Amcor Innovation Center Europe opens in Belgium for sustainable packaging
Amcor opens the Amcor Innovation Center Europe (AICE) in Ghent, Belgium, which pioneers new material technologies to make packaging more sustainable and performant.
The Amcor Innovation Center Europe in Ghent, Belgium.
In the new center, Amcor supports brands from concept to shelf using its Catalyst approach, a flexible, collaborative and creative co-development methodology that creates packaging solutions based on brand’s market, consumer needs, sustainability and recyclability requirements, as well as customer’s existing production lines.
“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.
Wide range of facilities and services
To support this end-to-end collaborative process, the AICE facilitates a range of activities with various facilities:
Material Science Center creates innovative packaging materials that help reduce packaging’s carbon footprint, such as by introducing recycle-ready mono-material solutions that match the performance of common mixed-material solution, or switching to bio-based and recycled polymer alternatives. It also supports developments in high-barrier paper packaging and vapor-deposited nano-coating.
Analytical labs are also included to test new materials using the most advanced techniques.
Customer Engagement Center supports collaborative sessions and boasts an observation room for consumer focus groups.
On-site prototyping lab can also quickly create different packaging solutions for test participants for trials.
E-Commerce Lab tests and certifies packaging according to ISTA 6 standards, to validate packaging for shipment through Amazon and other ecommerce distribution chains.
A Packaging and Recycling Test Center soon will be added to house small-scale packing lines.
“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,” explained Noemi Bertolino, Vice President Research & Development.
Committed to sustainability
Amcor has set ambitious sustainability goals – aiming to develop all its packaging to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025, and to significantly increase its use of recycled materials.
To align with this sustainability commitment, the AICE is housed in a building that is designed and built according to BREEAM sustainability certification standards.
