Packager IPL makes technology expansion in New Brunswick plant

With help from the Government of Canada and the New Brunswick provincial government, plastics packaging manufacturer IPL Inc. will soon be producing new containers for the food industry that use 15 per cent less plastic.

Said to be the only manufacturer of food-grade plastic containers in Atlantic Canada, IPL has received funding from the federal and provincial governments for its new “SnapPack” thin-walled plastic container.

The project involved the purchase and installation of two new high tech robots and molds, allowing the company to produce its new line of thin-walled plastic containers. The new technology uses 15 per cent less plastic and produces the new containers 20 per cent faster than the ones the company previously produced at IPL’s plant in Edmundston, N.B.

The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program, is providing a repayable contribution of $1,000,000 to support this project. The Province of New Brunswick is making a contribution of $336,000, while the company itself is investing $704,060 in the project.

“This is an outstanding example of all levels of Government coming together with Industry and helping improve our ability to grow in a globally competitive environment,” IPL president Paul Richardson said in a statement.

Headquartered in Saint-Damien, Que., IPL injection molds a variety of plastic products, including thin-wall overcaps and containers. In 2012, the company received a $3 million investment through ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund to fabricate a plastic container that could safely be used for perishable products that require a shelf life of up to two years.