Dow expands its Packaging Center of Excellence

The Dow Chemical Company is doubling the staff of its packaging centre in Switzerland in order to expand the centre's capabilities for testing and prototyping adhesive laminating and film structure for food and beverage packaging needs.

The packaging centre combines the extensive scientific and technical expertise of the company‘s people, along with equipment and collaboration space for specialty adhesives, resins and formulated films in one place. It will also enhance customers’ ability to test materials and formulations for new package functionality and design. The centre also will hold seminars and forums that will allow package makers and brand owners and others to occasionally share insights about the future needs of the packaging industry.

The Horgen centre is also fully linked to Dow’s other packaging centres of excellence, including the Sensory Science facility in The Netherlands, and Films Application Development Centers in Tarragona, Spain; Freeport, Texas; Singapore; and Jundiai, Brazil.

Anton van Beek, Regional General Manager for Packaging and Converting for Dow in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “There is an increasing need to bring more of the food we harvest to the global dinner table - more efficiently and with a lighter environmental footprint along the way. Smarter packaging design and better packaging materials are just one important way to reduce wastage and improve the success of the food supply.”

Dow will continue to provide expert technical applications support for its existing product lines. Horgen will remain a place where customers can check and adjust formulations to get the best results on their own package machinery. “Our converters play an essential role in the future of the packaging industry,” said Julien Damen, Associate Director for Technical Services and Development for Packaging and Converting in Europe. “That won’t change. They continue to be in the best position to create the physical packages that reflect the best new materials innovations.

“However, the needs around the world are so great, and the need for better packaging so important, that Dow wants to provide opportunities for all those involved in the value chain to be able to share knowledge, identify trends, work together and - by doing so - accelerate the growth of the packaging industry. We believe collaboration is an important element to future success of us all.”