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Call 204-943-6622 or 1-800-378-6699 alzheimer.mb.ca If someone you know has Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, we're here to help. Call 204-943-6622 or 1-800-378-6699 or visit us online at alzheimer.mb.ca Alzheimer's disease we're here to help. If someone you know has Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, we're here to help. If someone you know has Alzheimer's disease or another dementia, we're here to help. Call 204-943-6622 or 1-800-378-6699 or visit us online at alzheimer.mb.ca alzheimer.mb.ca If you or someone you know has Alzheimer's disease or another demen a, visit alzheimer.mb.ca or call 204-943-6622 for help. You are not alone. We are here to help. You are not alone. We are here to help. F rom truck tarps to huge fabric structures measuring up to 800 feet in length, Winkler Canvas has got you covered. Based out of Winkler, naturally, the company has been creating and manufac- turing a surprisingly broad range of in- novative products for a diverse customer base for almost 40 years. "Winkler Canvas has created the standard in the industrial fabric manufacturing industry," says Calvin Thiessen, the company's business development manager. "We are known for quality, are very cost competitive, and have the ability to customize any order. We've been around awhile and are well-known. By far, I would say our best advertising is word of mouth. Customers have come to expect quality from us and we take a lot of pride in delivering what the customers have asked from us over the years." The company traces its humble beginnings back to 1978, when it was formed in a small shop by Dave and Eileen Dyck. Dave was previously a long-distance truck driver and discovered that local truck box manufacturers were importing their truck tarps from the U.S. He approached a manufacturer to see if they would be interested in purchasing local tarps. After they agreed, Dave bought an industrial sewing machine, flew to Florida to conduct research and then built the heat-sealer prototype that launched Winkler Canvas. The company rapidly expanded its services over the years. In the late 1990s, it began creating fabric-covered structures for use in the hog industry and worked with a firefighting supply company to develop open-top and enclosed water tanks and berms for retaining chemical spills. In 2009, a Canadian TV series called the Re- Inventors, which featured recreations of historic inventions, approached Winkler Canvas. Using an old patent, the company recreated a suitcase that opens into a life preserver for the show. The variety of products Winkler Canvas has the capacity to manufacture became so diverse that it created two separate divisions: Winkler Structures and Winkler Covers & Containment. Beginning with hog barns, Winkler Structures has now manufactured over 4.6 million square metres of fabric structures. Winkler Covers & Containment creates products that can be used for transportation, agriculture, disaster relief and more. "When you're dealing with one guy who wants to purchase a $200-$300 truck tarp and another guy who wants to buy a $200,000-$300,000 building, you need separate divisions," Thiessen says. "Some companies will focus solely on buildings, truck tarps, or spill containment. We've kind of taken all of those industries under our umbrella." More recently, Winkler Canvas developed heated septic tanks for use in the oil and gas industry. Companies in that industry often work in remote locations and septic tanks are always an issue. "When they're hauling in their pumper trucks for the septic tanks, they normally need to have a big flat deck to haul in all these hard plastic or metal tanks," Thiessen says. "Freezing is also another issue, so we took a canvas bag tag, heat-sealed a bunch of sleeves in it, and utilized a heat cord laced through it and encased it in an insulated blanket. With our system, one pumper truck can take two to three dozen of our tanks on this one truck and it's a one-to- two man operation." Winkler Canvas has also been focusing on work with the wind-farm industry. The company has developed a tent that provides coverage when grout is applied to wind turbines. "Weather is obviously always a factor when applying grout. You can't have wind gusts, rain or cold affecting your work," Thiessen says. "Traditional hoarding tarps with wooden frames require dozens of hours of labour for installation, resulting in unnecessary costs and poor lighting. Our tent was custom made to fit around the turbine shaft. One or two guys can put it up in half an hour to 45 minutes. The tent gives them all the natural light they need and is 100 per cent weather tight." "Some companies will focus solely on buildings, truck tarps, or spill containment. We've kind of taken all of those industries under our umbrella."