Polykar to ‘bolster’ its capacity with second film production site in Canada

Flexible packaging maker Polykar Inc. is building a new manufacturing site in Western Canada to help better support customers in that region.

The Saint-Laurent, Quebec-based converter has selected a 3-acre location in a business park in Edmonton, Alberta, adjacent to the city’s airport that will have a 30-million-pound-per-year capacity.

The new facility will serve the company’s customers in Western Canada and the United States, Polykar said.

“Having a dual plant model will allow the company to offer faster delivery, bolster its production capacity, as well as build and retain manufacturing capacity in the region,” the company said in a statement.

Polykar makes polyethylene film as well compostable bags, garbage bags and food and industrial grade liners. The company sells into the retail, commercial and institutional sectors.

The Edmonton site will become the company’s second facility.

“This is an important milestone for Polykar and we look to the future with confidence as we continue to develop innovative and sustainable products,” CEO Amir Karim said in a statement.

Polykar has hired FarMor Architecture of Calgary to design the 50,000-square-foot facility.

Tanya Fir, Alberta minister of economic development, trade and tourism, called the project a “potential $20 million [US$15.2 million] total investment” that will create dozens of jobs “during and after construction.”

“Polykar will be a strong addition to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region’s manufacturing sector,” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson said in a statement. “Our region is home to the entire advanced materials and plastics value chain.”

Along with manufacturing PE film and making packaging, Polykar also is a plastics recycler.

The company, last year, also unveiled plans to expand its Saint-Laurent locations by 6 million pounds of capacity. That work was to include investments in extrusion and manufacturing of both bags and packaging.