Office products, supplies and services ... retail locations in Goderich, Wingham and Kincardine, southwestern Ontario.

Family Owned & Operated

MicroAge Basics is operated by Bluewater Office Equipment, Ltd, and has been family owned & operated since 1984. There are currently seven Peet family members working within the organization, which helps to ensure that customer service and quality remains our number one goal.

In the Beginning...

Founded in 1984, Bluewater Office Equipment Ltd. is a privately owned family business serving Southwestern Ontario. The original location in Goderich, primarily serviced and sold Photocopiers, Fax Machines, Computer Equipment, Typewriters and Word Processors.

In 1987, after a relocation, Bluewater Office Equipment greatly expanded Office Supply and Furniture Products.

Growth

In 1988 an opportunity presented itself and a second, satellite location was opened in the town of Wingham. This opportunity allowed Bluewater Office Equipment to better serve and increase the northern end of their service area.

November of 1999 marked a significant move for MicroAge Basics, moving from a small building on Hamilton St. in Goderich to "the old Canadian Tire building" at 223 Huron Rd. in Goderich.

Alliances

In 1992, Bluewater Office Equipment joined Multimicro as a franchisee, under the MicroAge Group. Multimicro - Canada's largest network of computer resellers - has many groups including the Compucentre, CompuSmart and Northwest Digital groups.

In 1998 Bluewater Office Equipment joined the BASICS buying group and changed their operating name, to reflect these alliances, to MicroAge Basics. While no operating or ownership changes were made, the name change helped establish MicroAge Basics as a member of two nationwide organizations.

The BASICS buying group is the largest office supply buying group in Canada. Owned by its Canadian Members, BASICS has dealers from coast to coast.

In 2010 MicroAge Basics entered into a distribution partnership with Swish Maintenance Ltd. of London, Ontario. Swish Maintenance is a leading distributor of certified green cleaning solutions, hygiene paper, and hand care products. This partnership has expanded our product offerings to include all Swish Maintenance products. We believe that this new partnership with Swish Maintenance will provide our customers with the tools needed to help maintain this healthy environment, all while maintaining a high standard of ‘green’ environmental responsibility.

Expansion

In 2015 MicroAge Basics decided to spread its wings into the Kincardine area. MTC Computers was successfully acquired, adding another satellite retail location as well as 3 skilled employees. With this expansion the MicroAge Basics brand was able to continue to provide computer services as well as office products within the Kincardine area.