Robbie Manufacturing & NatureFlex™ Receive Top Honors from FPA

ATLANTA, GA – The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) recently announced the winners of its 2009 Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards. Award recipients included Robbie Manufacturing, a Kansas-based packaging solutions provider, who produced an innovative, environmentally conscious package utilizing NatureFlex™ NVS, a transparent certified sustainable and biodegradable film manufactured by Innovia Films headquartered in the UK. The Flexible Packaging Association honored Robbie Manufacturing with two awards for the package, including a Gold Award for Packaging Excellence and another Gold Award for Sustainability and Environmental Achievement.

The package, called the “Hot-N-Handy® Bio-Pouch,” is a specially designed food service sandwich wrap adopted throughout the U.S. The sustainable structure is used for freshly prepared sandwiches and replaces rigid Polystyrene containers typically available at delis, convenience stores and other locations. The Bio-Pouch is flexograpically surface-printed with a random four-color repeat graphic highlighting its biodegradable credentials.

Tara Downing, Product Manager at Robbie Manufacturing says, “The Hot-N-Handy® Bio-Pouch is the best sustainable solution on the market for freshly prepared sandwiches. Not only does it provide added convenience for consumers such as improved sandwich freshness and resealable adhesive strip closure, but it also represents a true innovation in environmentally-friendly packaging. Compared to rigid Polystyrene containers, the product uses 92 percent less crude oil, reduces CO2 emissions by 56 percent and reduces packaging material waste by weight by 75 percent.”

About 4 million pounds of garbage is produced by the preparation and delivery of 163 million deli sandwiches into the hands of consumers. According to the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association, deli sandwiches totaled $912 million at a cost of $5.50.  Those numbers convert to an estimated 163 million supermarket deli sandwiches – all sold in some kind of wrapper or container that later required disposal.

The Bio-Pouch has a built-in gusset which allows for various sizes of sandwiches to fit into one pouch, thus eliminating the need to stock multiple SKUs for each sandwich. 

NatureFlex™ is produced from renewable wood pulp sourced from managed plantations that either have or are actively working towards Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification The product is also compostable and certified under ASTM D6400 to compost within six weeks.

Roslyn Smith, sales & marketing manager, Americas stated, “Innovia Films congratulates Robbie Manufacturing for these prestigious awards. They are truly an innovative company whose commitment to the environment and creative approach has enabled them to provide a packaging solution which offers a distinct competitive advantage to their customers.”

Find more information on The Hot-N-Handy® Bio-Pouch or Robbie’s sustainability efforts on our website or contact Penny Sweeny at 913-492-3400.

About Robbie Manufacturing
Robbie Manufacturing, a premier packaging and converting company provides merchandising solutions using 10-color process printing on multiple films on a variety of gauges, and for wider web presses.  In addition, Robbie supplies superior pouch and bag technology with high tech solutions for demanding applications while focusing on the unmet needs of the consumer.