By: Fatema Fatakdawala
On Tuesday, May 29th, 2012, the Altitude Accelerator hosted a Tech Leader’s Network peer to peer session at the Xerox Research Centre Canada with the topic Cutting Edge Technologies in Plastic Manufacturing. The luncheon was designed to give emerging and established businesses in the plastics sector a sneak peek at some of the cool, cutting edge innovations at IPEX, a leading thermoplastic piping systems manufacturer as well as exposure to the breadth of resources available to them through the Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA). As you may have guessed, our two speakers were Richard St. Aubin, Director of Science and Innovation at IPEX Inc. and Carol Hochu, President and CEO at the CPIA.
After Dr. Paul Smith, VP and Centre Manager at Xerox presented some opening remarks, Richard started off with a brief history of the IPEX group. With over 50 years of experience in the plastics industry, he explained how this company continues to innovate on a regular basis to make their processes and products as efficient as possible. He stressed that IPEX’s line of products boast high quality as opposed to low cost and they are not vertically integrated. Their major product is PVC pipes which have several advantages over the traditional iron or cement pipe systems such as lower weight, less erosion, low cost and the need for fewer tools during construction.
Next, Carol talked about the CPIA. This is an organization that is dedicated to helping plastic businesses grow and nurture innovation. In fact, IPEX is a member of the CPIA. One of the key initiatives the CPIA is committed to is reducing the amount of plastic waste from landfills by reusing it for energy recovery. The session ended with some interesting discussion around the political and economic climate in the plastic space. Indeed, it was a great networking opportunity for innovators in the Peel region’s plastic manufacturing sector.
Fatema joins the RIC team as the Communications Officer responsible for marketing, social media, event and web management. She is a graduate student pursuing her final year in the Master of Biotechnology program at the University of Toronto Mississauga.
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