The Hall of Fame for the most important innovations has been enriched by 13 outstanding solutions. The jury of the German Packaging Award announced this year’s Gold Award winners in an online event at Europe’s largest packaging exhibition. The awards were presented for innovations in paper, corrugated board, cardboard, wood, tin and plastic as well as a machine solution. Four Gold Awards went to the sustainability category, two each to the design and finishing and product presentation categories, and one Gold Award each to the digitization, packaging machines, functionality & convenience, cost-effectiveness and logistics & material flow categories. The winners come from Germany and Switzerland.
The German Packaging Institute e. V. (dvi), under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Economy and Energy, presents the Gold Award to honour innovations which are particularly pioneering and courageous and which set themselves apart even from the illustrious 38 winners of the German Packaging Award 2020.
The announcement of the Gold Awards and the celebration of the award winners took place online this year as part of the dvi Dialogue Week. Dr. Bettina Horenburg, who is member of the dvi board of directors and overall responsible person for the German Packaging Award at the dvi as well as Director of Corporate Communications at Siegwerk Druckfarben, celebrated the industry’s creativity and innovative strength, which had already been demonstrated at the announcement of 38 German Packaging Awards a few weeks ago. “The fact that our independent jury of experts can now upgrade as many as 13 particularly outstanding solutions from this illustrious circle of the best innovations to the coveted Gold Award makes the quality of the innovation work in the companies even clearer,” says Dr. Horenburg. “The solutions show how intelligent, inventive, responsible and pioneering the companies in the packaging industry are. The Hall of Fame for innovative packaging solutions has rightly been enriched by 13 outstanding innovations – benefiting people, companies and the environment.”
The following innovations were honoured with a Gold Award:
- a compostable menu tray for the frozen food section of Hofmann Menü-Manufaktur
- bio-based and biodegradable highly functional barrier films to replace conventional multilayer packaging from the Fraunhofer ISC research institute
- the first fully recyclable paper bag for Frosta’s frozen food division
- a newly-developed, recyclable vacuum pack made of two adhesive-free, unprinted PE films from Wipak Walsrode
- Netto Marken Discount’s “invisible”, machine-readable label integrated into the design, making sales and packaging processes more efficient while providing consumers with added value
- a machine solution from Rovema to make bulk material dosing and feeding processes more flexible down to batch sizes of 1
- an impressive, multi-level unboxing experience that invites the consumer to explore and discover, offering a visual and tactile experience and even telling a story – by Karl Knauer
- a clear differentiating and effectively implemented brand message for Hermann Höhing’s POS
- a cap tethering system that is an impressive implementation of the new EU directive while fitting in with consumer habits and industrial process needs without increasing product weight
- a recyclable packaging that is optimally designed to meet the needs of the target group and takes up an architectural theme from ADV PAX Lutec
- a display by DS Smith Packaging that attractively presents the products using various 3D effects, perfectly displaying information to the customer on different communication surfaces
- packaging by G. Gühring for overseas transport that increases container utilisation by 100 per cent, saving 50 per cent CO2 and transport costs
- a plastic small-load carrier that can be stacked with or without a lid, featuring an impressive optimum balance of weight savings and stability and a sophisticated column construction by Georg Utz.
In a special laudatory speech, Dirk Teegelbekkers, Managing Director of premium partner PEFC Germany, highlighted the achievements and progress, especially in the area of sustainability. “At PEFC, we made the conscious decision to offer a special award for the Sustainability competition category for the first time this year. Sustainability is our core competence and embedded in our DNA. That is why we want to consciously promote innovations in this area, irrespective of the material and area of application, because with the multitude of products and areas of application that we see all around us, we cannot limit ourselves to a single material for packaging. We are delighted by the many great solutions and improvements across all material segments.”
Katja Feeß, Senior Manager Public Relations of premium partner FACHPACK, pointed out the remarkable achievements of the young talent, for whom there is traditionally a separate category at the Packaging Award – and, for the first time this year, a special award too, sponsored by FACHPACK. “We had some really exciting, practical and highly creative submissions from students. Three particularly successful solutions richly deserved their German Packaging Award 2020. At FACHPACK, we are close to the pulse of the packaging industry. We point the way for the European packaging industry and its customers. That is why promoting young talent is one of our particular interests. After all, these clever and creative minds are the future inspiration of the industry.”
All winners and Gold Award winners in words and images
A complete overview of the 38 winning innovations and the 13 Gold Awards of the German Packaging Award 2020 is on the dvi’s website for all to see, with an image of the innovation and the jury’s evaluation text. The submission phase for the German Packaging Award 2021 begins on 1 February, 2021.
