London Mat Industries

Although few visitors even notice them, safety mats are one the most important items at any amusement park. These mats use sensors to determine whether people are in unsafe locations around machinery (such as a fair ride), and can stop the operating machinery immediately in order to prevent accidents. Located in London, Ontario, London Mat Industries Ltd. (London Mat) supplies these sensor mats to clients in the transit, car wash, and safety industries.

Robert Keats, general manager of London Mat, reveals a sample rubber mat with a switch built into it. Upon detecting weight on the mat, the device can be used to do anything from shut down an amusement park ride to count the number of people boarding a bus. Keats pulls out another mat resembling sleek wood flooring, and excitedly demonstrates, “They can also have very unique finishes.” He continues, “We don’t make what we want; we listen to our clients and make what our clients want and need. [This particular] client had an advanced manufacturing facility with beautiful wood flooring and wanted safety mats fitting the design too.” Keats is an electrician by trade, but held many sales positions before joining London Mat in 2001.

London Mat also adapts the electrical components of its mats, depending on the project. Keats demonstrates how another set of mats fits together like a puzzle, leaving no dangling wires. “This allowed our client to minimize their installation costs,” he says. Keats has supplied mats to advanced manufacturing facilities with very powerful equipment. The safety industry has been a high-growth sector for London Mat because government safety requirements for facilities have become increasingly stringent. Particularly with respect to amusement parks, London Mat plays a key role in helping workers and consumers remain safe and enjoy all of the cotton candy, roller coasters, and laughter that these events have to offer.

Now owned by an American company, Tapeswitch Corporation (which is part of a group of privately owned companies), London Mat has come a long way in its 50 years of operations, and continuously adapts to cater to its clients’ needs. Keats also emphasizes that the company is fortunate to have the strong, skilled team that it currently employs.

What’s next for London Mat? Keats states, “Firms need to flexible, just like Canadian leaders, Linamar and Magna International Inc. London Mat has a diverse portfolio supplying mats to clients from a variety of industries, and [it] will continue to do so. As the safety industry continues to grow and new client relationships develop, we will keep competing.”