This week, I attended a reception on board HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl in Halifax. I delivered product to Vernon D’eon Lobster Plugs Ltd in West Pubnico & left new catalogues with A.F. Theriault & Son, Carl’s Store, Clarence Ace Hardware, DJ’s Ritestop, Lequille Country Store, Magasin Vic’s Store, Pleasant Supplies Ltd., and U.J. Robichaud.
My wife Dawna & I were invited to a reception in Halifax, on board HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl by the Ambassador of Norway Else Berit Eikland. We had the pleasure of meeting Else during a trade mission to Norway in 2010. Trail Blazer products are available throughout Norway and they’re represented by S-Ski & Sport (http://www.spraek.no). You can find our products throughout all Scandinavian countries including Iceland, where we are represented by (www.husasmidjan.is), who started offering our products since a trade mission in 2008. Our recent distributors would include Extreme Look, based in Finland (http://www.erikoistukku.fi) and Knivbutik based in Sweden (http://www.knivbutik.se/26-sawvivor-sagar). Knivbutik would be our most recent distributor in Scandinavia with their first shipment being sent out just last month in June 2012.
I really enjoyed the reception and would like to take this opportunity to thank The Ambassador, Rear Admiral Grytting and Commander Varden for a wonderful event including great Norwegian beer (may I suggest Carlsberg and Tuborg … I enjoyed them both ) and the food was fantastic. I especially enjoyed trying the reindeer and whale meat.
I delivered Trail Blazer’s Take-Down Buck Saws, Sawvivor Saws & Xtend-A-Saws to Vernon D’eon Lobster Plugs Ltd. in West Pubinco, Nova Scotia. Trail Blazer products are now available at their stores in Barrington, Cape Sable Island, North Sydney, Pictou, Shelburne, West Pubnico, Yarmouth Nova Scotia and Souris Prince Edward Island. Vernon D’eon, a lobster fisherman, sold his boat to start manufacturing millions of wooden lobster plugs to markets from New York to Newfoundland. Pressure began in the fall of 1980 to have wooden pegs replaced with rubber bands. In the summer of 1981, Vernon began selling fishing supplies. From there, as they say … the rest is history.
Vernon D’eon Lobster Plugs Ltd. is another great example of how a family owned business contributes to their local communities and clearly prides themselves on quality, innovative products and by far the best customer service a company can provide. I look forward to visiting & servicing all 8 of their store locations in the very near future.
After I finished making my delivery in West Pubinco, I distributed Trail Blazer’s new catalogues. On my way to Yarmouth I came across and visited the store that has everything … Carl’s Store in Tusket. While in Yarmouth I visited Tim-Br Mart’s Pleasant Supplies Ltd. and Vernon D’eon Lobster Plugs. Then I started for home visiting stores along the way. I grabbed lunch at DJ’s Diner in Salmon River where I left our catalogue for their convenience / hardware store. After Lunch I came across a general store in Meteghan, a Tim-Br Mart in Meteghan Center and a Benjamin Moore paint dealer in Meteghan River. I found an Ace Hardware in Saulnierville and I finished the day at the very popular Lequille Country Store, located in the beautiful Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia and they stock an incredible selection of hunting and fishing equipment for nearly 30 years.
The new catalogue includes Trail Blazer’s Nova Scotia made products, The Story of Trail Blazer, a collage of pictures showing our team in action and examples of our products merchandised to give you ideas for your stores. Would you like a copy of Trail Blazer’s product catalogue? If yes, please e-mail me [email protected]
We received two different samples of metal from our supplier in Ontario this week for testing purposes, as we come closer to completing the development of one of the new products I mentioned last month. I will be meeting with our valued R&D team in Windsor and our powder coater in Burnside “Dartmouth” later this month to finalize this new product that will be manufactured here in Nova Scotia for the lawn & garden market around the world!! This new product started like all the rest … by listening to our valued customers. This time it was Janet Davidson suggestions that sent us in this exciting new direction … Janet manages the Seasonal Department at Rafuse Home Hardware in Wolfville, Nova Scotia and during one of my visits, she recommended a product I should start making to replace the snow shovels in the off season. Well I listened and found a way to improve the present products. I look forward to telling her the product is in production … But, If she reads my blog she now knows … Oh Well!! Thank you Janet & see you soon!
We will have the necessary material arrive next week to be able to produce our Xtreme Hatchets in New Brunswick for the very first time. Our hatchets were being produced in Ontario after the plastic injector in Nova Scotia closed down the operation. We’re going to offer our New Brunswick made hatchets in multiple colors Pink, Red, Blue and Orange.
All the Best, Shawn Levangie