F.M. Howell, Somerville Win PPC's President's Awards
For the first time in the 57-year history of the Paperboard Packaging Council's National Paperboard Packaging Competition, two packages have been named winners of the coveted President's Award.
CorningWare, a series of packages produced by F.M. Howell & Co. (Elmira, NY) was noted for its strength, product visibility and shelf impact. The structure, which consists of 0.024 and 0.028 machine clay news, allows for ease in setup of the package and for quick loading and securing of the products. The six-color, aqueous-coated CorningWare cartons, produced for World Kitchen Inc., also demonstrated excellent printing and gloss on recycled box board. The graphic design is by Murrie, Lienhart, Rysner & Associates.
The other President's Award winner is the Polo Madison Avenue Candle Box, produced by Somerville Packaging (Montreal). An elegant representation of the Ralph Lauren store in New York City, this carton is printed on both sides to simulate the interior as well as the exterior of the store. The package, manufactured for Slatkin & Co., offers a structurally sound construction to protect the candle and glass container inside yet has a delicate appearance. It consists of 0.024 SBS board with a high-gloss waterbase exterior/waterbase interior, four-color inside and six-color outside.
The packages are judged against three criteria: 1) members' internal production/converting process; 2) consumer product company's environment; and 3) retail consumer usage. The awards were presented June 24 at the PPC annual spring meeting in Banff Springs, Alberta, Canada.
The Technical Innovation Award — given for structural design without regard for graphics — went to the EconoPour Integral Paperboard Pour Spout, manufactured by Caraustar (Grand Rapids, MI). The 0.026 SUS board package, made for Cottrell Ltd., was developed with a specially tooled make-ready plate for the converting of the one-piece pour spout, which dramatically reduced setup time for each manufacturing run. The aqueous-coated package features easy-opening, a non-bridging large pour aperture, predictable closing as well as environmentally friendly materials.
Gold Awards
Gold Awards were given to 13 packages in the 2000 National Paperboard Packaging Competition, as follows:
Beverage Cartons — Made by Inland Consumer Packaging (Leominster, MA, and Harrington, DE) for U.D.V. North America, the Cuervo 1800 Gift Carton is a litho-laminated E Flute box that features an unusual shape, vivid colors and gold leaf foil stamping and embossing that reflect the product's premium brand. The five-color package has a matte varnish and UV coating over the label.
Computer/Multimedia Products — Bert-Co Graphics (Los Angeles) produced the Math Advantage 2000 carton for Encore Software. The package's gable-top design, sharp graphics and six-panel embossing created a collegiate feel that attracted the attention of students studying for their college scholastic aptitude tests. The 18-pt. SBS board is done in four-colors with inline waterbase and offline silkscreen UV coating.
Cosmetics & Toiletries — The Aspen Discovery series of cartons, made by International Paper Retail Packaging (Moonachie, NJ) for Coty has the look of an applied emblem with stamping and embossing. Also, it reduced costs by successfully creating the desired background look with gravure printing on SBS, rather than printing or stamping on foil stock. The five-color packaging incorporates matte and gloss gravure press varnish.
Foods-Cereal — Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (Fort Wayne, IN) produced the Kellogg's Country Inn Specialties carton for Kellogg Co., featuring a gable-top style to improve the product's previous roll-top bag. The new six-color, aqueous-coated carton, made of 0.018 SBS board, provides a vastly improved printing surface and increases the product's shelf-presence in addition to offering better product protection. The carton design contributes to the product's upscale look.
Foods-All Other Dry Foods — The Kraft 700g/1.4kg Minute Rice package for Kraft Canada Inc. by Somerville Packaging (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) features a web corner pour spout that enables consumers to pour product smoothly from the top of the carton. This reduces clogging that may occur with sidewall pour spouts. The six-color, aqueous-coated package, consisting of 0.026 clay-coated newsback board, maintains freshness due to the spout's ability to reclose tightly.
Foods-All Other Wet/Prepared Foods — The School Lunch Bus, for General Mills Inc., presented a challenge for Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (Morris, IL). The company designed and manufactured a carton shaped like a school bus, complete with two doors that open to display pictures and popup wheels that give the carton great child appeal. Consisting of 0.030 SUS board, the four-color, aqueous-coated carton incorporates an easy-carrying handle.
Housewares and Appliances — Caraustar (Mentor, OH) manufactured the Piazza Brewing System carton for Piazza Espresso of America, LLC, a package made of direct F-flute so that the customer can use the same package for both its direct mail and retail outlet sales. The four-color, aqueous-coated carton also incorporates a fold-over top panel that allows it to accommodate pots of various styles and heights.
Medicinal Products — This paperboard aerosol medication holding chamber, produced by Thoro Packaging (Corona, CA) for Thayer Medical Corp., replaces the traditional holding chamber. The LiteAire carton, made up 0.020 SBS board in four colors with a gloss coating, has printable surface space, is less costly than conventional packaging and convenient. It is packaged flat and fits into a shirt pocket or small purse.
One-Color and Two-Color Graphics — Rock-Tenn Co. (Madison, WI) produced this consumer-friendly carton, called the Harley Davidson Flashlight Collection, for Ray-O-Vac. The flashlight is accessible and comes with batteries included. The 0.018 Pearl-Kote board package, featuring two-color graphics and aqueous clear coating is also retailer-friendly because it can be peg-boarded or displayed vertically or horizontally.
Paperboard Products Not Packaged — The Barbie Collector Box, by Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (Kansas City, MO) for PERSECO, resembles a dollhouse and successfully serves as both a protective storage container and toy accessory. Because the four-color, aqueous-coated package doubles as a doll house, it provides an incentive to consumers to collect all of the dolls in the series. The product consists of 0.022 SBS board clay-coated on two sides.
Recreational (two Gold Award winners) — Produced by Inland Consumer Packaging (Leominster, MA) for Hasbro Inc., the Millennium Trivial Pursuit Package maximizes visibility of the metal triangle-shaped canister inside while taking on the look of the product. The E-flute litho-laminated five-color box combines shape and vibrant colors to capture the customer's attention. The carton is waterbase coated.
A Recreational Gold Award was also given to Inland Consumer Packaging for the Advantix Christmas Promotion for Eastman Kodak Co. The flit-top style carton maximizes content viewing and handling, and a series of inserts that use a variety of cutouts secure and display the variety of cameras and components.
Retail Boxes — The Flora Box by Caraustar (Ashland, OH) enabled Skaal Inc. to automate what previously had been a labor-intensive process of inserting the inner bag by hand and finishing the gluing. The new 0.020 SBS board carton allows the customer to produce boxes in many designs and market them to a wide variety of retail outlets.
The PPC also doled out 36 Excellence Awards. For more information on the PPC President's Awards and for a complete listing of the winners, contact the PPC at (tel.) 703-836-3300.
Edited by Bill Noone