Walmart, Kraft to Have Judges at Packaging Design Competition

The panel of judges at the Institute of Packaging Professionals Southeastern Chapter’s (IoPP SE) 2013 “48 Hour Re-Pack” Student Design Competition will include Peter Borowski, head of design at Kraft Foods in Northfield, Minn.; Chet Rutledge, director, private brand packaging at Walmart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark.; and Ron Jarvis, VP of environmental innovation/sustainability/SER and chairman of the Environmental Council at The Home Depot in Atlanta.

Now in its fourth year, the annual competition, which this year takes place Feb. 22- 24, was created as a forum to identify the skills and talents of the next generation of design professionals. Winners will be revealed May 2 at NEXTPACK 2013, a summit on the future of packaging hosted by IoPP SE and held at The Coca-Cola Co. headquarters in Atlanta. The event features leading industry experts on technology, research, design, innovation and trends.

The competition unites students and packaging professionals from prestigious Southeast design firms and sponsoring corporations. Every entrant receives free admission to the NEXTPACK 2013, with the top 10 finalists invited to display their designs in the exhibition area. The three winning teams get to present their ideas as part of the summit program, and winners will receive cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. All entries will be posted on the competition website.

Additionally, two members of each winning team will receive an invitation to present their design ideas at the 2013 Walmart Sustainable Packaging Expo in May.

“The 48 Hour Re-Pack Competition is a great way to showcase future packaging professionals,” said Rutledge. “This competition will challenge designers to blend function and form, sustainability and material optimization, all in a short timeframe with a hard deadline.”

Among the platinum sponsors of the competition are Coca-Cola, MWV, Unisource Worldwide, Printpack, Southern Graphic Systems, Bemis, Graphic Packaging, Plastic Technologies, IoPP SE and IBPA.

The registration deadline is Feb. 20.