When standard wasn’t an option, we built better.

Air Canada Jazz came to D Merchandising with an ongoing winter safety challenge involving its Express and Switchback passenger ramps.

During Canadian winters, these ramps are constantly exposed to snow, ice, and extreme temperatures. Without a protective covering, crews are required to repeatedly shovel and clear the ramp surfaces. Over time, that process can wear away the ramp's grip surface, exposing the aluminum underneath and creating areas where ice can form and passengers or employees can slip.

It was not simply a merchandising request.

They needed a solution to a problem that did not yet have one.

D Merchandising worked alongside our manufacturing and development teams to engineer a completely custom protective ramp-cover system designed specifically for aviation use in extreme winter environments.

The primary challenge was safety.

Air Canada Jazz needed a way to protect its existing ramp surfaces from snow and ice while reducing the constant need for aggressive shovelling and ice removal that could further damage the ramp's grip.

There was also no existing off-the-shelf cover designed specifically for these ramps.

The solution needed to withstand extreme Canadian temperatures, resist tearing and puncturing, remain securely attached to the ramp, and prevent snow from working its way underneath the cover.

It also needed to be simple enough for ground crews to install and remove while operating in demanding airport environments.

This meant we weren't sourcing an existing product.

We had to engineer one from the ground up.

D Merchandising developed a proprietary material called Fabric Shield™, engineered specifically for demanding applications requiring exceptional durability.

The material is designed to be:

Highly resistant to ripping and tearing Puncture resistant Built for extreme cold-weather environments Durable enough for repeated commercial aviation use

Using Fabric Shield™, we engineered the first custom cover for the Air Canada Express ramp.

The cover incorporates straps and secure attachment points positioned approximately every 32 inches along the ramp, helping keep the material tightly secured across the walking surface.

At the base, we developed an integrated metal-bar system that allows the cover to wrap securely around the bottom of the ramp, creating a tighter closure and helping prevent snow from travelling underneath.

Every component was designed around the physical ramp itself rather than adapting an existing cover to fit.

Before moving into production, Air Canada Jazz purchased an initial unit and put the cover through an extensive real-world test.

The product was sent to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, where it was used through an entire winter season in temperatures reaching approximately -40°C.

Our ramp cover was tested alongside a competing solution under the same demanding conditions.

After a full season of testing, the D Merchandising system was selected.

That successful trial ultimately led to our first production order for the Express Ramp Cover.

Following the success of the Express Ramp Cover, Air Canada Jazz approached us with an even larger challenge: protecting the Switchback Ramp.

The Switchback is a three-tier passenger ramp approximately three times the size and significantly more complex than the original Express ramp.

D Merchandising has since developed a completely custom Switchback Ramp Cover system using the same Fabric Shield™ technology and engineering principles developed for the original project.

The system was designed around the multiple sections, transitions, and connection points of the Switchback rather than attempting to create one oversized generic cover.

What began as a winter safety problem became an entirely new aviation product.

D Merchandising went from identifying the problem and developing the material to engineering the attachment system, producing the prototype, completing a full winter test in Yellowknife, and ultimately receiving the first production order.

Today, our system provides a purpose-built covering solution for both Express and Switchback passenger ramps, products developed specifically around equipment for which a dedicated solution did not previously exist.

The project represents exactly what D Merchandising was built to do: not simply manufacture what already exists, but identify a problem, engineer a solution, test it in the real world, and bring an entirely new product into production.

It didn't exist, so we engineered it. Tested at -40°C. Proven through a Canadian winter. Now in production.