To Orillia and beyond: EcoPoly Solutions invests in sustainability and growth

In the latest chapter in what’s becoming a genuine Canadian success story, EcoPoly Solutions Inc., an Orillia, Ont.-based film maker known for its 100 per cent recycled raw material products, is investing $32 million to enhance its manufacturing plant and create almost 90 new jobs.

Said to be the first full-service plastics laboratory and manufacturing facility in the world, EcoPoly Solutions uses an in-house plastics recycling system to produce biodegradable plastic products, from bread bags to poly tubes, for a range of industries. It produces agricultural film, can liners, and food and industrial packaging products.

Demand for its products has been growing in recent years and, according to Kristan Rynard, the company’s chief sales officer, EcoPoly Solutions will use the investment to acquire new equipment and automation with a goal of increasing production capacity and competitiveness in the North American market. “We’ve already implemented enhancement with new research, new equipment, new employees, new products, and product relaunches,” she said.

In support of this most recent investment, the province of Ontario is providing more than $3.5 million in funding through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF) of the Regional Development Program, which is meant to help manufacturers in Ontario grow.

And the SWODF funding comes on the heels of a $5 million investment in EcoPoly Solutions made by the federal government in September 2023, to help add 50 new jobs and boost its production capabilities.

Add it all up and it’s no wonder the innovative firm feels ready to conquer new markets.

On the EcoPoly Solutions shop floor

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ROOTS

EcoPoly Solutions – which operates out of four plants, with several hundred employees – has roots that go back to 1991, with the founding of Polyethics Industries, which specialized in manufacturing polyethylene (PE) film and bags from 100 per cent recycled materials for the consumer and industrial markets. “Polyethics was started with a singular objective: to utilize 100 per cent recycled material to produce high-quality garbage bags,” Kristan Rynard said.

This is the norm for the industry today, she noted, but Polyethics was the first manufacturer to do this – and took it several steps further. “We are the first manufacturer to use 100 per cent recycled material to create 100 per cent degradable products, and we did it while keeping our prices competitive and without sacrificing performance,” she said. “Starting from scratch, here in Orillia, we have become competitive globally.”

In 2001, the founder of Polyethics, Tony Gulmen, sold his company to Derek Rynard. “Tony looked for three things in a buyer: to maintain the vision of sustainable manufacturing, to keep jobs in Orillia, and a big heart,” Kristan Rynard said. Fast-forward to 2008 and the EcoPoly Solutions subsidiary was created, dedicated to research and development and with a laboratory in Newmarket, Ont. “Under EcoPoly Solutions, we specialize in manufacturing and developing environmentally friendly PE film and bags,” Kristan Rynard said. “Our products offer a sustainable solution without compromising on quality, enabling us to contribute to the sustainability of our planet.”

EcoPoly Solutions’s offerings include industrial garbage bags for the hospitality and waste management industries; retail garbage bags, including private labels and multiple brands of their own; food packaging, including produce rolls and pound bags; additives, including the proprietary OxoElite degradable plastic additives and the EcoElite line of compostable resins; and agricultural plastics, including a wide range of biodegradable agricultural mulch films long coveted by farmers around the world.

EcoPoly Solutions has long-standing relationships with multiple universities across Canada and the U.S. In 2013, the firm partnered with Orillia’s Lakehead University, through a research collaboration made possible by the Ontario Centres of Excellence, with Lakehead students working in EcoPoly Solutions’s lab and the university creating a 100-foot by 100-foot trial farm at the campus to test agricultural products.

“We wanted our community to be included in our journey to sustainable farming,” Kristan Rynard said. “In total, we’ve developed thousands of formulations for agricultural mulch film and have expanded our reach globally, giving growers sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic. We offer everything from degradable mulch films to conventional mulch films that control weed growth and improve root development for organic farms; to low tunnel films, made from co-extruded PE, that protect crops against aggressive climate change and insects, maintain high plant and root temperatures, and minimize day and night temperature fluctuation.”

THE ROAD AHEAD
Now, armed with new funding and its own investment resources, EcoPoly Solutions has set some targets to achieve in the short- and long-term. “First, we’re continuously investing in R&D to stay at the forefront of innovation,” Kristan Rynard said. “We’re also actively pursuing opportunities to expand our market presence both domestically and internationally, including entering new markets where our sustainable solutions can have a significant impact; exploring strategic partnerships and collaborations that can help us expand our reach and bring our products to new customers; and optimizing our supply chain, production, and distribution, so we can increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall customer experience.”

Overall, she said, the plan is to ensure sustainable growth and profitability while maintaining what she calls EcoPoly Solutions’s core values of ethical and responsible practices. “We prioritize ethical practices in material sourcing and manufacturing, recognizing the paramount importance of environmental consciousness in today’s market,” she said. “In an era where environmental concerns resonate deeply with consumers, retailers, distributors, and manufacturers alike, our commitment to sustainability stands as a cornerstone of our ethos.”