BUILDING STRONGER COMMUNITIES

North West Rubber Donation Lays Groundwork for New Abbotsford Firefighter Training Gym

PUBLISHED IN FALL 2020

North West Rubber is committed to helping our communities grow stronger.

For decades, the Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service has been there for us. They’ve answered calls in the very community where our manufacturing plant transforms recycled rubber crumb from end-of-life tires into high-performance rubber flooring products. Now, we’ve put our vulcanized rubber to work for them, helping build a first-of-its-kind gym for the active firefighters of Abbotsford, British Columbia – and for generations of heroes to come. 

North West Rubber is committed to helping our communities grow stronger.

For decades, the Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service has been there for us. They’ve answered calls in the very community where our manufacturing plant transforms recycled rubber crumb from end-of-life tires into high-performance rubber flooring products. Now, we’ve put our vulcanized rubber to work for them, helping build a first-of-its-kind gym for the active firefighters of Abbotsford, British Columbia – and for generations of heroes to come. 

North West Rubber is committed to helping our communities grow stronger.

For decades, the Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service has been there for us. They’ve answered calls in the very community where our manufacturing plant transforms recycled rubber crumb from end-of-life tires into high-performance rubber flooring products. Now, we’ve put our vulcanized rubber to work for them, helping build a first-of-its-kind gym for the active firefighters of Abbotsford, British Columbia – and for generations of heroes to come. 

“Part of our ongoing set of core values involves reaching out and being strong members of the community,” says Stuart Carsience, North West Rubber’s Director of International Procurement. “One of our employees found that the Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service was looking to do an installation of a weight room. This was right up our alley. This is what we do – that’s what our SportFloor® is designed for.” The interlocking SportFloor® mats are slip-resistant, durable, and liquid-repellent, making for an athlete-inspired floor that’s hard to wear out and easy to maintain. 

The timing for the Fire Rescue project couldn’t have been better. The City of Abbotsford, which was upgrading its recreation centres, had offered up gym equipment. The Fire Rescue Service had already cleared out a dedicated space within their current city-wide Training Centre. So North West Rubber sprung into action, donating more than 600 square feet of professional SportFloor®. 

Our Marketing Specialist, Dee Sekhon, was helping out with floor layouts and colour combinations, when she had an idea. 

“She asked, Do you guys have any sort of logo for the gym?” recalls Jeff Snider, Assistant Fire Chief of the Abbostford Fire Rescue Service. He told her he had an image he’d put together for a wall vinyl. “I sent it across and she said, I think we can incorporate this!” 

A special task requires a special approach – so we put our employees and our machines to the test. The self-designed firehall logo quickly fell into the artistic hands of North West Rubber’s Technical Service Specialist, Shawn Kavanagh. 

“Because our CNC is so accurate, I have to actually hand draw all the logos – every single curve, every single line – to make sure it’s perfect,” explains Kavanagh, who was eager to work on a project so close to home. “Our [CNC precision cutter] machines are top-of-the-line machines. The logos come out perfect every time… Once you cut all the tiles, it’s like a big puzzle piece. You put it all together and you get a logo.” 

With the help of Abbotsford firefighters, the North West Rubber Team installed the heavy-duty 600 foot square foot floor over a full day. The very first pieces to go down revealed a familiar black and red logo. 

“It was cool to see their eyes lighting up when they saw the logo,” says Kavanagh. “It’s funny, I don’t get to see that. Usually all my stuff gets shipped out. But actually seeing the customer or the fire department in this case… these guys were all super excited and they wanted to get that thing in as quick as possible.”

Today, the gym sees regular use from some of the 200 men and women who answer the area’s 911 calls. Conveniently, it’s part of the larger Firehall Training Centre that allows the career and auxiliary firefighters to run drills in burning buildings, practice rescue operations, and hone and maintain their expertise. 

“The quality of the floors itself is beyond our expectation,” says Assistant Fire Chief Snider. “Not only is it resilient and functional for us, but it looks amazing. It’s great. We love it.”

For more than 50 years, North West Rubber has been focused on supporting our environment and the people living within it, donating rubber flooring to local community centres, playgrounds, and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. With this project, our NWR team couldn’t be happier with the results. 

“Being able to assist our first responders and be active in trying to give them something – kind of a way to say ‘Thank You’ for all their efforts – it was just perfect,” says Carsience. 

Leighton Friesen, our North West Rubber CEO, agrees: “These men and women put themselves in harm’s way each and every day. While most of us are wired to run away from danger and crisis, they run straight for it in order to keep us safer and to protect our community. And so, we’re grateful for that and we’re thrilled to be able to help in this small way.” 

To learn more about our Corporate Social Responsibility Programs email dees@northwestrubber.com