The facility consists of four different advanced R&D labs and a team of sustainability gurus, which will help brand owners and retailers to develop compostable, recyclable, and recycled content packaging
TC Transcontinental has opened ASTRA Centre for packaging in Wisconsin, US. (Credit: Transcontinental Inc.
TC Transcontinental Packaging has opened a new ASTRA Centre for packaging research and development (R&D) and innovation in Wisconsin, US.
The 12,200ft² ASTRA Center, the Art, Science, and Technology Research and Applications Centre, will allow the company to innovate and identify sustainable solutions for its customers.
TC Transcontinental R&D, innovation and sustainability senior vice president Alex Hayden said: “The ASTRA Center is at the core of our operations to drive growth and innovation and be the sustainability partner to our customers.
“The many tests, instruments, and technology available to us provide enhanced product development knowledge through the entire process of flexible plastic packaging design, allowing the development of innovative films for sustainability, e-commerce, and more.”
The facility consists of four different advanced R&D labs and a team of sustainability gurus, which will help brand owners and retailers to develop compostable, recyclable, and recycled content packaging.
The Analytical and Testing Services Lab will be used to conduct physical testing to simulate real-life use of the package from filling to transportation and distribution.
It also enables to measure shelf life and consumer end-use with analytical testing to develop molecular structures, which meet the packaging functionality requirements across its entire life cycle.
The Applications and Packaging Development Lab features a nine-layer blown extrusion line that facilitates designed experiments and optimisation of film formulations.
It also consists of FFS machinery to conduct production-scale customer prototypes.
The Advanced Compost Lab, combined with the R&D team’s expertise and knowledge, is used for the development of next-generation packaging, as well as improve the turnaround time and cost for certifying compostable packaging.
Expected to be fully operational next year, the Recycling Technology Lab offers the R&D suite of expertise with an in-house recyclability assessment lab.
Designed to measure each aspect of a package, the lab will comprise an extruder, a recycled plastic pelletiser and enables the team to analyse post-consumer resin, waste source, and gel count for better results and package performance.
In November last year, TC Transcontinental Packaging collaborated with The Coca-Cola Company brand AHA Sparkling Water to develop new packaging made of 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic.