Services today includes 19 operating divisions and subsidiaries which provide management of food services, of housekeeping, of laundry, of maintenance, and of purchasing for a wide range of client groups. Additionally, VS provides fullline vending services, operates Canada's largest group of companies in the provision of brewed coffee for offices, and provides planning and design for facilities that serve food. A sense of the size of VS can be gained from the fact that in 1985 more than 3,000 operating units produced revenues from services exceeding $281 million! It is estimated that each week, Canadians make six million individual purchases directly from the operating companies of VS Services Ltd.

The origins of the present company go back to 1961, when nine food service businesses merged to form a new publicly traded service management company. Vendomatic Division, Duplate of Canada, Industrial Food Services Division of Canadian Food Products Sales Limited, Baker Vending Services Ltd., Provincial Automat du Quebec, and Nationwide Food Services Ltd. were the key companies in the merger. The name of the new company was Vendomati Services Limited.

The years from 1961 to 1972 were a period of fast expansion, marked by a growth in sales from $11 million to $100 million. New ground was broken in many areas, including contracts to supply the Department of Transport in the arctic, contracts in the health care sector, such as Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington, Ontario, an account VS Services proudly continues to serve, and entry into the restaurant business.
 

1. James E. Graham, President and CEO and Dixon S. Chant, Chairman of the Board. 2. Hospital patients enjoy the wide variety of delicious and nutritious meals which are provided by Versa Services.

In 1964, in recognition of its growing activities, the Company changed its name to Versafood Services Limited. Almost immediately it launched a new division, Versa Services, to incorporate housekeeping, laundry and linen services. Three years later, in 1967, Philadelphia-based ARA Services Inc. invested in Versafood, thereby increasing expertise and financial stability.

As the Company expanded across Canada, its present form began to develop. Quebec operations gained a distinctive profile with the creation in 1969 of La Societe VS Ube., now known as Versabec, Inc. Planned Food Facilities International (PFFI) added the capability to plan and design food service facilities in institutional accounts, business cafeterias, and restaurants. A highlight of PFFI's history was the design and constructing of the food service facilities for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Versafood Services was then selected to provide the food services for the 10,000 athletes and coaches at the Montreal games.

In 1972, the Corporate name was changed to VS Services Ltd., with "Versafoods" continuing as a strong trade identification. Two years later, in 1974, VS embarked on a new period of internal consolidation and divested its foreign interests to focus its priorities on providing quality service to Health Care, business, commercial and education clients across Canada. Since 1980, and under the direction of a management team headed by J.E. Graham, President and Chief Executive Officer, R.E. Boone, Chief Financial Officer and Ken Daigle, Chief Operating Officer, VS Services has made a number of significant changes. Recognizing the dual nature of its activities, the Company reorganized into two distinct operating sectors, Versa Services, and Versa Food Services. VS then acquired control of 10 companies including Major Foods Limited of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Parnell Foods Limited in Ontario and western Canada; and most recently, Cory Canada Inc., the pioneers of the office coffee business in Canada.

Today, VS Services Ltd. is a publicly owned company, with shares traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Exchange. The management and employees of the Company and its operating companies and divisions are dedicated to providing a wide range of vital services throughout Canada. Performed under varying and often very challenging conditions, the services provided by VS Services Ltd. touch and improve the lives of thousands of Canadians every day.