FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 6, 2023

Chili, NY — American Packaging Corporation (APC) was awarded two 2023 Flexible Packaging Achievement awards by the Flexible Packaging Association for Golden West Food Group’s Meat District Gobbler frozen patties and McDonald’s 2022 Pokémon card overwrap.

Presented by the Flexible Packaging Association, the Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards showcase the industry’s latest innovations and advances that have changed packaging. This year, technical innovation and sustainability were the primary focus among the judging panel, with winners exhibiting flexible packaging solutions that meet expectations and needs through advancements in materials, graphics, structure, new uses, printing techniques, extended shelf life and other criteria.

For this year’s competition, the Flexible Packaging Association received 86 package entries, with a total of 323 entries across multiple categories. Thirty high-caliber packages were honored with 38 Achievement Awards at the 67^th annual awards ceremony held on March 29.

Golden West Food Group’s Meat District Gobbler frozen patties took home the gold award in the Printing category. In support of its new line of butcher-crafted premium meats that promised to bring “steakhouse quality right into your home,” the flexible package extension for the frozen patties needed to match the fresh meat package. APC was able to match the fresh patty package without compromise, achieving a neon-style brand mark and ghosted background copy effect on the final package. Using APC’s full HPE Roto system, special attention was given to delivering color strength and saturation to create the neon effect with enough contrast to achieve the ghosted copy effect simultaneously.

McDonald’s 2022 Pokémon card overwrap earned the silver award in the Sustainability category. APC’s evolutionary fiber-based card overwrap supports McDonald’s global initiative to only sell Happy Meal toys that are renewable, recyclable or made with responsibly sourced materials by the end of 2025. The card overwrap features a surface-printed paper with a repulpable dispersion coating applied on the reverse side. To match the high-fidelity graphics necessary for this Pokémon application, the graphics are printed on a rotogravure press and overcoated with a high-gloss, heat-resistant over-lacquer that provides an aesthetically appealing package. The dispersion coating provides an ultra-low seal initiation temperature that allows for efficient line speed during conversion on the flow-wrapping equipment at Millennium Print Group. Overall, the process provides a supreme appearance and functionality, yet an environmentally sustainable finished product.

“We’re incredibly pleased to be recognized once again as a Flexible Packaging Award winner,” said Peter Schottland, CEO and co-chairman of the board of American Packaging Corporation.

President Jeff Koch added: “Our commitment to delivering a superior and high-quality product to our customers using the latest technology and printing techniques truly shines through in the packages that earned gold and silver honors.”

“We intentionally seek opportunities to position sustainability at the forefront of our business practices, so to see our work in this category recognized among our industry peers in this regard was especially gratifying,” said Ray Graham, EVP and COO.

To learn more about APC, visit americanpackaging.com

For more information about the Flexible Packaging Awards, visit flexpack.org/achievement-awards

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About American Packaging Corporation

Founded in 1902, American Packaging Corporation is a recognized leader in the flexible packaging industry. Independently owned, APC is committed to innovation, sustainability and customer delight from a talented family of packaging professionals. Today, APC operates five Centers of Excellence in the United States and employs approximately 1,200 talented, motivated professionals, including nationwide sales reps and field technical support. For more information, please visit americanpackaging.com.

Media Contacts

Dixon Schwabl + Company
Courtney O’Gorman
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American Packaging Corporation

Teri Meadow

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