MEMBER PROFILE
Scepter, founded in the early 1950s, was one of the first plas-tics
extruders in Canada. The company expanded from produc-ing
consumer products such as hula hoops into making PVC
pipe in the late 1950s. One of the oldest pipe installations in
Canada was a 10” Scepter PVC drain pipe installed in 1959 on
a bridge crossing in Edmonton, which is still providing reliable
service today. Before the merger happened, Scepter had a sales
and supply branch in Saskatoon and focused on serving as a
supplier to water works contractors.
McCormick noted that the strengths of each company com-plemented
each other and created a force in the Canadian
construction market, taking plastic piping to new heights and ap-plications.
Today, IPEX operates a sales office out of Saskatoon.
“Saskatchewan has been at the forefront of some pretty large
and innovative projects,” McCormick said. “It’s a cool area to be
involved in and I think that speaks volumes to the quality con-tractors
that the heavy construction industry in Saskatchewan
has. Owners have a lot of confidence in the contractors and the
contractors have great relationships with manufacturers and
engineers to design innovative projects and execute them.”
Through its Saskatchewan office, IPEX is focused on numer-ous
tasks such as selling and providing expertise on its prod-ucts.
McCormick describes it as a “distribution on all fronts”
model, whether the market segment is municipal products,
plumbing/mechanical, industrial, electrical or PE electrofusion
products. IPEX puts an emphasis on supporting its customers
throughout the province.
“As a manufacturer, we try and make sure we’re available
at every level of the jobs being done, whether it’s engineer-ing
needing details, contractors needing some onsite help, or
some of our products that need some support or supervision,”
he said. “We’re always available. We want to be a great presence
for our wholesalers.”
Over the years, IPEX has taken part in several major
Saskatchewan projects. From 2012-13, IPEX was involved in the
upgrade of the Zelma East Facility to meet the future demands
of the South-East Water Supply System. The project includ-ed
the installation of 94 km of new pipeline running from the
Zelma Reservoir to the BHP Billiton Jansen potash mine. IPEX
supplied 58 km of (750mm) 30” PVC pressure pipe.
“This was a massive project for the company to be involved
in,” McCormick said. “Saskatchewan has a bit of an interesting
market. Our resource industry allows these large scope proj-ects
to take place.”
IPEX large diameter piping is
similar in size to a small car
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26 Think BIG | Quarter 1 2019 | saskheavy.ca
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