COLUMBIA, South Carolina (From The State) -- Hartsville-based packaging giant Sonoco is building a $12 million research and development showcase at its headquarters and investing an additional $40 million in facilities in Franklin, Ohio, Waco, Texas, and Malaysia that would increase its production capabilities, the company announced Wednesday.

The Innovative Packaging Solutions studio in Hartsville is slated to be completed in September and replaces an aging research facility built in the 1980s that was demolished, said Sonoco spokesman Roger Schrum.

Company President and Chief Executive Jack Sanders said in a statement that Sonoco will spend $20 million on new laminating and engraving equipment that will be installed in the Ohio and Texas plants, respectively.

The triple-laminating device will be added at the Franklin plant and used on plastic film that is then converted into plastic cookie-packages and stand-up pouches for food products sold in grocery and other stores, Schrum said. An 11-color press to be installed in Texas will speed the printing process and use less energy, the company said.

Both upgrades will be in use during the second quarter of the year.

Sonoco is building a $20 million, 120-worker snack-can plant near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to help expand its market in Southeast Asia, the company said. Sonoco has two plants and the third will triple its capacity, Schrum said.

The company also bought a two-thirds interest in the Brazilian company Graffo in Pinhais, Curitiba, Brazil. That plant's printing press is nearly as advanced as the one going to Texas. Schrum said Sonoco would not release how much it invested in the Brazilian company.