Inline Plastics Corp., Shelton, Conn., completed a total facility renovation to its Innovation Center in Milford, Conn.

After more than a year of planning, design and construction, one of the original Inline Plastics buildings on Seemans Lane in Milford was completely upgraded and rebuilt to house a high-tech corporate research and development (R&D) facility. This new Innovation Center is dedicated to the research, development and engineering of food packaging solutions.

"The Inline Plastics RD&E team is constantly developing new ideas and products that transform how food products are packaged and marketed to consumers," says Steve Introne, director of research, development, engineering and corporate quality. "This new Innovation Center was strategically designed to not only foster that creativity, but [also] increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our new product development processes. This enables us to quickly get new ideas and products into the hands of our customers."

"Our investment in building the Innovation Center showcases our commitment to excellence and continuous improvement to our product lines," says Tom Orkisz, president and owner. "This Innovation Center is the home of a high-performance team that can capitalize on the tools and environment that inspire creative thinking, promote collaboration and streamline communication in the research, development and engineering of the next generation of Inline Plastics' products."

In addition to the structural and building renovations, which included adding a technical library and upgraded quality lab, the company also invested in new R&D equipment consisting of rapid prototyping, state-of-the-art sample size and full-size market testing thermoforming machines, which are used in the design, development and testing of new products before mass production. Individual and group workspaces are laid out in a cross-functional format and integrated with smart technologies to improve collaboration and information sharing.