CROWN Food Europe, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc, was honored with a Gold Award in the 29th DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation for its easy-open foil sealed can. The Peelfit™ can, which enhances convenience, lightweighting and product protection, was highlighted as a standout product in the ‘technological advancement’ and ‘responsible packaging’ categories of the global competition.

Developed specifically for the dry food sector, Peelfit™ utilizes revolutionary Direct Heat Sealing Technology (DHS) to seal a peelable aluminum foil lid to a collapsed bead within the can body. The end result is a package that is 16% lighter than cans using conventional foil seam closures. This unique design eliminates the need for the rigid steel ring that is typically required with double seaming applications.

The innovation also offers significant sustainability advantages for manufacturers. For example, DHS technology reduces energy use by 32% when compared to other existing foil seam closures. In addition, like all metal packaging, Peelfit™ is 100% recyclable and fully protects the package contents against oxygen, gas, light, moisture and other contaminants – keeping products fresher for longer.

Customers fill product through the base of the can before seaming on a non-easy-open end. No capital investment is needed to adopt Peelfit™ since changes do not need to be made to existing filling lines.

“The DuPont Packaging Awards honor innovations in the packaging supply chain that demonstrate excellence in technological advancement, responsible packaging and enhanced user experience while incorporating science, inspiration and creativity,” commented Bernard Rioux, Global Packaging Leader at DuPont. “Crown’s Peelfit™ can encapsulates all of these qualities, and is a true example of how companies innovate and collaborate to solve industry problems.”