PPC Honors Winners of the North American Paperboard Packaging Competition

SPRINGFIELD, MA—October 22, 2012—One-hundred and forty-three entries from 34 Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) members were honored in a special awards ceremony at PPC's Fall Meeting and Leadership Conference on October 18, 2012 in Las Vegas, as part of the 69th annual North American Paperboard Packaging Competition.

Six packaging experts adjudicated this year's competition, which took place over three days in July at PPC headquarters in Springfield, MA. They included package designers Luis Lee and Dick DePaul, retired packaging executive Gary Miller, associate publisher of Package Design magazine John Lyons III, executive director of the Packaging Education Alliance Jim Peters, and Bill Wynkoop, adjunct professor in packaging at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

"I was in awe of the judges' commitment to examining, discussing, and scoring each of the entries," said Ben Markens, President of PPC. "Their fastidiousness in considering every facet of these packages reveals the depth of their expertise and makes for a fascinating competition!"

Each of the 109 entries in the General category was first evaluated by considering the packages development objectives and the types of materials used. The judges then considered the success of each entrys structural design and how well the printing and converting processes helped achieve the stated objectives. The judges also measured the packages impact on production, manufacturing, distribution, storage, and warehousing; economics (material substitutions, line efficiency, cost reduction); brand enhancement; and marketing. Finally, the packages impact on the retail store shelf was carefully considered.

The 25 entries in the Innovation category were assessed on how the package demonstrated a unique, innovative structural design or how it utilized cutting-edge materials such as substrates, inks, laminations, coatings, and/or converting processes.

This years 11 Eco category entries were appraised according to how paperboard replaced a less-sustainable substrate and/or utilized clean production processes, saved on energy or materials, or economized on transportation and fuel costs.

"The judges had a difficult time deciding which package should be awarded the top prizes amongst all the stellar entries this year," said Kim Guarnaccia, director of marketing and communications for PPC and coordinator of the competition. "But after in-depth analysis and lengthy deliberation, I know they were well pleased with the results."

This year, the top Paperboard Package of the Year award was presented to Graphic Packaging International (Marietta, GA) for their new package design for the 10-Count Capri Sun carton for Kraft Foods. The new fridge vendor-style design features I-Beams—an extension of the cartons end flaps that are folded in toward the carton. The new design is 20 percent lighter than the original carton, saving approx. 35,000,000 pounds of fiber annually. Moreover, a 60 percent increase in inbound pallet quantities was achieved, resulting in approx. 1,750 trucks eliminated from the inbound supply chain, thus saving 880,000 miles driven annually. A seven percent increase in outbound cases per pallet resulted in a 2.5 percent increase in finished goods on outbound trucks and a 10 percent reduction in tertiary pallet packaging materials.