Sabic opens Cobourg, Ont. innovation centre

Sabic Innovative Plastics opened it Centre for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI), a state-of-the-art research laboratory, at its Cobourg, Ont. manufacturing facility.

The CMI, which was funded with $700,000 matching funds from the Province of Ontario’s Rural Economic Development Program, will work collaboratively with area universities and colleges to expand plastics manufacturing knowledge and expertise.

“This investment is a part of the McGuinty government’s strategy to support research and innovation that will build on regional strengths to boost Ontario’s economy and create the next generation of good-paying jobs for families living in Eastern Ontario, and all across the province,” Provincial Parliament Member Lou Rinaldi told attendees during the opening ceremony.

Specialized equipment in the CMI includes an Equitech Online Colour Meter, which monitors colour of the melt inside the extruder; a Dynisco VS1000 Online Rheometer for experimentation with online melt flow measurements; and a 26 mm nine-barrel Coperion extruder with side stuffer and two feeders. The lab also features donated equipment from Sabic, including a mould machine for colour chips, a Macbeth Colour Eye 7000, a colour booth, a Tinius Olsen MP600 Melt Indexer, a Thermo Instruments Nicolet FTIR Impact 410, and an impact tester.

According to Sabic, the CMI will be available to students and faculty from institutions such as the University of Waterloo, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), and others who are pursuing plastics research and manufacturing projects. Staff members from the Cobourg facility will oversee and assist the academic researchers.