DS Smith, an International Paper company, and leading global provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging solutions, celebrate winning two accolades at the prestigious Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) Excellence in Flexography Awards 2025.
The Excellence in Flexography Awards are hosted annually by the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) and are widely considered to be a prestigious annual print competition where competitors from around the world submit their packaging and design solutions to be assessed by an esteemed panel of judges from industry.
The winning sustainable packaging solution was created in collaboration with Carlsberg in Tampere (Finland) and awarded for the Combined Corrugated, Process (D.3) category as well as the category independent award for the most advanced packaging and design solution in the competition, Best of Show.
Ari Viinikkala, Country Managing Director, Finland, DS Smith
“I am proud of the diverse world-class expertise that we have in our team. This award is a wonderful testament to that. The value of the award is elevated by the fact that it is not just a win in our own competition category, but also the Best in Show, which speaks to our excellent flexographic printing expertise and our people's enthusiasm and interest in their work. The award is a great continuation of the work we have been doing for years."
The overall design of the new packaging for Carlsberg utilises as few materials as possible and made from sustainable fibre-based corrugated cardboard, is intended to be easy for the consumer to recycle.
Andy Parish, Product Change Manager, Carlsberg Britvic
"We collaborated with DS Smith to produce this fibre-based and recyclable packaging solution for our Carlsberg 18-pack Pilsner product. This package, originally printed with offset, was executed using flexographic printing in Tampere, Finland, and the result yielded a comparable print quality to the original, also with fewer colours used. It is an honour that the package achieved success in the prestigious Excellence in Flexography Awards 2025 competition.”
The 2025 FTA Excellence in Flexography Awards winners were announced at the Flexotech Awards banquet and FORUM event on Sunday 4th May 2025 in Pittsburgh USA. The winning packaging solutions and designs are on display at the INFOFLEX Awards Gallery in Pittsburgh, between Sunday 4 th May and Wednesday 7 th May 2025.
DS Smith has a target-led Now & Next sustainability strategy, Redefining Packaging for a Changing World, and is committed to leading an industry-wide transition to a circular economy while delivering sustainable packaging solutions to customers worldwide.