ADAPTING TO NEW CLIMATES: 2001-2019
When a product is ready to come to market, we’re already two steps ahead. We have the packaging needed to get it to consumers in top condition.
Putting our solutions and products through their paces is deep in Sonoco’s DNA. We have a track record of innovating, testing and bringing products to market quickly. Using rigorous scenarios and climate-controlled conditions, we work out the kinks to pave the best pathway for our customers.
That dedication especially appealed to Elizabeth Rhue, Vice President of Global Environmental, Sustainability and Technical Services, before she even joined Sonoco. As a college student at Clemson University, she toured the Sonoco lab on campus in the packaging science department.
The Clemson staff explained all the experimentation that went into their development process. “It was fascinating,” Elizabeth recalls, to hear how the Sonoco team imagined new formats and shapes that reduced waste and served a product’s design and durability.
After graduating, she started her career with Sonoco in a research and development (R&D) technology role. The Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics at Clemson University continues to produce the most advanced and exciting ideas using state-of-the-art tools, including sophisticated visual and emotion-tracking technology that tests consumer perceptions.
But Sonoco has since created additional places where such innovation can take place. One is an area we call the GRIT (Global Research Innovation Technology) Zone, located in our Hartsville headquarters. The GRIT Zone is dedicated to thinking outside the box—about new boxes (and other containers).
Just ask Christian Oliver, Technical Engineer with the Global Technology team, who says working with the GRIT Zone team is “one of the most impactful things I have done in my first year here at Sonoco.” Her big challenge? Making European paper grades and adhesives that could quadruple productivity. Mission accomplished—and Christian also helped develop a new film line for use with the Sonoco team in Germany.
Thanks to the GRIT Zone, we have dedicated space to fully map out the testing needs and commercialization paths of new product and process designs.
At Sonoco’s Research and Development Center in Hockenheim, Germany, our team is dedicated to creating packaging solutions customized for our partners, using new materials and state-of-the-art equipment. These innovations include GREENCAN® solutions and our EcoSeal™ paper-bottom can, which offers the Sonoco-standard performance and durability with improved recyclability and a more ecological footprint.
Then there’s also the Sonoco Studio, launched in 2015. This state-of-the-art center for research, development and innovation connects consumer and market insights with new packaging solutions. A $12 million investment, the Sonoco Studio includes a consumer interaction space that allows live, direct observation of consumers trying out products and packaging in settings that represent retail, kitchen, home and bathroom environments. Here, we can adjust climate and weather conditions to test shelf stability and supply-chain conditions. This space embodies our mantra that “Sometimes where you think inspires what you think™”—sparking fresh ideas by engaging people and experiences in a creative environment.
Our inventor spaces around the world—in Hartsville, South Carolina, Hockenheim, Germany, and beyond—serve as more than inspiration for the next generation of packaging innovators. They position us to better serve our customers—two steps ahead.