The Gold Award was presented to Mondi for EcoWicketBag. It is a paper-based alternative to the plastic wicket bags for daily hygiene articles such as nappies, toilet paper and kitchen tissues. Made from durable kraft paper in various sizes, EcoWicketBag keeps the products inside protected, while being recyclable in paper waste streams. This innovative product opens the door to paper-based packaging in the hygiene industry and it will be further developed.

The Silver Award went to dy-pack for gardyan, a brand-new paper sack for potting soil. It manages the challenge to pack soil with a moisture content of more than 50% and to protect it from the development of mould, sprouting of seeds and drying out, while at the same time guaranteeing a long shelf life. This 100% plastic-free sack is made from fibres from sustainable forestry, recyclable in paper waste streams and home-compostable. A well-thought-out solution that will open new markets for the industry.

Novidon received the Bronze Award for its sustainable paper sack adhesive Novinexx CPB Premium which has a carbon footprint that is more than 50% lower than traditional starch adhesives. Novinexx CPB Premium is made from side-stream potato starch. This makes it highly sustainable and also readily biodegradable according to the OECD 301 norm. Developed for the latest technologies, it can be used on roller and nozzle applicators, and decreases the splash behaviour and drying time. Other benefits of the product are less cleaning time, no paper penetration, high bonding strength and shorter setting time compared to conventional starch glues.

The Industry Special Award was given to Haver & Boecker for the Seal Calculator. It relates to a very large proportion of the European paper sack market using ultrasonic valve-sealing technology and touches the value chain from different angles. It is an interactive tool with which all influencing factors for improving the usage of seal technology are reported. This gives orientation for individual adjustments and decisions.

The Public Choice Award went to MoistShield® by Fiorini. MoistShield® is a special patented waterproof treatment which can be applied to any Fiorini sack to give it hydrophobic properties. MoistShield® is a plastic-free sack and, thanks to an environmentally friendly coating, the sack remains an ecological and recyclable product. The water is not retained by the paper but slips away due to the high surface tension. MoistShield® provides sacks with a longer shelf life and allows for high-quality printing.

Gascogne Sacs introduced GascoGreen PROTECT, a pinch bottom and SOS paper sack for the pet food market. It is a recyclable packaging all over Europe thanks to a high fiber content in line with the highest demands of paper and cardboard recyclers. Its optimal fiber performance allows the economic valorisation of recycling. The sack offers properties never obtained before namely a longer shelf life.

Brazil-based Klabin presented ECO Layer, a repulpable and recyclable barrier solution. It consists in a resinous paper with aqueous dispersion of polymers with additives, free of fluorine.  The ECO layer maintains the safety and protection of the bagged product and has a longer shelf life.

ERO Gluing Systems presented an efficient non-contact gluing solution for paper sacks that enables saving more than 50% of glue, total elimination of the residual glue disposing cost, heavy reduction of the set-up time, easy maintenance and cleaning operations.

The Gold Award was presented to Smith Anderson for its reusable, recyclable and biodegradable "secure-seal" paper carrier bag. It was developed for a big fast-food chain to combat undetected regular theft of small parts of foodservice delivery meals. A paper handle patch below the main handle structure was equipped with a double-sided adhesive tape, securing the bag’s sides together. A broken seal is easily visible to the customer on delivery – but doesn’t destroy the bag or handle area.

Segezha received the Silver Award for their brand-new dry mixes industrial paper sack made from its innovative SKE i4 paper. It meets the growing market demands for eco-friendly sacks with high performance qualities. The sack’s low weight and durability allows customers to reduce material and logistics costs as well as damages in the supply chain and saves CO₂ emissions during transportation.

Mondi presented a new platform for smooth business processes: myMondi is the only all-in-one digital customer platform for paper sacks worldwide. The platform offers numerous functions and information with few clicks such as stock reports, order history and status overview, invoices overview and filtering, certificates, detailed product specifications. It is simple to use and navigate, available 24/7 and gives customers full transparency about their products and orders, anytime and anywhere.

Double Grand Prix Award winner was dy-pack: The German-based company won the Bronze and Public Choice Award for Vardy. The highly efficient barrier coating on the inside of the sack’s outer layer provides state-of-the-art water vapour protection. Vardy is an environmentally friendly alternative to PE-film and suitable for direct food contact. It allows easy recycling in the paper waste stream and is compostable according to DIN 13432.

With MailerBAG, Mondi introduced a bag that minimises logistics costs, accelerates the packaging processes in the logistics centres of the e-commerce industry and offers high-end branding opportunities. It is made of one ply high-performance sack kraft paper with a double adhesive strip with a release liner on the flap allowing the end consumer to reuse the bag to return any unwanted items hassle-free.

dy-pack presented Foody, a dust-proof and watertight paper sack with a high barrier film for valuable food powders. With Foody, there is no contact between paper and product. It allows filling of products with a high fat and moisture content as well as pastes and creams on all existing open-mouth filling machines at high production speeds. Due to the high flexibility in production and subsequently wide availability of such bags, planning cycles and delivery times can be reduced. The sack provides good recyclability due to the easy separation of the film.

Haver & Boecker introduced The Intelligent Aeration. The system controls the various aeration positions during the filling process automatically. It ensures that there is only as little air as necessary in the sack and the product. This results in an easier operation as no manual pressure adjustments are necessary. At the same time, the system reduces operating costs and tearing rates and enables a cleaner filling.

HP introduced the advantages of a Digitally Printed Bag with the example of the South Korean company Seejong. With the HP PageWide T400S press, Seejong can economically produce digitally printed liners on short and medium runs with great visual appeal. The possibility to create different versions – whether language, seasonal or special promotions – allows for even more differentiation from the competition without any waste or having to hold any stock.

BioPinch by Mondi is a biodegradable and compostable paper-based pinch bottom sack for pet food. It consists of one or more layers of paper as an outer ply and an inner ply of biodegradable PLA coating that allows the sack to be sealed without compromising its compostability and functions as an excellent grease and oil barrier. The sack has good tear resistance and offers an increased printable area for better branding.