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the HPC. Roughly 45 percent of North America’s
Photo Credit- Inter Pipeline Ltd
How did it get there?
Inter Pipeline’s off-gas business produces propane
and propylene—in fact, it’s the only producer of
polymer-grade propylene in Canada. “Because of
that business and all the propane that we produce at
our Cochrane Extraction Plant, we understand both
the propane and the propylene markets, and saw
there was a surplus of propane and a shortage of
propylene looming,” says Chappell. “We decided this RELIABILITY
makes sense, and then we discovered we actually
have a competitive advantage in transporting our
polypropylene.”
There is also a strong geographic impetus for
18 JUNE 2021 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA
polypropylene production is consumed in the US
Midwest, and Canada’s competitive rail rates and
range of routes to get into the Chicago region is a
huge advantage for the HPC. In fact, because most
of the polypropylene in the US is produced in the US
Gulf coast, it is the same or a lesser price to ship into
that region from Alberta as it is from the Gulf Coast.
“Our location is also favourable because we are not
in a region that stops productions due to hurricanes
and we are built for such extremes as colder
weather,” says Chappell.
The plant itself is fueled off natural gas, which is
significantly cheaper in Alberta than it is in the US,
providing an advantage to its competitors south of
the border.
because of that we get economies of scale,” adds
“Additionally, we are building world-scale plants and
Chappell.
Lastly, HPC benefits from good government
incentives. “You add all that together and we are
some of the lowest cost producers of polypropylene
in the world, which is where you want to be when
you are in manufacturing.”
Reliability is not just about technology and design;
it’s also about people. Chappell says, “We have
been able to hire the best people in the industry.
It’s a new and exciting business and some of the