Exopack Receives FPA’s Highest Achievement Award

At ceremonies held on Feb. 26, 2013, Exopack received the 2013 Flexible Packaging Highest Achievement Award from the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) for the development of the Kraft YES Pack. Additionally, the package was also honored with a 2013 FPA Gold Achievement Award in the category of Packaging Excellence and a Silver Award for Sustainability and Environmental Achievement.

A flexible alternative to traditional rigid containers, the Kraft YES Pack (Yield, Ease of use and Sustainability) is a four corner sealed pouch with a pourable fitment and two handles. YES Pack allows Exopack’s customer, Kraft Foods (Kraft), to provide the food service industry with a superior package for carrying and pouring one gallon-sized containers of salad dressings and other liquids. The flexible design also affords Foodservice operators the opportunity for increasing overall product yield by providing them with a squeezable package.

Lani Craddock, vice president of marketing, innovation and sustainability for Exopack, along with project team members Dave McKnight (also of Exopack) and Stacey Rychlewski of Kraft accepted the awards for YES Pack during the 2013 FPA Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Ceremony & Welcome Dinner held at the Ritz Carlton Resort in Naples, FL.

“The collaborative efforts of Exopack’s product development team, Kraft and KRW during the development of the YES Pack resulted in a package that is functionally and environmentally superior to its rigid competitors,” said Ms. Craddock. “We (Exopack) are extremely proud of this package and the relationship it helped us forge with our customer.”

The Nestlé Purina ONE Cat entry from Exopack took a Silver Award in Printing Achievement. This package utilizes a single web, surface printed MET PET layer and electron beam coatings to deliver an impactful metalized appearance while providing print protection throughout Nestlé’s distribution channels. The use of a single web print design, combined with the elimination of a lamination layer from the overall structure, results in a reduction in material usage, energy usage and printing plate costs.

Exopack’s Crystal Farms Shredded Cheese Stand Up Pouch was honored with a Silver Award for Sustainability and Environmental Achievement. A replacement for typical flat bag packaging for shredded cheese, the Crystal Farms Stand Up Pouch affords consumers a package that eases meal preparation while eliminating 20% of the plastic materials traditionally required. The package also eliminates 30% of the typical printed face area associated with shredded cheese bags, which reduces ink use usage and solvent emissions during manufacture.