Page 6 - City of Abbotsford

Abbotsford-based Conair Aviation has been
busy, to say the least, not only in B.C. but all

over the world. Luckily, they’ve got 51 years
of experience to draw upon, and a slogan
– “protecting our world” — to guide them.

From modest beginnings in 1969, Conair is
now a leader in providing comprehensive

aerial firefighting aircraft and services with
a team of more than 400 experienced pro-

fessionals. With hundreds of proprietary
supplemental type certificates (STC) for
modifications of a variety of aircraft, Conair “Now we’re the blueberry capital, because there’s

is the world’s most experienced aerial fire- been a switch over from raspberries to blueberries,”
fighting company. Braun explains. “We still have raspberries, but not

as much as we did when I was 14 years old, picking
Conair’s roots go back to Skyway Air Ser-
vices, which operated through the post- them during the summer.”

war ’40s, ’50s and ’60s as an aerial insect/
crop spraying, pilot-training business. Notably, agriculture is one of the sectors that has
been least affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, Conair boasts a fleet of 72 aerial
firefighting aircraft with operations across As the sector continues to evolve, Abbotsford

Canada, the United States, France and Aus- is experiencing new opportunities in agriculture
tralia. “We just love what we do and have technology and innovation, driving more economic
stayed curious about figuring out the best opportunity for the region.

way to do our jobs to support the aerial fire-
fighting industry. It’s never a matter of ‘That Other important industries in Abbotsford are

can’t be done’ when we are presented with transportation, advanced manufacturing and
a challenge; our teams always approach aerospace and aviation.
things from the perspective of ‘What do we

need to do to make this happen?’ and that ABBOTSFORD LAW
has served us well,” says chairman and
CEO Barry Marsden about Conair’s success. COURTS PROJECT

In terms of development, a new $150-million

www.conair.ca courthouse in the City Centre Civic Precinct is
estimated to have created more than 1,000 jobs

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