NOVA Chemicals Announces Opening of Centre for Performance Applications
Facility expansion and equipment investments allow for increased innovation and customer collaboration within polyethylene resins business
Calgary, Alberta, Canada (May 10, 2016) – The Polyethylene (PE) Business of NOVA Chemicals Corporation (“NOVA Chemicals”) today unveils the transformed Centre for Performance Applications (“Centre”) in Calgary. This facility expands upon the former NOVA Chemicals Technical Centre (NCTC) and is dedicated to PE resin testing and applications development.
With a recently completed new wing, much of it dedicated to customer collaboration, the Centre for Performance Applications serves as a hub for NOVA Chemicals’ experts to support customers in developing higher-value products and applications. The expanded Centre offers industry-leading research and development capabilities for a number of markets, including food packaging, caps and closures and heavy duty sacks.
“The opening of the expanded Centre for Performance Applications is the culmination of tremendous investments, focus and the efforts of numerous people,” said Daryll Harrison, VP, Technology, NOVA Chemicals. “Our expanded capabilities allow us to perform product development work and trials that simulate customer manufacturing methods and application performance under real-world conditions—a distinct advantage in our competitive landscape.”
A range of new equipment and upgrades has been installed at the Centre, allowing its applications development experts to perform critical work and even reimagine how PE resins are used. Investments to enhance our flexible films applications development capabilities include an extensive suite of conversion equipment, physical and analytical test lab equipment, and more. Conversion capabilities help meet a range of customer trial requirements, from collation shrink to adhesive lamination and vertical form fill seal. In addition, NOVA Chemicals is the only major PE resin producer in North America to have a nine-layer blown film line for rapid multilayer film prototyping in a dedicated development environment.
Significant investments were also made in rigid plastics molding capabilities. A new SACMI compression molder and Sumitomo Demag injection molding press together fully replicate caps and closures’ manufacturing processes, while a state-of-the-art caps and closures lab uses a suite of industry-leading “in-use performance” equipment to measure closure performance under real-world conditions. An upgraded rotational molder provides improved reliability, data quality, process control and ergonomics.
“The Centre allows us to deliver even greater value to our customers and to the PE market,” said Carrie Richards, Marketing Director, NOVA Chemicals Polyethylene Business. “Our goal is to help our customers succeed. This newly expanded facility enables us to collaborate and innovate to help our customers bring better-designed, better-performing products to market more quickly.”
The Centre for Performance Applications complements the NOVA Chemicals Centre for Applied Research, a research and development facility that focuses on product and process improvements, new resins and breakthrough innovations, also in Calgary. Together, these facilities allow for step-change and pioneering advancements within the PE resin industry.
To learn more, visit www.novachemicals.com.
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About NOVA Chemicals
NOVA Chemicals develops and manufactures chemicals and plastic resins that make everyday life safer, healthier and easier. Our employees work to ensure health, safety, security and environmental stewardship through our commitment to sustainability and Responsible Care®. NOVA Chemicals, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
About NOVA Chemicals Polyethylene Business
The NOVA Chemicals polyethylene business enables its customers’ success with a portfolio of more than 125 specialized SURPASS®, SCLAIR® and NOVAPOL® resins. Each new NOVA Chemicals resin is developed to meet customer requirements, from drop-in consistency to step-out performance attributes. Our customer-centric approach is driven by our brand promises of Focused Expertise, Applied Innovation, Proactive Service and Reliable Supply.
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Media inquiries, please contact:
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Tel: +1.412.512.6542
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The NOVA Chemicals logo and NOVAPOL are registered trademarks of NOVA Brands Ltd.; authorized use. SCLAIR and SURPASS are registered trademarks of NOVA Chemicals Corporation in Canada and of NOVA Chemicals (International) S.A. elsewhere; authorized use. Responsible Care is a registered trademark of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada.
