Erie, Pa. — A new childproof lid for single-use laundry pods netted a packaging award for Plastek Industries Inc., an Erie-based custom injection molder.
Plastek also won a major supplier award from customer Unilever.
For the pod-package lid, Plastek won the Innovation Award June 16 at the EastPack trade show in New York.
The laundry detergent pods have taken off in recent years because they give consumers a premeasured amount of detergent to toss into their washing machines. But children are attracted to the brightly colored single-dose packets and put them in their mouths, leading to indigestion or poisoning.
Plastek's research and development team created the childproof design in 2016. After rigorous testing, the product was certified compliant to ISO 8317, passing with a 100 percent flawless testing, which means no child could open the product, the company said.
Peter Piscopo, Plastek's manager of R&D, described the closure: "This design is unique compared to other child-resistant 'Push Down & Turn' containers that are torque-dependent systems. The Plastek innovation will always have a lock that needs to be defeated by a simultaneous action, meaning that a child under six years of age will not have the physical strength to grip, turn and override the locking system within the cap to open the container."
In other news, consumer products giant Unilever recognized Plastek on May 17 with a Partner to Win award for Value Creation, in London.