In recognition of the innovative and practical designing of its glass containers developed with Vitro“s strategic vision and broad experience, the Mexican Association of Packaging and Containers (AME…
In recognition of the innovative and practical designing of its glass containers developed with Vitro“s strategic vision and broad experience, the Mexican Association of Packaging and Containers (AMEE) awarded 43 prizes to containers manufactured by Vitro for the wine, liquor, pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and beverage industries in its annual competition Stellar Packaging and Containers 2010. Of these, 36 were awarded with a prize and a diploma. Upon receiving the awards from the judges, Roberto Romero, marketing director for Vitro“s Glass Containers business unit, explained, The integrated focus of our Research, Sales, Marketing, Operations and VGD (Vitro Global Design) departments added to Vitro“s technological resources to deliver winning proposals to our customers, has been the key to the design and production of successful materials for the point of sale. Of the 43 awards received for the company, headed by Adrin Sada and directed by Hugo A. Lara Garca, 22 were for containers from the health and beauty industry, 7 for food products (including the Anhuac University prototype) and 14 for the beverage industry. As was the case last year, in this year“s contest the winning design from the Most Innovative Container contest, organized by Vitro in conjunction with the Anhuac University, North Campus, was entered and received a special diploma, accepted by Gina Albisua, Ins Escalante and Montserrat Martnez, the Anhuac students who presented their innovative proposal in the food segment, for its practical characteristics, friendly ergonomics in its use and ease of serving the contents. During the award ceremony, the representatives of the companies with winning entries, developed and manufactured by Vitro, unanimously agreed on the importance of having a strategic partner as important as Vitro as the key factor in the successful design of their containers. This is the result of very close teamwork between Vitro and their respective marketing departments to create new business opportunities and develop innovative and creative products that highlight the qualities of the contents. The criteria used by the judging panel included the protection and conservation of the contents, ease of handling and use, visual attractiveness, the practicality of the design, economy in manufacturing, protection of the environment and, of course, originality in the design. Romero pointed out that with these awards the true value of glass is highlighted as the best option for packaging products: In this day of age consumers are showing more and more of a preference for food and beverages packaged in glass, as they consider this material to be superior in five key factors: purity, safety, quality, versatility and ease of recycling. He adds that the use of glass containers in addition to contributing to the perception of a Premium image, so sought after by the consumer of today, is a responsible social and environmental decision, as the material is environmentally friendly by being 100% recyclable. Vitro has developed value added solutions for engineering the product such as structural analysis through which it is possible to determine a product“s shelf life and its performance depending on variables such as weight, impact and pressure, reducing response time and costs. For this reason the company can offer products with colours and non-traditional finishes, not easily found in the marketplace, as well as complex shapes. In 2008 it opened the doors on its Toluca plant facility, Vitro Cosmos, which is dedicated to the manufacture of high value added cosmetic bottles, due to their complex and innovative shapes, as well as developing various initiatives to enter new market niches by substituting imported speciality bottles. Vitro was also awarded a Sustainable Company 2010 Prize by AMEE thanks to its efforts in designing production and canning/bottling systems that optimize the environmental performance of the supply chain through the product“s full lifecycle. It“s really exciting to earn for the second consecutive year the Sustainable Container prize, as it is an honourable recognition of the great efforts being undertaken in Vitro to implement actions that lead to operating efficiency and technological innovation that seek to protect the environment and preserve the natural resources of our planet, comments Romero. Just in 2009 alone, the company was able to identify and complete 22 projects to reduce the weight and thickness of containers, with the full support of its customers, leading to a reduction in the volume of smelted glass used by 13,222 tons. This translates into a significant reduction in the use of energy and an important reduction in costs; it increases our efficiency and, we release less emission into the atmosphere thus improving air quality, he explains. During the years that the Stellar Packaging and Containers contest has been held, Vitro has always been present and invariably has its containers win awards in different categories with many of these designs going on to win international awards. During the first quarter of this year, the Vitro business unit, Containers, increased its sales by 1.4% versus the prior year to USD 214 million from USD 211 million the year before. The sales of foreign subsidiaries also increased to the amount of USD 3 million versus USD 1 million the prior year. AMEE comprises an industry that currently represents 2.4% of Mexico“s GDP and 12.9% of its manufacturing GDP; it has also developed strategies to expand information flow directed to the support of its members and designed to lead Mexican containers to international recognition and prestige.