April 26, 2014

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04 | 26 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 17

SET FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF TREK FOR CHARITY LIVING HERE PAGE 27

COMMENT PAGE 10

LOOKING TO PROMOTE LOCAL FOOD, HEALTHIER LIVING

An ancient craft for a digital age

Elmira Pet Products invests $2.7 million in University of Alberta research program

ELENA MAYSTRUK Creating the stuff of nightmares, dreams and everything in between in the heart of Mennonite Country, Floradale’s Thak Ironworks is taking its blacksmithing to the television screen. Encompassing everything a guy would watch on TV – fire, swords, tools and the rare skill of iron craft – and everything a modern blacksmith would want to tell the world about the trade, the Toronto-produced show Metal Masters will follow the activities of Thak’s artisans in the dim wood and stone shop at Floradale and Florapine roads. “Blacksmithing is an ancient trade – it’s been around for thousands of years. We come at it from both a traditional and very modern approach. We use electric welders and grinders and things like that. But a lot of the actual forging and the actual techniques and tools are the same things that they were using hundreds of years ago: there’s really no way to change that or fake that,” said owner Robb Martin. The show, airing its pilot episode on May 14 on the History Channel, follows Martin and fellow craftsmen Tom Martin and Ryan Leis as they forge everything from swords, convoluted sculptures and armour to oldschool tools and more. After searchMETAL MASTERS | 2

www.OBSERVERXTRA.com

WILL SLOAN

Floradale’s Thak Ironworks is the setting for Metal Masters, a new show on the History Channel Robb Martin of Thak Ironworks has spent years developing new and ancient forms of blacksmithing skills. Martin and crew share their passion for the craft in a pilot episode of their new television show Metal Masters for the first time on History May 14 at 10 p.m. [ELENA MAYSTRUK / THE OBSERVER]

The ongoing expansion of Elmira Pet Products Ltd. grew a little further last week with the announcement of a $2.7 million investment in the University of Alberta’s new animal nutrition and ingredient development program. The money will be used to establish and equip the program, which will use a pilot extruder (similar to what the Elmira plant uses to cook ingredients) to research and test products. “We have a lengthy history in developing nutritional products for cats and dogs, both for our own brands, and we’re also a co-packer or private label manufacturer, which means we make a lot of other people’s brands,” said David Johnston, the company’s chief operating officer. “With that in mind, we do a lot of the research and development for other companies and ourselves

in terms of next wave or new nutrition or what’s better for the animal.” For the company, whose Elmira facility is equipped for high-volume, highproduction equipment, the partnership will make limited test runs easier, Johnston said. “To do a test run, the first thing we have to do is shut down and run at a very slow pace and cut into production time. Having a small, lab-type extruder somewhere means we don’t have to do that. It means we get more volume, more employment for the area.” Johnston added that the investment puts EPP “in the lab on a real-world basis” with its academic partners. “We have relationships at many universities, including University of Guelph, University of Illinois, and obviously the University of Alberta. They all have their own expertise in different research programs. What we’ll be doing is working hand-in-hand with researchers on state-of-theEXPANSION | 2

NEW Catalogue IT

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2 Kitchener: 68 Webster Rd. (behind ToysRUs) 519.894.9997

LOCATIONS

Waterloo: 650 Weber St. N. @ Benjamin 519.888.9992


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