By Michael Lauzon
CORRESPONDENT
Published: May 28, 2014 2:40 pm ET
Updated: May 28, 2014 2:43 pm ET
Aiñe Curran aims to boost the plastics industry’s profile among the public in her new position as director general of issues at Canadian Plastics Industry Association.
In a phone interview after her April 21 appointment, Curran indicated she wants the industry’s message to resonate beyond the industry’s members.
“I want to help the public understand better what plastics mean in our daily lives and the economy,” Curran explained.
She brings to the job public and industry experience. Curran has worked in government circles for 20 years and has built up a network of contact in that sphere. Her industry experience includes a project she began in early 2012 with Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association of Dallas.
With the pipe association, Curran helped convince the Toronto City Council to open infrastructure bidding to PVC pipe with diameters of 24 inches and greater for underground potable water systems. The council’s green light for PVC pipe was significant because Toronto has embarked on a massive water main replacement program. Curran said research for the Toronto file will make it easier to get small municipalities on board for PVC water mains.
Curran’s career as a public and government relations specialist included projects with consulting firm Arthur Andersen Canada, the Salvation Army in Canada and British Open golf championship winner John Daly and the colorful golfer’s Signature Golf Club, Thundering Waters, in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
“Ms. Curran’s demonstrated skills and experience will be a definite asset in our ongoing efforts to protect, promote and advocate for the plastics industry in Canada,” noted Carol Hochu, president and CEO for Mississauga, Ontario-based CPIA. | 
