[1] The company was formed by Bisiker as a result of a downturn in his building construction business in the early 1960s in Oakville, Ontario.

Grampian also worked on the development of the Hunt-designed O'Day ocean-going power boats, but did not actually produce the designs.

As a result of the market success of these models the company hired its own designer, Scotsman Alex McGruer.

[2] While he was the majority shareholder Bisiker did not run the company on a day-to-day basis, leaving that to paid staff.

When the company was founded the Canadian dollar traded at about 70 cents US and that made Grampian's boats attractive in the US market.

Many other companies had also entered the boat-building market and provided a lot of competition, resulting in diminished sales.