Formerly called Canadian Phone Directories, Canpages was bought last year by HM Capital Partners of Dallas, Texas, which invested more than $110 million into growing the operations and markets. Since then, the Coquitlam, BC-based company has been going gangbusters in what it calls ‘reinventing’ the traditional phone directory, in print and online.

Canpages now publishes more than 70 phone directories across Canada, with a total circulation of 5.6 million. In January 2007, it rolled out a new Greater Calgary directory – encompassing Calgary, Airdrie, Bragg Creek, Cochrane, Chestermere, Okotoks and Strathmore – with a circulation of 540,000. The following month, Canpages published a new directory for Greater Vancouver – encompassing Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster – with a circulation of 615,000.

Later this summer, Canpages’ inaugural Greater Toronto directory will be published. And next summer will see the publication of a comprehensive directory for the entire Island of Montreal with an anticipated circulation of one million.

This March, Canpages launched an online business directory, www.canpages.ca, offering such features as targeted business and residential searches by neighbourhood; interactive 2D and 3D maps; detailed narrow searching; video content, allowing merchants to showcase products and services; delivery of listings to mobile devices; and, in Vancouver, text directory assistance from mobile devices using an easy-to-remember 604 411 short code.