PROLITE PLASTICS LTD.
RECOGNIZED WITH THE 2001 B.C. NEW-CANADIAN ENTREPRENEUR AWARD.

Manufacturing - Prolite Plastics Ltd., Port Coquitlam

Paul Kasperson, 68, was born in Helsinki Finland.

    Figuring that there was not much opportunity for himself in the old country unless he pursued further education,  Kasperson left Finland for Canada in 1959, and has been expanding his horizons ever since.

    Prolite Plastics Ltd. started in Edmonton in 1978 with Kasperson as a partner and the salesman.  The company is a custom plastics fabricator, primarily serving the chemical industry.  Prolite makes dual laminate piping and storage vessels.  In 1986, Prolite moved to B.C. and by 1998, Kasperson bought out his partners.

    "1999 was a bumper year," he said, crediting a new computer program that allowed him to do more work and garner more sales.  Last year, Prolite's sales were just under $7 million, with a profit margin of more than 40 per cent.  The last two years, he adds, saw significant sales increases.

    His staff of 60 occupy a 62,000 square-foot plant in Port Coquitlam.  He said the company trains and keeps the people it has, and that almost a third have been there between five and 20 years.

    "It's a specialty industry. We have to train," Kasperson said.

    He also said innovation, research, good service and an emphasis on quality have served him well.

    "You can't have failures in the chemical industry," he said.  "One failure will boomerang; a couple and they will hound you."

Business in Vancouver Question:

What advice would you offer a new Canadian entrepreneur just arriving in Canada?

Kasperson Reply:

"You have to work hard and be innovative and not let your previous trade hold you back.  You ahve to grasp an opportunity even if you have to change your trade."

Reprinted from Business in Vancouver, February 19 - 25th, 2002

Back to News

© Prolite Plastics Ltd, May 10, 2002