PRO Carton, the European association of carton and carton board manufacturers, has revealed the full judging panel for its three awards, alongside the first batch of sponsors for the event.
The European Carton Excellence Award (ECEA), the Pro Carton Young Designers Award (PCYDA), and the Pro Carton Student Video Award (PCSVA), will take place on September 19 in Berlin, Germany, during the annual European Carton Makers Association (ECMA) Congress, with the finalists invited to the official awards ceremony.
The announcement of the judging panel coincides with the reveal of this year’s PCYDA sponsors, the Belgian sustainable packaging group, Van Genechten Packaging, Austrian sustainable packaging provider MM Group, Swedish cartonboard provider, Billerud, and Serbian cartonboard manufacturer, Umka.
Pro Carton has also welcomed Metsä Board, MM Board & Paper, and WestRock as material partners for this year’s awards programme. Metsä and MM Board & Paper have provided free cartonboard materials to entering universities and schools across Europe, while WestRock will create sustainable cartonboard-framed certificates and trophy materials for the winners.
The judging panel for the awards includes Satkar Gidda (consultant and 2023’s chair of the jury); Sanjeev Das (global packaging director for Unilever); Lotte Krekels (packaging manager at Carrefour); and Heidi Vanspauwen (corporate marketing & communications director for Van Genechten Packaging). Gidda, Das, and Krekels will make up the judging panel for the ECEA, all four of them for the PCYDA.
PCSVA entries will be judged on visual quality, story board, film making techniques, choice of music, themes shown, and communicating the environmental benefits of cartons. Entrants will be judged by a panel comprising film producer Bady Minck; former CEO and chairman of several advertising agencies Simon Bolton; and Pro Carton’s marketing and communications director Winfried Muehling.
Winfried Muehling said, “The Pro Carton Awards are remarkable competitions that offer entrants a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the future of packaging. All winners look forward to attending our Awards Gala night in Berlin. The winners of the PCYDA will take part in unique training on sustainable packaging material, with Van Genechten Packaging, Billerud and Umka.
“Having four industry members sponsor the Pro Carton Young Designers Award reflects the enthusiasm, support and passion for the talents held within the industry. We’re excited to see the entries roll in for another successful year of cartonboard competition. The PCSVA, the PCYDA and the ECEA are the most relevant competitions for cartonboard in Europe. Competing with the very best.”
