‘They go like crazy’: Binbrook-area manufacturer sells toboggans for charity

Fast, durable and colourful, these Binbrook-made toboggans serve a higher purpose than making winter fun.

Their sales are expected to result in thousands of dollars - with a goal of $50,000 to $100,000 - for local and Canadian charities.

For the second year in a row, Maljohn Plastics is selling high-end sleds made of scrap plastic - specifically, quarter-inch ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene - from spouts, chutes, funnels and component parts for machinery to fundraise for charities, many of which have struggled during the pandemic.

Owner Malcolm Johnson said the low-coefficient of friction material makes the sleds fast.

They go like crazy," the 78-year-old said. We actually have a label on it that says Do not use on a hill that leads to a lake or a river or a railroad track or a road.' It goes much further than the standard toboggan."

At $99 for a five-foot toboggan and $83 for a four-foot, these winter toys come at a higher price point than your average plastic sled. But the Hamilton-area manufacturer, which has produced impact- and abrasion-resistant plastics for more than 40 years, says the sleds typically last decades.

I have customers that I gave them (to) 30-plus years ago whose grandchildren are now using the toboggans," he said.

Johnson has made toboggans as gifts for customers, family and friends since the 1980s, but last Christmas was the first year the company has sold them as a holiday fundraiser.

The company sold more than 400 toboggans and donated 100 per cent of the proceeds to charities Ronald McDonald House, the Good Samaritan and Hamilton's Welcome Inn Community Centre.

In 2020-21, the company donated more than $51,000 in total, mostly from toboggan sales. Johnson said he hopes to top that this year, during what will be another pandemic holiday season.

Their sled-makers - often people who have been laid off or need extra money during the pandemic - have already assembled about 340 sleds, and the company has materials to make double that with demand. One of their suppliers, Orangeville-based Rochling Plastics, donated enough materials to make hundreds of sleds.

It's lifted my spirits," he said. I'm not a person that gets down, but we miss our social lives these days, don't we?"

Toboggans can be purchased up until and after Dec. 25 by calling 905-692-5404, ext. 224 or 227, and can be paid for over the phone by credit card.

Kate McCullough is an education reporter at The Spectator. kmccullough@thespec.com