Business Stories

Known throughout the world for its safety and environmental protection products for the oil and gas industry, Lea-Der Coatings made its start in Spruce Grove in 1994. A year after the company went global in 2006 with Lea-Der International, Darrell Demers, a long-time employee, purchased it and continued to build on its success. Now distributors in the US, Middle East, Mexico, Europe, Russia, Asia, and North Africa market an array of products that contribute to human safety, environmental protection, water filtration, noise reduction and more.

The company has made great strides in not only expanding globally, but also diversifying—Lea-Der Medical Services, an entirely new division, was incorporated in 2020. The division offers many new products related to the medical field and provides onsite drug and alcohol testing. Timing was right to allow the company to contribute to human and community safety with the rise of COVID-19, by distributing specialized sanitizing wipes and air filtration systems that help prevent the spread of the virus. Collaboration with several other companies and Global Affairs Canada is underway to bring Lea-Der Medical Services to the global stage as well.

When it came time for expansion, Darrell chose to stay in Spruce Grove, keeping Lea-Der’s 12 employees in the new 10,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Spruce Grove Industrial Park. “Everything we need is here in Spruce Grove,” says Darrell. “The location is central to the domestic drilling market, we have support from the Mayor and Council, and the city is very family oriented to support our staff.”

While the company is best known for their drill floor traction matting, which is used in a wide variety of applications, they are always interested in new opportunities to serve customers in heavy industry and other sectors. Lea-Der is partnering with Northern Oil Research Technologies to upgrade bitumen at a low temperature, a process that creates less greenhouse gases in the process. The innovative technology has been patented to distribute to major oil company providers and produce a positive impact for the environment.

Looking toward the future, Lea-Der is always progressing. “We’ve been very fortunate in that our greatest strength is achieving our goals. We’ve met and exceeded them through the dedication and abilities of our employees.”