In the 11th annual DuPont Awards for Innovation in Food Processing and Packaging, Coca-Cola Co.'s high-barrier, 12-ounce container received top honors, beating out seven other entries to receive the Diamond Award.
The three-material, five-layer wall structure for the contoured carbonated Coca-Cola container is injection stretch blow molded by Continental PET Technologies Inc. of Florence, Ky., for the Saudi Arabian market. The barrier structure doubles the shelf life for high-heat and humid conditions. Optional post-consumer PET content also is an environmental plus. The soft drink bottle also won in the food category.
Other food category winners include EasyUp, easy-tear shrink film for bundling, Quaker bagged cereals with vertical form, fill and seal transverse zippers and Pop Tops dispensers for juice drinks.
Suresnes, France-based Soplaril SA's EasyUp uses plastic materials to add an easy-opening feature to shrink-wrapped bundles of such products as Perrier bottled water. The shrink film comprises DuPont Co.'s Surlyn ionomer resin and polyethylene.
A coextrusion process allows for a one-directional tear feature while providing mechanical resistance, clarity and printability. Existing shrink film wrapping equipment can be used.
Quaker Oats Co.'s first use of a transverse-applied zipper creates the potential for use on all vertical form, fill and seal bag packaging systems. Because bags can be top-vs. side-filled, it allows for a wider variety of bag web widths on existing bag machines and reduced cost with reduced zipper lengths.
Chicago-based Quaker boasts that the recloseable bag improves freshness and reduces insect infestation. Printpack Inc. of Atlanta, extrudes the film while ITW-Mini Grip Zip Pak, part of Illinois Tool Works Inc. in Glenview, Ill., makes the zipper.
Pop Tops juice drink bottles, made by Southcorp Packaging of Melbourne, Australia, and Bev Pak Australia in Sydney, are a cost-attractive alternative to existing glass and aseptic containers. The 250-milliliter PET container includes a recloseable sport top that reduces spillage. The six-packs of these modular-shaped, portion-sized drinks are shrink wrapped for tamper evidence and easy storage.
The two nonfood winners were mailing protection with gift-wrap appeal by Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont and a pouch duo for Fastbond adhesive systems made by Kapak Corp.
The designer mailing products allow consumers to wrap and mail packages instantly. Using Tyvek spunbonded olefin as the base component, DuPont Nonwovens and Tri-Mail Inc. of Vacaville, Calif., combined traditional gift-wrap materials with tear, puncture and water resistance in the product line. It is made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled content and is 100 percent recyclable.
A two-part adhesive system, developed by Kapak and 3M Co., both of the St. Paul-Minneapolis area, was designed for small-volume manufacturers and allows for portability at a low end-user cost.
The high-barrier stand-up pouches with resealable zippers and pour spouts use about one-third less material by weight than the conventional pail.
The competition is sponsored by DuPont in cooperation with Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association in Gloucester, England, and the National Food Processors Association in Washington Entries are evaluated on degree of innovation, breadth of application and significance or impact on the industry or consumers.
