“I’ve told these guys that if I see you sending email, I’ll break your fingers. Go look at the whites of their eyes. Shake their hand and tell them ‘thank you for feeding my family’. It’s a big deal,” says Gregg Hampton, CEO of Canyon Rigging.
After all, Hampton and his wife, Debbie, appreciated every early customer that helped them get the company off the ground 25 years ago, and they appreciate every customer that continues to support the growing business. Canyon Rigging started in a shed on the Hampton’s acreage and the duo sacrificed to make their dream grow.

“We could hardly afford to feed our kids. Those days are not like today. But without those days we wouldn’t have these days,” he says.
These days, Canyon Rigging enjoys a stellar reputation for quality and service in the industry which has attracted notable companies in the construction, agriculture and energy sectors as clients. The company outgrew the acreage and moved to an impressive 20,000-square-foot facility in southeast Calgary and grew to 52 hardworking employees who meet the evolving demands of the industry.

Those demands have opened the door to expansion geographically, with Canyon Rigging establishing a branch in Grande Prairie in 2021 and a new location in the works in Vancouver, as well as in product scope.

Hampton and son-in-law Dan Harris have introduced a new service company called RIG-IT Restraints that operates under the Canyon Rigging umbrella. It provides patented high-quality flow line restraint systems to minimize damage and danger to personnel in the event of a line separation. In the few short years since introducing this product, RIG-IT has become the leading restraint supplier in North America and continues to develop a global presence.

“There were already flow line restraint products on the market, but we had the skillset, mindset and know-how to make improvements, and we’re getting loyal clients because we back it up with our service,” says Dan Harris, president of Canyon Rigging.

Both RIG-IT and Canyon’s products are centred around safety, so the team tests every new product for strength and recertifies used products to ensure they still meet working-load standards. Not only does this speak to the quality of Canyon’s products and the team’s commitment to safety, but the in-house pull testers also offer affirmation that the product will perform as promised.

“We like to invite people in and show them how good the product is. Why do we push that product? Because I have seen that it’s better. I’ve watched it be stronger. We’re talking about 100 tons of material that you’re lifting into the air above people. It’s important to have something that can verify what we say,” says Nick Keddie, vice president of Canyon Rigging.

To further the safety discussions in the industry, the management team is involved with industry associations and government committees geared at advancing safety in the business while helping shape the industry of tomorrow.

Canyon Rigging is a major player in tomorrow’s industry as it produces high-quality Canadian-made rigging products, supports those products with unparalleled service and builds relationships to ensure clients never want to do business with anyone else. As an agile business that operates at 100 miles an hour, the team can switch directions quickly in order to sidestep hazards or capitalize on opportunities.

Whether clients are looking for basic tire chains, custom anchoring slings or anything in between, Canyon Rigging has quick-turnaround tailored solutions that keep clients’ projects running smoothly. The fact that their trademark orange products are produced in Canada by Canadians is a source of pride for everyone at Canyon Rigging and it reflects the core values on which the company was built.

“Before it was trendy to bring your outsourcing back from China, Gregg was already investing in people here in Canada and building up an industry that other people weren’t investing in,” says Keddie. “We keep it local. It’s our family values.”
There aren’t many Canadian companies that have industrial sewing machines in their shops, and Canyon has several employees trained on these powerful machines in order to keep custom products flowing out the door. And the staff is a collaborative group that looks out for each other and helps out wherever needed. Canyon Rigging is a true family business, and each of the long-time employees are a valued part of the extended Hamptons family.

“I just can’t say enough about our staff, as without them we have no company, plain and simple. We say at Canyon that our staff bleeds orange, and that pretty much speaks for itself,” says Debbie Hampton. Gregg Hampton agrees, adding, “We’re all pretty good people as individuals, fair and honest, but together, you’re going to have to get the hell out of the way because there is nothing this bunch can’t do.”

The founders are proud of the team they’ve assembled and think of the management team as their own sons. Gregg Hampton has mentored Keddie, Harris and general manager Dave Edels for years and is confident that there couldn’t be better guys to take the company into the future. While he has no plans to retire any time soon, he knows the legacy he and Debbie built is in safe hands. It’s an honour the next generation doesn’t take lightly.

“The DNA of Canyon, the fundamentals of the company, is the same but we’ve been very successful in moving it more into the 21st century,” says Harris.

And the 21st century Canyon Rigging is applying the lessons learned in the shed 25 years ago to position the company for continued growth in Canada and beyond.

Phone: 587-471-6984 | Fax: 587-471-7988

Calgary: 4318-110 Ave South East,
Calgary, Alberta T2C 0J6

Grande Prairie: 14411 95 St,
Grande Prairie, AB T8V 7V7

Hours of Operation:
7:30 AM-5:00 PM | Mon-Fri

www.canyonrigging.com