Pharma packs win awards in Alufoil Trophy 2011

Published: 11-Apr-2011

SCA Cool Logistics takes Cross Category Excellence, while Diavy wins Product Preservation award

SCA Cool Logistics, part of SCA Packaging and based in Leighton Buzzard, UK, has won an Alufoil Trophy 2011, organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association.

The company was victorious in the Cross Category Excellence category with its ZeoCool temperature-controlled transit packaging for sensitive drugs. Unlike traditional methods, which often feature a number of coolant components and are prone to temperature deviations, ZeoCool does not use cool packs to freeze or cool the contents. It is a self-contained unit that uses patented technology held within an aluminium casing to enable the six-sided interior payload area to produce evaporative cooling or heating. No external energy sources are needed.

The company says the ZeoCool is the only system to use a phase change of liquid to gas, achieved by lowering the internal pressures of the unit through reacting to external ambient temperatures. To operate the user simply pushes a button to start the cooling process.

The system, available in three sizes, ensures that customers need not worry that their shipment may fail. For example, should custom officials place the box in a fridge, ZeoCool will hibernate and after hibernation the system will restart to complete its journey.

Head judge Alan Moffat, packaging development manager, H J Heinz R&D, said: ‘This is a wonderful product that delivers on so many fronts including delivery of sensitive drugs to remote geographical regions and disaster zones. When tested the instructions were plain and easy to follow and the ZeoCool worked perfectly.’

Supplied and converted by Wipf, the alufoil forms the payload space for the ZeoCool patented technology. It creates the right environment and allows the cooler to hold the required vacuums to reach the correct temperatures (+2◦C to +8◦C).

An insulator and an outer carton board pack surround the payload space.

Meanwhile, Diavy of Soliera, Italy won the Product Preservation category for its Holo Aluminium, a directly embossed holographic aluminium foil suitable for anti-counterfeiting applications including pharmaceutical blister packs, which has now entered production.

The micro-holographic embossing is made directly onto the alufoil, supplied by Carcano Antonio of Mandello del Lario in Italy, and reports the pattern, brand or any other graphic sign that identifies the manufacturer. Diavy says this contrasts with existing methods, which use a holographic PET film placed onto the foil surface and could lead to scuffing and the holographic surface being removed through rubbing.

Diavy’s patented production process generates thousands of micro-incisions directly onto the surface of the foil to create the required image/s from a matrix supplied by the customer; the image can then be reflected by illuminating with a normal light source. It is produced without colours, inks or any printing system believed to be currently available.

The Alufoil Trophy 2011 included five categories – Consumer Convenience; Design + Marketing; Product Preservation; Resource Efficiency; and Technical Innovation. The judges also awarded Cross-category Excellence winners.

Open to products made from alufoil or containing alufoil as part of a laminate or structure, this year the judges awarded 13 Alufoil trophies from 66 entries.

The winning packs will be on display at the Interpack exhibition, which takes place from 12–18 May in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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