IPEX is Committed
to Excellence
This plastic piping system manufacturing company
has taken part in some major Saskatchewan projects
By Pat Rediger
Even if you’re unfamiliar with the company’s name, you’ve undoubtedly caught a glimpse of
IPEX Inc.’s handiwork. The company is one of North America’s largest plastic piping system
manufacturers, with approximately 2,500 employees across North America, 15 manufacturing
facilities and 10 sales offices in Canada, and another five plants located in the U.S.
The company makes products from several versatile thermoplastics such as Polyvinyl-Chloride
(PVC), Chlorinated Polyvinyl-Chloride (CPVC), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyethylene
(PE) and Polypropylene (PP).
“I’m reasonably new at the company and when I first started a little over a year ago, I didn’t know
much about the industry or IPEX, but when you start looking around at pipes you’ll notice that
our name is on everything,” said Brett McCormick, Saskatchewan municipal sales representative
for IPEX. “If you look at the furnace in your house and the flue gas venting system, it’s likely going
to be from IPEX.
“IPEX systems can be found wherever people live, work and play: below streets, inside walls and
under counters. As a trusted name in building and infrastructure for more than 50 years, we’re a
customer-focused company that grows through product innovation broadening the solution for
the entire industry.”
IPEX’s connections to Saskatchewan goes back to the companies Scepter Manufacturing and
Canron Pipe, the two largest plastic piping manufacturers in Canada, which merged in 1992 to
form IPEX.
Canron, founded in the late 19th century under the company name Canada Iron, began by man-ufacturing
PHOTOS COURTESY OF IPEX 24 Think BIG | Quarter 1 2019 | saskheavy.ca
cast iron water mains and municipal castings. Canada Iron later became Canron Inc.
and evolved into several divisions. The company entered the plastic pipe business in the early
1980s and eventually, with the demand for plastic pipe growing steadily, decided to focus solely on
this business. Canron had a manufacturing plant and sales office in Weyburn prior to the merg-er,
where the company focused on making ABS drainage pipe and LDPE pressure pipe products.
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