For the second consecutive year the Australian Institute of Packaging have partnered with the Cormack Innovation Awards to offer a $5,000 scholarship to a student participating in the Industrial design program.

The success of the inaugural scholarship program in 2009, which saw talented student Sascha Dal Santo of the University of New South Wales scoop the scholarship with her written essay, was a clear indication to the AIP that the Cormack Innovation program was a suitable partnership for their Certificate in Packaging course.

The tangible nature of the Cormack Innovation Awards, unique to other Awards programs targeted at young designers in Australia, was a natural fit to the Scholarship on offer by the AIP. Both are designed to educate and promote to young industrial design students that there are rewarding and successful careers available within the Australian Packaging industry. To be eligible for the scholarship, which is offered in addition to the 3 month paid internship and $2,500 prize money for the Innovation Awards, students were asked to write a short essay on why they believed that the Scholarship would benefit their future ambitions.

In commenting on the continued partnership with the Cormack Innovation Awards Craig Wellman, National President of the Australian Institute of Packaging said

"The Cormack Innovation Awards program benefits the entire packaging industry providing industrial design students with great opportunities to explore packaging design.  This brainchild of Cormack Packaging remains an excellent initiative and the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is very pleased to be involved.  The AIP will, for the second consecutive time, provide a Scholarship for our Certificate in Packaging course which is internationally accredited in 27 countries. This scholarship will enable the successful student to enhance their knowledge of packaging which combined with industrial design will make them very attractive to FMCG companies around the world."

With the 2010 program now well and truly underway and with a focus on current amendments to the National Packaging Covenant, this year will prove to be the strongest competition of the nine year history of the Cormack Innovation Awards.

For more information regarding the Cormack Innovation Awards, please contact Hayley Lia at hlia@cormack.com.au or visit www.cormackia.com.au for full competition details.

 

At Cormack Packaging we are celebrating 316 days and counting!

After surpassing the previous safety record of 315 days without a lost time injury, recognition was made of a site wide commitment to ensuring the health and safety of all employees.

316 Days and Counting (without a lost time injury) Safety Incentive Program has been implemented to track and communicate to all employees on a weekly basis the maintenance of this significant safety achievement. With a focus on prevention and co-operation across all levels of the organisation, all employees are now focusing on achieving the next milestone of 400 days without a lost time injury.

In celebrating the achievement with all team members at a special lunch function, Mathew Cormack, Managing Director acknowledged that it is every individual's right to return home safely from work each day, but that it is also their duty to both themselves as individuals and to their colleagues to ensure that they practice the discipline of good Occupational Health and Safety that Cormack Packaging have embedded into the organisation.

In his speech to staff, he also expressed the importance of Occupational Health and Safety practices in the success of the business and its ability to be productive and grow in the current environment.

David Mellows, Operations Manager echoed these comments adding that Occupational Health and Safety and Lost Time Injury was every person's responsibility from the office staff to manufacturing operators, and that all employees had a role in achieving this milestone for Cormack.

Where quality is a focus every day in every thing we do, Cormack Packaging are proud of this achievement and look forward to celebrating 400 days without a lost time injury...... 84 days and counting.

Innovation came to life for the 2008 Cormack Innovation Awards winner Damien Azzopardi as he commenced his 3 month internship with Cormack Packaging. Damien will be given the unique opportunity to work with the highly skilled in-house design and engineering teams to bring his winning design to life and presenting as a product concept to a number of Cormack's industry leading customers.

The 2008 Cormack Innovation Awards held at Customs House, Sydney received a high quality field of finalists, showcasing the talents of third year industrial design students from local universities.

Judges were impressed with the identification of problems with existing packaging and the innovative solutions to address them, with this year’s entries among the best ever.

Cormack Packaging Managing Director, Mathew Cormack, said "innovation in packaging was very important across the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, household, chemical, automotive and hardware sectors."

Unusually, all three of this year’s placegetters were from the University of Technology, Sydney. However, other entries were received from students from University of NSW and RMIT, Melbourne.

In announcing the winners, Mr Cormack praised the standard of all entries, the strong participation of universities and the contribution of industry judges in the annual awards - aimed at encouraging innovation.

The winner from a “very close” top three designs was Damien Azzopardi of the University of Technology, Sydney with his “Powderade” measured powder dispenser. According to the judges the winning entry met all the requirements of the design brief for an integrated pack and closure device which delivers a measured portion.

The winning design provided a convenient approach to dosing powders which was ergonomic and manufacturable – clearly showing the assembly of components and how they work together. “Damien showed a good choice of target market, yet the package is versatile and also considered other markets. His design enables one handed operation, considers refilling different size drink containers - unlike the current package - and is refillable and recyclable.”

Second place was awarded to Thomas Hussey for his laundry liquid pump pack which was selected for its simplicity of use, outstanding shelf presence and the way the product identified an actual existing problem and addressed it better than existing designs.

Third place was awarded to Bhaven Chauhan’s Quantum Control Cap, which included child proof and tamper evident packaging with a true dosing device to eliminate error when measuring and mixing powders with liquids such as antibiotic medicines, sports drinks or baby formula.

Highly commended awards were shared by James Morton of University of NSW for a children’s paracetamol doser, Christian Alonzo of UTS for a hair cream dispenser and Kristina Zlomislic also of UNSW for a crème bleach mixer/applicator bottle.

A special thank you to the judges for this year’s awards, Richard Eckart of Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Utra Sharma of Selleys Yates and Helene Francois of Unilever Australasia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Winning University UTS

L-R Rowen Wagner (Lecturer), Thomas Hussey (2nd Place), Stephen Neil (lecturer), Damien Azzopardi (Winner),

Christian Alonzo (HC), Bhaven Chauhan (3rd Place), Cathy Lockhart (Lecturer)

 

Highly Commended L-R Mathew Cormack (MD), Christian Alonzo (UTS), Kristina Zlomislic (UNSW), James Morton (UNSW).

 

 

 

Thanks to the Judges:

L-R  Mathew Cormack (MD), Richard Eckhart (Sigma Pharmaceuticals), Utra Sharma (Selleys Yates) and Ronald Cornelisse on behalf of Helene Francois (Unilever)

 

 

 

 

For more information on the Innovation Awards visit our website www.cormackia.com.au or call Rosa McLean on (02) 97078017

 

The quality of the designers that win our Cormack Innovation Award is being displayed by their success in other design competitions. Our 2005 winner, Frag Woodall is in the final 21 of the International Bicycle Design Competition. Frag has entered his Everglide bike design which can be found here. The numbers of entries this year were 922 from all over the world. Find out more information on the competition here.

Our 2006 Cormack Innovation Award winner, Brad Stebbings is one of the 3 finalists for the Breville Young Designer Award. Brad has entered his design for a Coffee Shakir.

Our Cormack Innovation Award is one of the most practical design competitions opened to industrial design students in Australia and it is great to see that the designers that win the Cormack with a great packaging idea, go on to be recognized for their ability in other design disciplines.