| Big Guns to Lead New Alliance
2009-07-07
By Tyler Kula, The Observer
A veritable who’s who of industry and technology heavyweights have been chosen to head the inaugural board of the Sarnia-based Sustainable Chemistry Alliance.
Headquartered at the University of Western Ontario Research Park, the Alliance was created to help emerging companies commercialize new and sustainable technologies.
With an injection of senior government funding, it has rapidly grown from a volunteer-based group to a national organization with $5 million to invest in emerging innovations and breakthroughs.
“You’re not going to convert to a bio-based society today or tomorrow,” cautioned co-chairperson Steve Bolt, a retired Eastern Canada operations director at Dow Chemical Canada.
“It’s going to take time.”
The Alliance will be headed by President and CEO Murray McLaughlin and co-chaired by Bolt and Bernard West, former CEO of Cansolv Technologies of Montreal.
Also named to the board are Joel Adams, UWO Research Park director; Paul Clark, former research and technology VP at NOVA Chemicals; Jean Hamel, GM and director of research at FPInnovations; Cam Harris, a VP in process and technology at WorleyParsons; George Mallay, general manager of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership; A.J. (Sandy) Marshall, president and managing director of Lanxess; Richard Paton, president and CEO of the Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association; Gord Surgeoner, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies; and William White, retired president of DuPont Canada.
The bulk of the Alliance’s funding came from a $7.5 million federal grant.
“We have the ability (in Canada) to attract and integrate new bio-based technologies with our existing very strong infrastructure,” Bolt said. That infrastructure includes industries as well as power distribution systems and other utility distribution centres, he said.
The Alliance works with private firms, government academic institutions, research institutes, non-government organizations, communities and farmers.
“It’s all the local industry working together with the community to produce a sustainable result on the environmental, social and economic fronts,” Bolt said.
Observer Article ID# 1645502
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