Amcor has opened its European Innovation Center in
Belgium. The facility will partner
with brands and retailers from across the region to design
packaging that delivers better results for consumers and the
environment alike.
ZURICH, May 30, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Amcor (NYSE: AMCR, ASX: AMC), a global leader in
developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, has
expanded its packaging innovation hubs around the world. In
addition to existing centers in the US, South America and Asia Pacific, the company has now opened its
Amcor Innovation Center Europe (AICE) in Ghent, Belgium. The AICE will pioneer new material
technologies to make packaging more sustainable and performant,
while focusing on designs that stand out in shops and increase
ease-of-use for consumers.
"The opening of the Amcor Innovation Center Europe is a
significant investment towards more sustainable, circular, and
innovative packaging," said Michael
Zacka, President Amcor Flexibles Europe, Middle East, and Africa. "The center brings together the
brightest minds in packaging design and material science with
state-of-the-art technology to offer our customers a complete brand
solution, from concept to commercial launch."
In its Innovation Center Europe, Amcor supports brands from
concept to shelf using its Catalyst™ approach. This flexible,
collaborative, and creative co-development methodology creates
packaging solutions that take into account a brand's market,
consumer needs, sustainability and recyclability requirements, and
customers' existing production lines.
To support this end-to-end collaborative process, the AICE
facilitates a range of activities:
- The Material Science Center creates innovative packaging
materials that can drive down packaging's carbon footprint; for
instance, by introducing recycle-ready mono-material solutions that
can match the performance of common mixed-material solutions; or
switching to bio-based and recycled polymer alternatives. The
center also supports developments in high-barrier paper packaging
and vapor-deposited nanocoating. In the analytical labs, new
materials are tested using the most advanced techniques.
- The Customer Engagement Center supports collaborative
sessions and boasts an observation room for consumer focus groups.
Packaging appeal and usability can be tested in an on-site retail
simulation area, plus in kitchen, living room and bathroom settings
where consumers and marketers alike can interact with packaging.
The on-site prototyping lab can quickly create different packaging
solutions for test participants to try out.
- The E-Commerce Lab tests and certifies packaging
according to ISTA 6 standards, to validate packaging for shipment
through Amazon and other e-commerce distribution chains.
- The soon-to-be-added Packaging and Recycling Test Center
will house small-scale packing lines which mimic brands' own
packing lines for in-house machine trials. Recycling equipment will
allow Amcor to evaluate packaging for ease of recyclability in the
real world.
"We want to create packaging that consumers like, and that is
better for the environment," said Noemi
Bertolino, Vice President Research & Development. "The
packaging needs to look appealing, and be easy to open, portion and
close. It also needs to be suitable for current and future
collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure. At the AICE, we
can test packaging against these requirements. For example, in our
Customer Engagement Center, we can test whether a child-resistant
push-through blister pack for pharmaceuticals is easy for an adult
with arthritis to open."
Amcor has set ambitious sustainability goals for itself. It has
pledged to develop all its packaging to be recyclable, compostable
or reusable by 2025, and to significantly increase its use of
recycled materials. In line with this sustainability commitment,
the Amcor Innovation Center Europe is housed in a building that is
designed and built according to BREEAM sustainability certification
standards.
Find further information on the AICE and Amcor's Catalyst™
innovation services within Europe,
Middle East and Africa HERE.
END
About Amcor
Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible
packaging solutions across a variety of materials for food,
beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care, and
other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world
to protect their products and the people who rely on them,
differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of
flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and
services. The company is focused on making packaging that is
increasingly lighter weight, recyclable and reusable, and made
using an increasing amount of recycled content. In fiscal year
2023, 41,000 Amcor people generated $14.7
billion in annual sales from operations that span 218
locations in 41 countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC
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SOURCE Amcor