T-Zone Meaford held their official grand opening on Thursday January 13. The new business located at 78 Sykes Street N. offers whole body vibration equipment which are touted as providing the equivalent of a 60 minute workout during a 10 minute session.
Since opening their doors in November, the facility has already attracted more than 120 members. Among the first of those members was Meaford's new Economic Development Officer Laurie Mitchell. In a media release issued prior to the official grand opening, Mitchell indicated that she had already experienced the benefits of improved mobility and increased energy.
“T-Zone is a welcome addition to downtown Meaford,” said Mitchell.
When users stand on T-Zone's Oscillating Vibration Platform, vertical vibrations are produced with a side-alternating rocking movement, similar to walking on uneven surfaces. The body reacts with an involuntary reflex muscle contraction providing a wide range of health benefits including: increased muscle strength, improved flexibility, circulation and metabolism, and improved mobility and balance.
In addition to the ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday morning, an evening information session was held featuring guest speaker Ron Menard who is the District Sales Manager for T-Zone. Approximately 20 people attended the information session.
Menard said that the vibration devices provide users with 5,000 muscle contractions during a 10 minute session. Similar equipment has been used by American and Russian space programs to help astronauts maintain muscle integrity during extended space travel. The vibration equipment in use at T-Zone have been designated Class-2 medical devices by Health Canada and Menard said that vibration therapy can be prescribed by doctors, naturopaths, and chiropractors.
Mayor Francis Richardson attended the grand opening event, and told The Independent that he is pleased to see new businesses continuing to open in the municipality.
“This is the type of business that is just perfect for the downtown of a small community,” said Richardson, “It's a unique business, and the beauty of it is that you can come in and get a reasonable amount of exercise in a very short period of time.”
Richardson said that council and staff are moving forward with plans to emphasize economic development within the municipality through implementation of the Meaford Economic Development Strategy (MEDS), and he is hopeful that the municipality will continue to draw new business ventures to the community.
Richardson said that Meaford's location and limited transportation options make the municipality an unlikely candidate for traditional industrial businesses, which means that the focus must be on smaller service operations such as T-Zone.
“I have said that all along. As long as there is space down along the 400 and 401 corridor where transportation is accessible, it's not going to matter how expensive the land is, transportation is a huge expense today,” said Richardson, “And if you've got a product that has transportation involved, then we're not situated for that, and so we are going to be looking for businesses that don't require access to transportation, and nowadays with all of the high-tech businesses, there are all sorts of things that can happen in a community like this.”
There are currently more than 50 T-Zone studios across Canada with an additional 40 expected to open over the next six months.
The Meaford location is open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm and is closed on Sundays.
