Features
A cool comeback in conformal cooling
by Canadian PlasticsIndustry veteran Pat Zaffino and his team are back in business with a game changing conformal cooling technology for injection molds.
Building schoolrooms from plastic waste in West Africa
by Canadian PlasticsConceptos Plasticos, a Colombian non-profit group, has partnered with UNICEF to collect plastic waste in the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire and turn it into modular plastic bricks to build classrooms.
Straw maker Stone Straw fights back with bioplastic straws
by Canadian PlasticsTraditional plastic straws are an endangered species nowadays, which is why this well-known Brantford, Ont.-based extruder is making the move to an eco-friendly plant-based alternative.
PET Technologies says aloha to Hawaiian water bottler
by Canadian PlasticsAs part of its push into North America, the Austria-based maker of blow molding machines recently sold an APF-6004 automatic stretch blow molding unit for PET bottles to Hawaiian bottled water supplier Waiākea Water.
Customer Relationship Management software gets smart
by Canadian PlasticsA new machine learning solution from Montreal-based AxiPolymer Inc. is designed to boost the effectiveness of CRM software.
GreenMantra Technologies: Waste not, want not
by Canadian PlasticsBy transforming post-consumer plastics into value-added polymers and waxes, this Brantford, Ont.-based clean technology company is offering processors a whole new world of specialty materials.
Polymers give early warning signs of stress
by Canadian PlasticsResearchers from Switzerland’s University of Fribourg and Japan’s Hokkaido University have devised a polymer with a sensor molecule that glows when it’s stretched, signalling that mechanical stress is building towards a catastrophic part failure.
A new chapter begins for En-Plas
by Canadian PlasticsAfter 31 years in the same plant, well-known machinery sales firm En-Plas Inc. has moved into a new, more efficient headquarters in Toronto.
Montreal researchers create plastic from lobster shells
by Canadian PlasticsMcGill University researchers have developed a new chemical process that could turn lobster, shrimp, and crab shells into biodegradable plastic.
Bendable, conductive polymer film for consumer electronics also has healthcare potential
by Canadian PlasticsPurdue University researchers are working to use a new polymer film, which could make smartphones more bendable, to create tailor-made sensors that could non-invasively monitor glucose levels, heart rate or other biomedical metrics.
Techflow Design & Manufacturing is moving on up
by Canadian PlasticsThis Ontario-based blown film machinery and plastic extrusion equipment maker has a good reason for expanding into a new, larger facility in Mississauga: business is booming.
Here’s a first: BASF is making products with chemically recycled plastics
by Canadian PlasticsThe German chemical maker is breaking new ground in the circular economy with plastic waste as a source of raw materials.
Using sunlight to make polymers
by Canadian PlasticsResearchers at Rice University are developing a way to use sunlight to grow functional synthetic polymers using photosensitive quantum dots as a catalyst.
As sales go up, MAGUIRE CANADA doubles down on service
by Canadian PlasticsThe Vaughan, Ont.-based auxiliary equipment supplier uses its crack service team – and backup service provider M.T. Innovations – to get the job done.
ADDITIVE METAL MANUFACTURING wants to make you more competitive
by Canadian PlasticsThis Concord, Ont.-based engineering and design consulting firm is rewriting the book on mold heat removal by 3D printing inserts with complex cooling channels that can dramatically cut cycle times and consolidate manufacturing processes. And it might just be the kick in the pants that Canada’s plastics processors need to start kicking butt globally.
EMMIE LEUNG: CPIA’s Leader of the Year
by Canadian PlasticsFrom bag lady to leading lady: Emmie Leung has risen from driving a rented van for her one-woman curbside recycling company to being the CEO of Emterra Group.
New technology lets processors get smart with artificial intelligence
by Canadian PlasticsA new machine learning solution developed by Montreal-based AxiPolymer Inc. is designed to make it easier for large-sized plastics processors to embrace artificial intelligence.
Rotogran International is getting very big in granulation
by Canadian PlasticsBooming sales, a recent relocation into a bigger plant, and a deep dive into making larger granulators all signal the start of a new era for this Southern Ontario-based size reduction equipment manufacturer.
Ontario firm pops the lid on a new concept in peelable IMLs
by Canadian PlasticsCreated by Mississauga, Ont.-based packaging design firm KBS Impact Inc., the lids can save container weight – and costs – by using a peelable in-mold label that that acts as a tamper-evident seal.
Techstar Plastics: Prospering in Port Perry
by Canadian PlasticsAs they hit a milestone, the owners of rotational molder Techstar Plastics look back on four decades of stress and success.