Saint-Laurent, Quebec — Flexible packaging maker Polykar Inc. broke ground on a 50,000-square-foot plant in Edmonton, Alberta, on July 8.
The Saint-Laurent-based film extruder and converter announced plans for the facility in 2019. The company said construction of the facility, which will be its second, is the first phase of what will become a C$40 million (US$32 million) investment to create a center of excellence for developing and commercializing flexible and compostable packaging.
Expected to be fully operational by spring 2022, the plant will also include a plastics recycling operation. The new plant will employ a total of 70 within the first two years of operation. Polykar has already opened a temporary warehouse in Edmonton to serve customers in the region.
Polykar was recently named one of Canada's Best Managed Companies by Deloitte.
"We selected Edmonton and Alberta as the ideal location for our second Canadian plant for its dynamism, its openness to the manufacturing sector, and most importantly, because of its highly qualified, skilled and diverse labor force," President and CEO Amir Karim said in a news release.
In a community engagement move, the company also announced that its Polykar Foundation was donating C$50,000 (US$40,000) to the University of Alberta's Faculty of Extension to fund a new pilot program entitled, "Micro-Credentials: Communication Skills for the Workplace."