Thanks to a newly built gas phase reactor, Nova Chemical's Joffre site is now producing 70 per cent of the companies Low Density Polyethylene.

In total, the company can now produce around 5 billion pounds of the plastic, and as a result they're one of the few companies who haven't seen the impact of the low price of oil.

Manufacturing Director Rick Van Hemmen says it's important for every business to think about growth and improvement.

"If your intent is to just try and stay stationary and run what you have well, you'll end up inevitably falling behind your competition. So you always have to think about evolving and improving your business, leveraging your technology and growing, expanding and looking for oppurtunities. Ultimately giving the customers and markets what they need."

Van Hemmen says along with producing 3.5 billion pounds of polyethylene, the reactor has brought 60 new jobs to the plant.

"When you look in terms of the local impact this reactor will have. It had a very large impact on jobs in the Province during the construction phase. But now that the reactor is in operation, we've added about 60 new full-time positions."