DS Smith launches UK “R8” innovation hub for packaging R&D and prototyping

05 Oct 2023 --- DS Smith has launched an R&D and innovation center dubbed “R8.” The new facility is an “industry-first,” according to the company, and includes a 4,000 square meter pilot hall, four laboratories, conditioning chambers, an ideation and design studio, prototyping areas and collaboration spaces.

The facility intends to spearhead manufacturing research for more environmentally sustainable packaging.

“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,” Stefano Rossi, CEO Packaging Division, DS Smith.

“Our global R&D and Innovation Centre will facilitate the collaboration that we know is needed to solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges.”

“We will be partnering with customers to help them transition to the circular economy by focusing on novel packaging solutions that deploy new materials and technologies. Nothing is off the table – we have designed the hub to encourage scrutiny of existing ways of working and explore all the possibilities, especially for service-based offerings in the packaging supply chain.”

Ideation to piloting
DS Smith says the facility will be a collaboration space that allows it to cover the entire innovation spectrum under one roof: from early technology and material development, ideation, concept development, testing and product development, through to prototyping and customer pilots.

Immediate areas for exploration will include smart packaging for tracking and monitoring supply chains, alternative natural resources in papermaking, reusable fiber-based packaging and technologies and advanced barrier technology for food and industrial applications.

Among the technologies at R8 is a modular Pilot Line, inspired by the automotive industry and developed in Italy, which uses robots to make boxes from multiple components and fill them at high speed.

Rossi explains the core purpose of the launch is to reduce reliance on plastics.

“We believe in sharing expertise to help customers reduce waste, streamline production, and increase sustainable productivity. At the heart of this is a solid commitment to reducing plastics, paving new pathways for alternative fibers and designing out waste altogether.”

The R8 facility is also carbon neutral. It has been designed for both re-use and deconstruction and uses reconditioned furniture, solar panels and air-sourced heat pumps.

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton

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