Food Gold: A festive snowman filled with 3 lb of Stauffer's cookies won the gold for Lerman Container Co. (Naugatuck, CT). The snowman, blow-molded of polyvinyl chloride, presented a decorating challenge for Lerman. Stauffer Biscuit Co., York, PA, wanted to use a full-body shrink sleeve, which, because of the snowman's large size and unique shape, required careful label positioning before applying heat to achieve uniform shrinking. The clear opening in the snowman's belly allows a peek at the cookies inside. Silver: Private Harvest, El Dorado Hills, CA, wanted to move away from the straight, tall and thin glass bottles traditionally used for gourmet bread dippers when it upgraded its packaging. Import-ed from Italy through Caliber Wine Group, a div. of TricorBraun (St. Louis, MO), the custom French cruet glass bottle with distinctive shoulders and narrow base holds 375 mL (12.7 oz) of product. The glass is much heavier and clearer than the glass bottle previously used. Bronze: For its line of First Tee beverages marketed directly to golfers, Global Beverage Co., Rochester, NY, created a bottle to show its love for the game. Zuckerman-Honickman (King of Prussia, PA) executed that design with an injection/stretch blow-molded polyethylene terephthalate bottle by CNC Containers (Tumwater, WA) with a shoulder resembling a golf ball complete with dimples. The 20-oz, heat-set bottle is hot-filled and has a litho-printed oriented polypropylene label that withstands long stays in an ice chest. Cosmetics Gold: The gold went to TricorBraun for the extrusion blow molding and decorating of the egg-shaped Ceramide Firm Lift Body Lotion from New York-based Elizabeth Arden. The peach-colored HDPE bottle holds 6.8 oz and is screen-printed in one color. The white PP snap-fit cap from Jackel (Hong Kong) is lined on the bottom with an ABS electroplated band. The stock pump is from Owens-Brockway (Toledo, OH). Silver: A custom HDPE bottle that illustrates the benefits of the product inside also won TricorBraun a silver. Flat Out is a line of hair-care products from KMS Research, Redding, CA, intended to tame curly or frizzy hair, as shown by the bottles' thin, flat shape. The bottles are screen-printed, and the brand name of the product is molded into the side of the bottles. Bronze: A handy package for Pierre Fabre Dermatology, Azusa, CA, earned Lerman Container the bronze. The Sun Shield Sport Team is an SPF 15 sun spray in an HDPE bottle blow molded with a crevice to hold a PP container of lip balm. The clarified PP overcap is tinted yellow to match the screen-printed bottle decoration and the PP closure of the lip balm. A shrink-sleeve label is applied to the package to ensure the components do not become separated during shipping and handling. Pet & Vet Products Gold: Andler Packaging (Everette, MA) won a gold for a 2-oz HDPE bottle in which Mydor Industries, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, packages a product called Ick-Ease. The product is an aquarium water conditioner. The PE dome cap gives the product a progressive "bullet" look while aiding in measuring out product for portioned doses. The p-s label is printed in three colors. Silver: Although the container is emerald green, Cincinnati Container (Cincinnati, OH) won the silver for the Emerald Tints Pet Water Bottles. The bottles are blended with a UV inhibitor that helps maintain the potency of supplements added to the drinking water. The food-grade PVC water bottles, by F. M. Brown's Sons Inc., Sinking Spring, PA, come in 4-, 8-, 16- and 32-oz sizes. Bronze: Richards Packaging Inc. (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) won a bronze for Mississauga-based Holistic Gold Health Products' Nature Grain Biscuit. Holistic Gold sought a package to market its dog biscuits that are sold as a health food item. They chose the line of PVC "handy grip" jars with a tamper-evident seal. The jars are transparent green to protect the product from sunlight and, because the company feels green symbolizes the environment, to promote the concept that this is an environmentally friendly product. Industrial & Automotive Gold: TricorBraun won a gold award for Thermaplex Bearing Grease packaged by Tucker, GA-based LPS Laboratories. The container is extruded of HDPE with an aluminum pull-tab end seamed