Crown Scoops Top Honours for Innovation and Functionality

Easylift easy-open ends also received Gold Awards in the Functionality and Technical Innovation categories.

07/12/2007 Crown Holdings, Inc. (Crown) has announced that several of its European business units have been recognized with a total of fourteen ‘Best in Metal’ Awards from the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA), including the Supreme Gold Award, the competition’s highest honor.

This prestigious prize was awarded to CROWN Food Europe for the innovative new Easylift easy-open end technology that MPMA named a “step change in consumer openability for food cans.” These new easy-open ends significantly improve tab access, while retaining all the opening performance of Crown’s flagship Eole technology. The end’s improved tab access makes it easier and faster for consumers, including seniors, children and the physically impaired, to open canned food products without using a can opener or other tools.

Easylift easy-open ends also received Gold Awards in the Functionality and Technical Innovation categories.

CROWN Aerosols Europe triumphed as winner in the Aerosols category for its easy-to-grip shaped packaging for the Kraftform Fluid range of lubricants and protectants from Wera Tools. The distinctive package mimics the appearance of Wera’s highly successful Kraftform screwdriver handle. The 400ml packages are topped off with a plastic cap designed to resemble the tip of a screwdriver.

This is the third year in a row that Crown has taken top honors in the Aerosol category. The Wera package also won the Gold Award in the New Products or New Market Applications category and the Silver Award in the Consumer Appeal category.

CROWN Speciality Packaging won Gold Awards in three different categories. In the Consumer Appeal category, Crown was honored for the decorative steel container created for William Grant & Sons Glenfiddich whisky. Designed to grab consumer attention on crowded store shelves, the innovative ‘tround’ (rounded triangular) shape features matt and silk varnishes that hint at the smoothness of the whisky and give a luxury feel to the package.

The business unit was also honored with a Gold award in the Flour & Sugar Confectionery category for the container produced for Duchy Originals Organic Chocolate Ginger Biscuits. Featuring a domed inward curled lid, the highly graphical shaped container is enhanced with the gloss-varnished replica of the Balmoral Castle paintings by HRH Prince of Wales. The Duchy Originals package, along with the premium coffee containers used to help Fortnum & Mason celebrate its 300th anniversary, also received ‘Highly Commended’ nods in the Consumer Appeal category.

A third Gold Award was bestowed to CROWN Speciality Packaging in the Promotional Giftware & Household category for the modern container created for Perrier Grand Brut champagne. Graphic details include a delicate perforated outline of the famous anemones and embossing to highlight the Perrier Jouët logo. The container’s interior is decorated in a light green hue, so when consumers open the package and light shines inside, a soft ‘glow’ is emitted through the perforation. A gold looped ribbon on the container’s lid adds a subtle touch of sophistication.

CROWN Speciality Packaging was also the winner of a Bronze Award in the New Products or New Market Applications category for the container designed for the Bosch Group’s line of handheld cordless power shears. Intended to appeal to male and female DIY consumers, the package has a decidedly modern feel, featuring an irregular tube-like shape with two flattened, lengthwise sides complemented by a convenient removable lid and a light green and metallic silver color scheme. High-quality lithographic printing ensures sharp graphics, including the red Bosch logo, an image of the shears and an illustration showing proper use of the tool. CROWN Speciality Packaging also gained a ‘Highly Commended’ nod in the Sustainability category for its decorative tin with thinner gauge lid and end for Nestlé’s Quality Street chocolates.

Finally, rounding off the company’s most successful ever competition, CROWN Closures Europe collected the Gold Award in the Closures category for their visually stunning range of Streamline Reduced Sugar Jams and Marmalades closures. The highly decorated caps feature brilliantly colored fruits, lending the brand a premium look that underscores freshness and purity to consumers.

“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized with all these awards. This is our best performance ever,” says Chris Homfray, President of CROWN Europe.

Awarded annually, the Best in Metal Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in metal. Entries to the competition are judged by a panel of experts from across the packaging and retail sectors.