TC Transcontinental Packaging opens Wisconsin R&D centre
Canadian Plastics
Packaging Plastics ProcessesThe new Art, Science and Technology Research and Applications (ASTRA) Center measures 12,200 square feet and employs more than 20 engineers.
Image Credit: TC Transcontinental Packaging
TC Transcontinental Packaging, the packaging sector of Montreal-based TC Transcontinental, is opening a new packaging research and development centre in Menasha, Wisconsin.
In a Sept. 27 news release, company officials said the 12,200 square-foot facility is called the Art, Science and Technology Research and Applications Center – or ASTRA Center – and will have more than 20 engineers on staff.
“The ASTRA Center is at the core of our operations to drive growth and innovation and be the sustainability partner to our customers,” said Alex Hayden, senior vice president of research and development, innovation and sustainability at TC Transcontinental. “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 new location includes labs to address different aspects of packaging design: an analytical and testing services lab for physical testing to simulate packaging use throughout the life cycle; an applications and packaging development lab that features a nine-layer blown extrusion line; an advanced compost lab designed to speed the development of new packaging, improve the turnaround time and lower the cost for certifying compostable packaging; and a recycling technology lab, expected to be fully operational in 2022, that will serve as an in-house recyclability assessment lab for packaging produced by the company.
“In addition, the ASTRA Center is key to TC Transcontinental Packaging’s sustainability agenda to deliver on its 2025 commitment to have 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable, and achieve a 10 per cent use of PCR on average by weight across its plastic portfolio,” the company said.
TC Transcontinental Packaging makes flexible packaging and has operations mostly in the U.S., as well as in Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador, the U.K., New Zealand and China, with about 3,800 employees.
