The Packaging Education Forum (PEF) has selected H.J. Heinz Company, Pittsburgh, PA, as its Packaging Leader of the Year 2000-2001.

PEF will present the award to Heinz on November 7th at the Forum’s Leadership Awards festivities.

The PEF Board is honoring Heinz as the Packaging Leader of the Year in recognition of the company’s many customer-responsive packaging innovations; and the ingenuity, dedication and hard work of the Heinz product manufacturing and packaging professionals responsible for bringing these ideas to market.

“Heinz’s many packaging advances over the years make it clear that successive generations of Heinz leadership adhere to the ideal of continuous revolution and renewal,” commented James E. Scott, PEF Chairman and Director of Package Engineering & Graphics Design at Eastman Kodak Co. “The year 2000 is extremely worthy of note for Heinz as they introduced several dynamic packaging innovations to the industry.”

Of the many packaging developments Heinz has introduced in recent years, the PEF considers the following particularly noteworthy in naming the company Packaging Leader of the Year, 2000-2001:

  • Introducing the first multilayer plastic (polypropylene-based) bottle for ketchup and the subsequent pioneering of clear multilayer PET plastic bottles for ketchup;
  • Gaining acceptance from state legislators for the use of “principal resin” identification codes on its PET ketchup bottles to encourage their recycling;
  • Early adoption of stand-up pouches (for pet treats);
  • Category introduction of flat-bottom, zipper opening/reclosing bags for Ore-Ida frozen french fries;
  • Debuting retort pouches as an alternative to #10 cans for foodservice distribution of StarKist tuna;
  • Pioneering “trap-cap” closures on Heinz ketchup bottles;
  • Introducing EZ-Squirt bottles of green and red ketchup for kids;
  • Retail introduction of StarKist tuna in a pouch.

Established in 1957, the Packaging Education Forum has presented its Packaging Leader of the Year award annually since 1970. Last year the award was presented to Dean Foods. Past recipients have included Anheuser-Busch, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Hershey, Nabisco, Kraft, Procter & Gamble and others.

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The PEF’s Leadership Awards reception, banquet and presentation ceremonies will be held in the grand ballroom of Chicago’s Hilton & Towers during PACK EXPO International (November 5-9).

This year’s festivities include a cocktail reception, dinner, entertainment, the induction of three individuals into the Packaging Hall of Fame and the presentation to Heinz of the Packaging Leader of the Year award.

Proceeds of the event will support college-level packaging education programs in the United States and Canada. Individual tickets cost $295. A table of 10 costs $2,500. For ticket reservations, contact 703-243-5717 or pef@pmmi.org.