CPIA names Leader of the Year, other award winners

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) has named its industry award winners for 2010, including its prestigious Leader of the Year. 

Industry veteran Harvey Rosenbloom, owner of Toronto-based carry out plastic bag manufacturer Hymopack Ltd. and Laval, Que.-based foam tray supplier Dyne-A-Pak Inc., has been chosen as the Leader of the Year. The Leader award has been given out since 1966 to individuals that are widely recognized as having made important contributions to their businesses, to their communities and to the Canadian plastics industry.

CPIA also announced the recipients of new awards for technical innovation and environmental stewardship. 

The Plastics Innovator of the Year award has been given to Werner Amsler, founder of Richmond Hill, Ont.-based blow molding machine manufacturer W. Amsler Equipment. In 2009, the company unveiled a fully automatic loading system for wide mouth performs up to 89 mm, a new flexible PET machine series that allows for adjustable cavitations on PET blow machines, and a modular semi-automatic palletizer that provides fully automatic operation through the purchase of additional modules.

Two Plastics Stewardship awards have been given out. The first is to Guelph, Ont.-based bottle manufacturer Nestle Waters Canada for its achievements in lightweighting. Earlier this year, Guelph, Ont.-based Nestle Waters unveiled their next generation 500 ml drink bottle, containing 27 per cent less plastic than its predecessor. The second Stewardship award winner is Brampton, Ont.-based Par-Pak Ltd. for its extensive efforts in recycling and energy conservation.

The awards will be presented during CPIA’s annual general meeting on June 3, 2010 at the Toronto Congress Centre. 

Profiles of each of the winners will be included in the June 2010 issue of Canadian Plastics.