Fun for Generations — The growth of Blue Imp mirrors the growth of the playground industry
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In the beginning, there was steel. Yes, it’s a fact. The first playground equipment ever built was built of steel. And Blue Imp was one of the first - if not the first - to build it. Blue Imp Recreational Products of Canada Ltd. got its start in 1917 when Simon F. Scott founded S.F. Scott Manufacturing Ltd. in Medicine Hat. Now in its fourth generation, this familyowned Canadian company has become a leader in the playground industry, and is widely regarded as North
22 Ops Talk
By Don Scott America’s most trusted playground manufacturer. “Designing for safety and low maintenance are pre-eminent concerns,” says company president Don Scott. In the early years, S.F. Scott found success as a manufacturer of quality steel farm implements under the trade name Blue Implement. A remarkable ingenuity, and an intricate knowledge of steel, enabled Scott to adapt the company’s product lines to meet the needs of everchanging markets.
The company built its first swing set in 1936, almost 70 years ago. With materials hard to come by in the depression years, equipment was built using boiler tubing salvaged from decommissioned steam locomotives. It was in the 1950s, with the baby boom generation, that the playground industry really began to take off. People finally had time and money to devote to leisure activities. When a local Lion’s Club contracted S. F. Scott to build playground equip-
