Nova Chemicals Opens New Center for Performance Applications

The Polyethylene Business of Nova Chemicals Corp., Moon Township, Penn, has opened up its newly transformed Center for Performance Applications (“Centre”) at the company’s headquarters location in Calgary, Alberta. This facility further expands on the former Nova Chemicals Technical Center and is dedicated to PE resin testing and applications development.

The Centre serves as a hub for Nova’s experts to support customers in developing higher-value products and applications, with R&D capabilities for markets such as food packaging, caps and closures, and heavy-duty sacks. Much of the recently completed new wing is dedicated to customer collaboration. “Our expanded capabilities allow us to perform product development work and trials that simulate customer manufacturing methods and application performance under real-world conditions,” said v.p. of technology Daryl Harrison.

To enhance the flexible films business, the company Centre now has an extensive suite of conversion equipment—from collation shrink to adhesive lamination and vertical form fill seal as well as physical and analytical test lab equipment. Investments in rigid plastics molding capabilities include a new SACMI compression molder and Sumitomo Demag injection molding press which 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. An upgraded rotational molder provides improved reliability, data quality, process control and ergonomics.

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