Fall CPIA forums aim to strengthen industry, academic ties

The Canadian Plastics Industry Association (CPIA) announced plans to launch a series of plastics innovation forums across Canada this fall, designed to strengthen ties between industry and academic researchers.

According to CPIA, the forums will bring researchers from universities into contact with plastics industry counterparts to seek “functional fits”, creating joint applied research projects of value to both parties.

“There is a wealth of applied R&D activity occurring within academia in Canada, which can be utilized by the Canadian plastics industry,” Dr. John Vlachopoulos, a chemical engineering professor at Ontario’s McMaster University, said in a CPIA statement.

Specifically, technology license agreements, joint development undertakings and fee for service contracts are the desired outcomes, he continued, in combination with enhancing the competitiveness of the Canadian plastics industry.

The first plastics innovation forums will be held in Toronto on October 5, 2010, and Vancouver during November. More dates and locations will be announced in the future.

For more information on the Toronto and Vancouver dates, contact Mark Badger, president and CEO of CPIA, at 905-678-7748, ext. 229.