Amcor’s customer-focused approach and accomplishment in collaboration and innovation has been recognised three times over by the 2017 DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation.

The global packaging company received a gold award in the Technological Advancement and Responsible Packaging categories for its Vento™ coffee packaging; silver for the 20-ounce Vitaminwater® bottle in the Responsible Packaging category; and – in partnership with Crown Holdings Inc. – a gold award for Peelfit™ in the Technological Advancement and Responsible Packaging categories.

“Our global expertise is regularly producing packaging that is more functional, appealing, and cost effective for our customers and their consumers, and more sustainable for the environment,” said Brian Carvill, Vice President of Research, Development and Advanced Engineering for Amcor’s Rigid Plastics business.

Dr. Carvill said it was an honour to have three Amcor products recognised this year by the DuPont Awards.
“These products reflect Amcor’s commitment to collaboration and innovation with our customers, and demonstrate the company’s deep knowledge of customer processing and supply chain needs,” he said.

The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Vitaminwater bottle uses two Amcor innovations to improve performance, while weighing less than conventional hot-fill containers.  The base of the bottle features Amcor’s PowerStrap™ technology to strengthen its structure and increase vacuum absorption during filling. The sidewall incorporates the company’s ActiveHinge™ technology to further improve rigidity. Besides reducing the weight of the package, these technologies also improve labelling efficiency and stacking strength.

A second award was given for Vento, Amcor’s high-performance laminate for ground coffee and whole beans.  The innovative packaging allows coffee producers to capture the flavour and aroma of freshly roasted coffee without the need for hard valves, extra machinery, and extra processing steps, explains Luca Zerbini, Vice President of Marketing, R&D and Sustainability for Amcor's Flexibles division in Europe.

“Coffee roasters want to reduce the cost and complexity of packaging while increasing the speed of their operations,” said Mr. Zerbini.  “The Vento degassing system is integrated into the laminate, provides more packaging design flexibility, runs on all coffee packing machines, and can increase the speed of the packaging process.”
 
Vento maintains barrier integrity and product freshness, weighs less, and has a reduced carbon footprint compared to coffee packaging with hard valves. It removes the need to purchase and apply traditional valves, and allows coffee to be packed immediately after roasting with no additional equipment or steps.
 
The third honoured product, Peelfit™ was developed by Crown Holdings Inc. using Amcor’s CanSeal Pro. Peelfit is designed for dry-food markets to address demands for greater convenience, reduced packaging weight, and increased product protection.

“Peelfit is the result of work by Crown’s talented designers and engineers with our strategic packaging partner Amcor,” said Olivier Aubry, Business Development and Marketing Director, Crown Food Europe.

Amcor’s CanSeal Pro is a revolutionary flexible membrane, which allows Peelfit™ to use less metal while maintaining performance and functionality. Sustainability benefits include the elimination of the rigid steel ring typically required in double seaming applications, making the container 16 percent lighter than conventional foil seam cans.
 
The DuPont Awards for Packaging is an international, independently-judged competition that honors innovations in packaging design, materials, technology and processes throughout the entire packaging value chain. The judging panel evaluated more than 140 entries from 24 countries.

Amcor has won DuPont Awards for a number of packaging solutions in recent years, including Formpack® Ultra, cold form blister packaging for the pharmaceutical industry, and a PET bottle for Method Products which contains 100-percent post-consumer recycled PET resin.