on. It is offset-printed in four colors. The snap closure is injection-molded HDPE. Silver: Zuckerman-Honickman, Inc. won a silver award for the custom PVC bottle used by Motor Up America, New York, NY, for PrepUp Engine Cleaner. The 8-oz bottle's slim shape helps to dispense the product into various parts of automotive engines. Bronze: Winning bronze for All-Pak, Inc. (Bridgeville, PA) was an HDPE tube with an ethylene vinyl alcohol barrier, marketed by Feldman Industries of Stamford, CT. This consumer product, called GS-27, is a scratch remover for cars. Paper labels were replaced with direct printing in six colors. The tube also has a hanger hole at the top. Pharmaceutical Gold: Kaufman Container Co. (Cleveland, OH) won gold for the 1-oz HDPE bottle used by ICN Biomedicals of Aurora, OH, for Gly Derm Hydrating Eye Cream. The earlier package was a jar, and ICN redesigned the package to reduce possible contamination. Because the product is an eye cream, ICN felt that repeated hand dipping into the jar might be unsanitary. Silver: Berlin Packaging (Chicago, IL) won for the HDPE bottles used by Total Toddy and Sports Toddy and marketed by SupraLife Intl., San Diego, CA. These liquid nutritional and energy supplements have a slim neck for easy pouring. The bottles are molded with natural-toned colors. A leaf insignia is molded in to make the bottle look sporty and upscale. Bronze: Winning bronze in the category was O. Berk Co. (Union, NJ) for a 300-cc (approximately 10 oz) green glass bottle used by Solgar, Leonia, NJ, for St. John's Wort. This line expansion marks the first major use of a metal cap with an induction-sealed liner. This provides the tamper-evident seal that's required by the FDA. Household chemical Gold: Un-du sticker remover marketed by Dallas-based Doumar Products, Inc., had Berlin Packaging develop custom oval 1- and 4-oz bottles to fit the patented product container. The 1-oz bottle is supplied by Express Plastics (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada); the 4-oz bottle is supplied by Novapak (Eatontown, NJ). The PVC container has a custom-shaped shoulder that holds the injection-molded, nylon "scraper tool." A dropper tip, made by Sunbelt Plastics (Frisco, TX), controls the flow of the product as it slides down the tool. Silver: TricorBraun won a silver for the Schultz plant care chemical containers, which are marketed by Chemical Dynamics, Maryland Heights, MO. The company declined to provide specific information about the packaging. It did say, however, that the containers have a unique venting system that is achieved by drilling a hole in the screw-cap closure and applying a small membrane liner to the cap with an ultra-sonic welding process. This permits gasses in the products to escape without compromising the integrity of the seal. The handled bottles come in 20- and 32-oz sizes. Bronze: TricorBraun also won a bronze award for an HDPE container for Garden Tech Sevin. Marketed by Gulf Stream Home and Garden, Covington, GA, a division of Contract Packaging, this custom bottle has a handle at the top. A mesh screen covered by a 100-mm snap-on PE closure allows the prod-uct to be dispensed evenly. Novelty Gold: Berlin Packaging won the gold for 4-oz and 91-mL (3-oz) bottles it supplied to Stuart Entertainment in McAllen, TX, for its Neon, Golden and Sterling Lights Bingo Markers. The new HDPE bottle is designed to fit comfortably in bingo players' hands. Silver: TricorBraun picked up the silver for the design and the mold of Amway's Travel Trio bottle. Amway, Ada, MI, extrusion blow molds the HDPE bottle, which has three compartments that carry 100 mL (3.4 oz) each of travel essentials--body wash, moisturizer and two-in-one shampoo/conditioner. The three triangular-shaped compartments can be separated and are held together by a custom overcap and base cap of injection-molded PP supplied by TricorBraun. The bottles are screen-printed in one color. Bronze: Ryco Packaging (Lenexa, KS) captured the bronze for the 32-oz candy and nut dispenser and bird feeder sold by Riley Manufacturing of Olathe, KS. Ryco supplied the screen-printed PET jar for the bird feeder, as well as the glass jar for the candy and nut dispenser. The bases are custom-molded, and the bird feeder comes with perches and a hanger, also supplied by Ryco.
