ST. LOUIS . . . In 2006 and so far in 2007, TricorBraun, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of packaging, has conceived many award-winning packages and applied for 11 patents while its Design and Engineering subsidiary created more than 400 new containers for companies that manufacture personal care products, cosmetics, healthcare, food and wine, as well as industrial and household chemicals.
The company has won several awards for innovative package design, including two AmeriStar awards, one WorldStar award and one NACD Best of Show.
The company’s patents include a new handle for one-gallon containers that offers both commercial and ergonomic advantages over traditional handles.
Rather than the customary “through-hole handle” that the user holds like a suitcase grip, the new radius package has deep indentations that run from the top to the bottom of the container and into which the user’s fingers and thumb comfortably fit.
The new method of lifting brings an array of advantages, according to Michael Murphy, Senior Designer, TricorBraun Design and Engineering.
Commercially, the new design reduces the shelf height and expands the amount of space for decoration.
Ergonomically, it is easier to pour than a traditional bottle because the user can adjust the hand position when the center of gravity changes as the container empties.
Equally important, the indentations fit all hand sizes and eliminate the possibility of sharp plastic that can be left by the molds on the inside of the traditional through-hole handle.
The company won The WorldStar Award, an international distinction presented only for those package designs that have already won a national competition, for its Black Magic TireWet Express applicator design. The product is marketed by Shell/Black Magic and is used to provide a high gloss dressing to automobile tires.
The WorldStar Award is offered annually by the World Packaging Organisation, an international federation of packaging organizations, corporations and trade groups.
TricorBraun also won two AmeriStar awards, a national honor, for the design of the Ecolab CleanForce “bookshelf” container for a cleaning solution and for Ecolab’s ProForce “stackable” container.
The AmeriStar award is given by the Institute of Packaging Professionals, an international association that provides educational programs for the packaging industry.
The company also has been awarded the Best of Show in the 2007 Annual Packaging Awards competition sponsored by the National Association of Container Distributors.
The award-winning design features two cleaning solutions contained in separate, stacked 1.25-gallon containers, both of which include pocket areas for sprayers and filling spigots.
Prepared for Ecolabs ProForce, the product targets the building service contractor market, and it is sold in Sam’s Clubs. The container’s uninterrupted rectangular shape makes it efficient for shipping, in-store display and user storage. Wal-Mart’s sustainability packaging initiative was kept in mind during the design process.