SPOTLIGHT
ISLAND TRAPS
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For more than 12 years , Island Traps Ltd . in Clark ’ s Harbour , Nova Scotia , has been manufacturing wire lobster traps . The company is owned and run by Rob and Nicole Hurlburt . In addition , they operate a local hardware store and also have a small mill in which they make their own runners for their traps . They will supply other trap builders with runners as well . Incorporated in July of 2009 , the company employs about 20 employees , some of them seasonal and some full time .
Nicole worked for the business before it became Island Traps and says that she just loved working with the fishermen , making lobster traps to their specifications . Her dad was a fisherman , and she understood the importance of having a good fishing product .
More than just traps , the company offers paint supplies , feed and farm supplies , propane tanks , gun shells , boat hardware , supplies for fishermen , and much more !
Nicole began working for the company at the age of 18 when her mother needed a helper at her job rigging traps , and Nicole found it much more rewarding than working in the fish plants . She adds that she didn ’ t get nearly as stinky either ! She claims that she never wanted to run the business , she just liked working there ! But God had other plans .
Rob , on the other hand , worked in the lumber industry as his family ran a lumber mill . While Rob and Nicole were engaged to be married , the business — later to be named Island Traps — came up for sale , and thinking it would be a good investment , they made the purchase with the faith that this was God ’ s plan for them . The early days consisted of a lot of hard work and
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