A seasoned veteran of the plastics industry, Todd Karran has been named CEO of Petrochemicals at Inter Pipeline, the parent company of Heartland Polymers, which recently commissioned a polypropylene plant in Alberta, Canada. Karran, who has 35 years of experience in the petrochemicals industry under his belt, will oversee the Heartland Polymers business. He was previously at Nova Chemicals, where he served as president and CEO from 2015 to 2020 and chief financial officer from 2009 to 2016.

Karran first learned about the Heartland Polymers project at an energy conference he was attending and was instantly interested, according to the press release. “It was clearly a unique project, being the only one of its kind in Canada. Seeing Heartland embrace the [Chemistry Industry Association of Canada’s] Responsible Care program and its commitment to working alongside partnerships like the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, Plastics Research in Action and Operation Clean Sweep really intrigued me. It was a clear indicator that this organization is focused on doing things the right way.

“I am amazed by the state-of-the-art design of the [Heartland Polymers Complex] and all of the forethought that went into the plant. There is nothing like it out there and I am very excited to be a part of the continued success,” he added. Driving that success is more than a business endeavor for Karran. “I see it as a chance to help Alberta, help Canada,” he said in a prepared statement.

The Heartland Polymers operation is one of only two new sources of polypropylene in North America in more than a decade. Construction of the petrochemical complex began in early 2018. The plant has been producing pellets since late June. The entire complex reportedly is on schedule for an integrated start-up in the third quarter of this year, at which point Heartland will begin commercial production. It is expected to convert locally sourced, low-cost propane into 525,000 tonnes of polypropylene annually.

Karran holds CPA and CMA professional accounting designations in Alberta and graduated with an MBA from the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He has also served on several private, public, and not-for-profit boards of directors and currently sits on the board of nylon 6 producer AdvanSix, serving as director. Karran also was a founding member of the Global Alliance to End Plastic Waste and will continue to sit on the board as director.