USA • The packaging company Sonoco had officially opened a new research and development centre at its headquarters in Hartsville, S.C.. With an opening ceremony in October 2015 with about 100 participants the iPS (innovative packaging solutions) studio aims to connect consumer and market insights to the invention of new packaging solutions. Sonoco invested USD 12 million to build the new, fully integrated studio at its Hartsville, S.C. headquarters.
The centre includes a consumer interaction space for live, direct observation of consumers, an interaction with products and packaging in areas and collaborative spaces for trying different packaging concepts.A pilot plant to test manufacturing performance, printing capability and rapid prototyping labs that aid in developing engineered prototypes that can then be tested in real world simulation spaces.