ALPLA opens innovative design centre STUDIOa in Hard
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The ALPLA Group is accelerating the roll-out of new plastic packaging solutions with the opening of the innovative product development space STUDIOa at the company headquarters in Hard, Austria. Customers can visit this one-stop shop to help complete the development process in a matter of days, from the first design draft and a prototype to the finished packaging.
3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, real-time cost control and optimum technical service – the packaging specialist ALPLA is taking product development to the next level with the STUDIOa design centre. ‘STUDIOa stands for everything we believe in – great design, top technical performance and a swift roll-out. This one-stop shop is the ideal space in which to develop innovative, safe and sustainable packaging solutions for the future together with our customers,’ explains ALPLA CEO Philipp Lehner at its official inauguration at the company headquarters in Hard.
With its innovative STUDIOa, ALPLA is focusing on the close coordination of technology, product development and sales. ‘When we work directly with the customer in the same space and the decision makers are there in person, we can shorten the development time, bring new products to market faster and secure a competitive edge,’ says Norman Häusler, Director of Corporate Product Development, with conviction.
Design experience space
Interdisciplinary ALPLA teams attend a number of design sessions and workshops at STUDIOa developing new packaging types together with customer delegations. In addition to design experts, these involve the expert input of technical specialists in the fields of production, mould construction and process technology. ‘This means a design’s feasibility and recyclability can be checked, optimised and adapted in the early stages of a project, thereby saving time and money,’ Häusler emphasises.
And the space offers more on top – a 3D printer produces prototypes immediately after design modifications, virtual reality glasses provide an initial product preview and augmented reality (AR) is used to simulate the packaging placed on the supermarket shelf.
Global product development
With its seven Technical Centers around the world, ALPLA promotes regional product development for its local customers. The new STUDIOa design centre in Hard follows in the footsteps of the concept successfully applied at the site in Atlanta, USA, since 2015. A customer-oriented development space was also opened in Toluca, Mexico, in mid-2021. Another STUDIOa is currently under development in Shanghai.
