ProAmpac, a provider of flexible packaging solutions, will be building a Collaboration & Innovation Centre (CIC) at its manufacturing facility near Rochester, New York, the US. The CIC will play an important role in accelerating ProAmpac’s product development, application testing and analytical capabilities, said the company.
Greg Tucker, CEO for ProAmpac, commented: “We’ve worked closely with the State of New York’s Empire State Development group on a capital grant of up to US$1.35 million, and we greatly appreciate the additional development assistance from Monroe County, Rochester Gas & Electric, and Greater Rochester Enterprise. It’s been a collaboration from the start and we’re looking forward to not only opening our new facility in mid-2021, but also the opportunity it will bring to both ProAmpac and the greater Rochester community.”
The new 25,000 square foot facility will support ProAmpac’s Collaborative Innovation process, where ProAmpac engineers and product development teams work together with its customers to accelerate the time between initial concept and the launch of new packaging.
The centre will also be home base for ProAmpac’s Design & Sample Lab (DASL) – its programme for the design and rapid prototyping of new packaging. The CIC will house a new analytical testing lab, new equipment for development and testing, and training space for more than 80, as well as multiple meeting and collaboration spaces.
Adam Grose, CCO for ProAmpac, explained: “We’re raising the bar in innovation through collaboration involving our own teams and those of our customers and suppliers. The need became apparent for additional space to design, test and meet with our customers.”
The facility will be constructed as an addition to the ProAmpac Rochester, New York facility which is not only a manufacturing centre for flexible pouches but, in an industry where production is in millions of units, a resource for short runs.
“We can produce literally from one pouch to millions,” said Grose. “Short runs are extremely valuable for limited production-line testing of new packaging concepts that have just been prototyped.”
