Zealand are the company's chief customers. One of their most popular products are tow lines for waterskis -- those sturdy nylon ropes with the handles -- as well as cord and rope for the boating industry, fishing nets, dog and cat leashes, and various manufacturing industries. Polypropylene, nylon, polyester, Kevlar and Stectra are the materials used to make most of the company's products. Arriv- ing on spools weighing about 10 pounds each, thfe strands are woven together to make ropes of varying thicknesses. Anything with a diameter oneeighth of an inch or smaller is considered cordl while anything larger -- up to about four inches in diameter -- ijs called rope, said Godin. Preston Cordl even manufactures rope for several provincial hydro companies, including 16 million feet a ydar for B.C. Hydro. They also majke something called a throwing bag, a length of rope attached to a weighted bag used as lifesaving devices. Both the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard use throwing bags; they're also popular in the boating and lifeguarding communities, said Godin. The super-strong nylon and polyester blends ensure superior strength and, Godin says, "a better product that our customer say they can't find elsewhere." Most of the company's products leave the plant as bales of cord or rope; shipping is done daily by truck, train and freighter. They go to wholesalers and distributors, as Preston Cord doesn't sell direct to retailers. Running six days a week, 24hours-a-day, the plant is also environmentally friendly, explained Godin. "All of our materials are reused and recycled, from our scrap cord, which is reground and used again, and our cardboard spools, which are sent away to be refilled. At the entire facility, we put out maybe one bag of trash per month."