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Directly translated as “the path of harmony through martial practice,” the martial art of aikibudo is unique in that both the attacker and the defender are referred to as partners rather than adversaries. The Japanese martial art is unique in that the traditional philosopher recognizes neither a winner nor a loser.

Tracing its roots back to the 1930s, this martial art has gained international acclaim in recent years, particularly in France, as well as in Europe and North America.

As part of one of our more recent projects, we were introduced to the art of aikibudo by the highly-trained team at Judo Aikibudo in eastern Quebec. As a borough of beautiful and historic Quebec City, the team at Judo Aikibudo specializes not only in aikibudo but also in other martial arts such as judo, tai-chi and self-defense training for women.

Established in 1923, the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa serves nearly 5,000 children between the ages of six and 18 in the greater Ottawa area. With an established team right here in our hometown, Ottawa’s Boys and Girls Club continues to give local children and youth a place where they can develop confidence and life skills while making friendships that last a lifetime.

The club operates seven locations across the Nation’s Capital with two locations in the west end, three in the east end, and two in the south region of the city.

In addition to the main clubhouses and satellite locations scattered across the city, the club also operates Camp Smitty in the town of Eganville in the picturesque Ottawa Valley.

As one of New York City’s largest commuter towns, the need for a quality childcare facility in South Orange, New Jersey is something Dana Kearney noticed early on. Beginning with a babysitting service operated from her home, Kearney used her fifteen years of nursing experience to provide the best care possible for her children and the children of others in the community.

As her business grew over the years, she outgrew her small home-based business, registered an LLC and created what is now known as Village Babies Development Center. With a spacious facility, Kearney’s business now offers not only care to children between the ages of six weeks and five years of age, but a variety of learning programs for children in each age category.

When shopping for any type of padding, whether it be for an athletic institution, for use on walls for protection or for tumbling exercises such as gymnastics, you have likely been met with some confusing verbiage.

As each type of padding is filled with a different type of foam, the materials used and the way in which it is constructed can vary widely depending on the intended use of that particular piece of padding.

When reading specifications, the “ingredients” used to describe what they are made of can elicit the feeling of ready obscure ingredients found in some of your favourite foods. For many of us, we are unsure of what exactly they mean, what they are made of and which are good for us.

Two such ingredients found in most of our padding are polyethylene and polyurethane. While somewhat confusing by name, their differences are quite important when selecting padding for your home or facility.  As such, we will break each down below and give a few examples as to which each is best suited for.

Looking west to the beautiful state of California, one of our most recent projects took place to the campus of Columbia College located in the heart of the state’s “Gold Country.”

Named after the miners from Sonora, Mexico who originally settled the city, Sonora maintains its historic charm while modernizing itself with museums, art galleries and a number of theatres. Located a mere 75 miles from Yosemite National Park, Sonora is also an outdoor recreationist’s dream. With access to hundreds of resorts, campground, lakes and National Parks, Sonora provides residents and visitors alike with ample opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.

Heading indoors, we were contacted by the instructional support technician at Sonora’s Columbia College who was looking for a padding solution to cover the entire gymnasium at the growing college. Kicking off a project that would end up being one year in the making, our team worked closely with key stakeholders at the college to ensure a smooth and efficient experience.

Heading back down to the United States, our team was recently involved in a project with the Oakland Board of Schools in New Jersey and with our partners at Tri-State Folding Partitions.

Having done business with the Oakland School district for many years, Tri-State has helped a number of schools in the area with annual preventative maintenance on all their equipment, including partitions, bleachers, basketball backstops, and climbing walls.

In addition to the maintenance, their team has also proudly installed a variety of new equipment including basketball hoops, fold-up divider nets, partitions, and wall pads.

On this particular project, the team at Tri-State worked closely with the Principal and head custodian of Manito Elementary School. As part of the Oakland School District in New Jersey, the school serves approximately 350 students in the close-knit community.  Constructed in 1961, the school has only seen three principals tenured in the institution’s front office since its inception, a credit to school’s long-standing commitment to student-focused education.

The strength forged between our organization and those involved in our extensive dealer network is formidable. Selecting from the very best organizations around the world, we have the ability to form partnerships with key industry representatives and pass the benefits along to our growing customer base.

As such, we proudly share our internal leads garnered through our extensive offline and online properties with those selected for our dealer program and one of our recent projects is the perfect example of that synergy at work.

One of our more popular products is our suite of custom wall padding solutions. These solutions range from completely padded rooms and gymnasiums to small padded areas strategically placed in high-impact zones such as beneath basketball goals.

While simple in theory, depending on the intended use of these padding solutions, they can become quite complex and customized. With doorways, corners, electrical outlets and switches all adorning wall surfaces in most buildings, each padding job entails certain nuanced design elements.

At the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in central Ontario lies the town of Belleville.  Settled in the late 1700’s, the town, referred to as the heart of the Quinte region, is home to a number of public elementary and secondary schools along with post-secondary institutions such as Loyalist College and the Academy of Learning College.

It was the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, however, that brought our team to town on this occasion as a pair of the school’s in the board were looking for new wall padding for their gymnasiums.  As such, our sales team quickly were acquainted with keys stakeholders from the organization, kicking off the initial stages of the planning process.

One of our more recent projects brought us to the beautiful Ottawa Valley and one of the area’s epicenters for Irish heritage. Known for its legendary St. Patrick’s Day celebrations each year, the town of Douglas was originally surveyed into farm lots to accommodate settlers from the Irish Isle and soon became a booming region for its timber production.

Today, this small town is part of the Admaston/Bromley Township, which is made up of a number of other small towns and hamlets in the region with a population of roughly 3,000 residents who call it home. 

As one of the feeder schools for these small communities, we were recently commissioned by the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board to supply and install some customized padding for St. Michael’s School. The school acts as an inclusive educational conduit, ensuring high academic standards as well as community involvement for all those who attend.