ProAmpac will build a Collaboration & Innovation Center (CIC) at its manufacturing facility near Rochester, NY, that will play an important role in accelerating the company's product development, application testing and analytical capabilities, it reported in a February 18 news release. 
ProAmpac CEO Greg Tucker said, “We’ve worked closely with the State of New York’s Empire State Development (ESD) group on a capital grant of up to $1.35 million and we greatly appreciate the additional development assistance from Monroe County, Rochester Gas & Electric, and Greater Rochester Enterprise. It’s been a collaboration from the start and we’re looking forward to not only opening our new facility in mid-2021, but also the opportunity it will bring to both ProAmpac and the greater Rochester community.”
“ProAmpac is increasingly being recognized for and sought after by global brand owners as the ‘go-to group’ for fresh ideas and technical solutions as consumer product goods (CPG) companies increase the need to provide innovative and sustainable product offerings,” said ProAmpac Chief Commercial Officer Adam Grose, who will oversee the CIC operations. “We’re raising the bar in innovation through collaboration involving our own teams and those of our customers and suppliers. The need became apparent for additional space to design, test and meet with our customers.”
The new 25,000 square-foot facility will support ProAmpac’s Collaborative Innovation process in which ProAmpac engineers and product development teams work together with customers to accelerate the time between initial concept and the launch of new packaging.
The center will also be home base for ProAmpac’s Design & Sample Lab (DASL) — a successful program for the design and rapid prototyping of new packaging. The CIC will house a new analytical testing lab, new equipment for development and testing, and training space for 
more than 80, as well as multiple meeting and collaboration spaces.
The facility will be constructed as an addition to the company’s facility that’s not only a manufacturing center for flexible pouches, but a unique resource for short runs in an industry where normal production is in millions of units.
“We can produce literally from one pouch to millions,” said Grose. “Short runs are extremely valuable for limited production-line testing of new packaging concepts that have just been prototyped.”
