ETMA Declares Tube of the Year Award

Who is ETMA?

ETMA is the European Tube Manufacturers Association. ETMA was founded in 1991 and has since become the leading trade association for the tube manufacturing packaging industry in Europe. ETMA members produce a wide range of products, including steel pipes, stainless steel tubes, copper tubes, aluminium tube packaging, and plastic pipes. ETMA works to promote the interests of its members and the wider industry through a variety of activities, including lobbying, market intelligence, and networking. The association also provides a platform for dialogue between tube manufacturers and other stakeholders, such as raw materials suppliers, customers, and policymakers. This dialogue allows members to share best practices and drive innovations in the tube manufacturing industry. The association has a strong voice at a European level and is committed to ensuring that it offers to support the interests of its members are represented in decision-making processes that affect the industry.

What are the Types of Tube Packaging?
There are three main types of tube packaging: Laminated tubes, plastic tubes, and metal tubes. Laminated tubes are made from paper or cardboard that has been coated with plastic or foil. These types of packaging are durable, lightweight, and inexpensive. Plastic tubes are made from a variety of materials, including both polyethylene and polypropylene. This format is strong and resistant to moisture and chemicals, which makes them the best packaging type for storing personal care products like creams, cosmetics and fabric cleaning supplies. Metal tubes are the most durable of all tube packaging and are often used for products that need to remain sterile, such as medical supplies. This metal packaging is mainly made of aluminium.

The ETMA Tube of the Year Awards
ETMA, the European Tube Manufacturers Association, awards the prestigious “Tube of the Year” prize every year to the best new tube or tube-based product. The member companies include all major European tube manufacturers, so it’s a highly sought-after packaging solutions award. The criteria required for the award are very strict and ETMA commissions an independent panel of experts to judge the products and pick a winner. The coveted “Tube of the Year” award is the best place for members to show off their newest products and innovations and get recognition. The awards are also an excellent occasion for manufacturers and suppliers to see the new product and packaging innovations that are on the market.

The Awards – 2015
During ETMA’s 2015 conference the association declared the winners of the “Tube of the Year Award.” The categories where the award was up for grabs were plastic tubes, aluminium tubes, laminate tubes, and prototypes.

Gregor Spengler, the ETMA Secretary General, said that the competition is about demonstrating the innovation, capability, and creativity of all the organisations that are included in the European tube industry and he also mentioned that the awards provide significant motivation for the tube’s ongoing developments and enhances its appeal as a packaging material in the market.

As always, there was tough competition among all the nominees across several categories for the annual tube awards from member companies. The aluminium tube winner was a tube from Tubex, which was designed for Buly 1803, that won’t be in the Aluminium Tube category. In the laminate tube category, a polyfoil tube was announced as the winner (this tube came equipped with a twist-and-use applicator which adds to its usability).

For the category of plastic tubes, there were two winners. Albéa of France impressed with its tubes of Sublim BB eye cream and Marionnaud Hydra, with the company’s application system using a special sponge pad that is crafted from a material with a long shelf life (which ensures a smooth and precise application in addition to comfortable handling). The product also has a special, airtight spike in the cap, which prevents the accidental escape of the contents.

The second winner of the award was CTL Packaging a French manufacturer of tube packaging. Their product Candalie’s Spa Object Tube won due to its sustainability and environmental qualities. The company also won the award for prototypes too with a tube they had manufactured with special holographic effects, using the in-mould-labelling production technology.

The administrators and organisers of the awards event were satisfied with the nominations and the winners. ETMA’s Secretary General stated that the tubes which won awards displayed the perfect combination of both design and utility which ensured maximum possible ease of use. The winning products also displayed an alternative, eco-friendly and sustainable form of packaging.

To read more about ETMA, you can visit the SFC corporate site.