DS Smith launches new R&D & Innovation centre to enhance collaboration

It is intended to spearhead research in manufacturing, maximising on the growing demand for sustainable packaging, and the innovation needed to deliver it.

The site is designed to allow it to cover the whole innovation spectrum. Stefano Rossi, chief executive, packaging division, DS Smith, said: “Our customers are some of the world’s most iconic FMCG brands, online retailers, and industrial players, so innovation and sustainability are very high on their agenda.”

The site features a modular Pilot Line which uses robots to make boxes from multiple components and fill them at high speed. Rossi told Packaging News the new facility would compliment existing testing facilities but would also provide more space for innovation: “This facility brings into the picture the dimension of the future to a certain extent, and provides a collaborative space where we can not only create but also co-create.”

He added that he expected the site to facilitate designers, engineers, and technologists to work together: “There is an ingredient for inspiration here.”