AMCOR EXPANDS ITS GLOBAL NETWORK OF INNOVATION CENTERS TO CHINA AND BELGIUM

Amcor, a world leader in the development and production of responsible packaging, has announced plans to build two new state-of-the-art innovation centers. The new facilities will be located in Ghent, Belgium and Jiangyin, China, and will be operational by mid-2022.

The new centres, which will be built over the next two years with an investment of around ¤35 million, will help extend the global reach of Amcor’s innovation network, which currently includes flagship sites such as Neenah, Wisconsin and Manchester, Michigan in the USA. This new, broader network will also enable customers around the world to take advantage of the company’s deep materials science expertise and packaging development capabilities.

Precisely, the facilities in China and Belgium will feature immersive customer and consumer engagement, advanced material science and analysis labs, pilot lines for product development and replication as well as customer operations for on-site packaging testing.

Peter Konieczny, Amcor’s chief commercial officer, said, “Our innovation centers have already become trusted destinations for some of the world’s leading brands as they work to improve both the sustainability of their products and the overall consumer experience.” He added, “We are excited to expand our global innovation network and continue to be the growth partner of choice for customers around the world.

“Our innovation and design centers offer customers a unique space to test new ideas and technologies on a variety of materials and formats without disrupting business operations,” said William Jackson, chief technology officer for the company’s Flexibles business. He also added that “our customers will be able to access our innovation capabilities anywhere in the world and benefit from a seamless transfer of experience and knowledge across the network”.

Finally, Amcor devotes more than $100 million a year to its industry-leading research and development activities. The company was the first packaging solutions provider to commit to developing all of its products to be recyclable or reusable by 2025 and is on track to meet that commitment.