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PHILADELPHIA, May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) announced today that several of its affiliated companies (³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø) have received three prestigious "Cans of the Year 2003" awards. ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø's Top Chef two-piece food container took a Gold Award in its category, while the ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Capitaine Cook processed fish package was recognized with a Silver Award. Rounding out ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø's successful showing was Biscuiterie Menou's Breton biscuits container, receiving a Bronze Prize in the decorative/promotional category. Awards were given out during the Cannex Asia show in Singapore in April.

³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø's gold-winning Top Chef package is an innovative, single-serve steel container for pet food that offers a new level of convenience. The lightweight, 0.12mm container features a heat-sealed, polypropylene peelable lid, allowing quick and easy dispensing. Consumers simply peel back the lid, place the container on the floor, and pets can eat from it directly, eliminating the need to transfer food to a separate bowl. For additional convenience, a self-stick adhesive pad on the base of the container ensures it stays in one place, eliminating product spillage. Developed for Covi, an established French food manufacturer, to maximize brand impact during its entry into the competitive pet food market, the innovative containers are available in 100g (cat food) and 300g (dog food) sizes.

Taking the Silver Award in the ends/caps/closures category was ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø's Peel Seamâ„¢ peelable lid technology, used by Capitaine Cook, a subsidiary of the Intermarche Group, in conjunction with a 290 ml steel bowl for its tuna salads. The Peel Seamâ„¢ peelable lid consists of a thin aluminum foil heat- sealed to a rigid steel or aluminum ring, which is conventionally flanged for the usual double seaming process. The panel features a small tab for easy lifting and is constructed from aluminum foil, laminated with polypropylene film on the inside; and lacquered and printed on the outside. The Peel Seamâ„¢ peelable lid is quickly, easily and safely removed.

³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø's specialty packaging group was recognized with a Bronze Award in the decorative/promotional category for a state-of-the-art steel package created for Menou Biscuiterie's traditional Breton biscuits. Created to enhance brand appeal and increase differentiation from competitors, ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø used a tall "spaghetti" package as a basis for the design, and added a unique mesh window that allows consumers to view the individually wrapped biscuits inside the package prior to purchase. Also composed of metal, the mesh window is manually added and welded to the rest of the package.

Organized by The Canmaker magazine, the awards were introduced to celebrate and promote metal packaging. "Cans of the Year" has traditionally run alongside the Cannex exhibition where show attendees vote for the overall contest winner. A selection of experienced industry executives choose the category winners, awarding gold, silver and bronze prizes.

³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Holdings, Inc. is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SOURCE ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Holdings, Inc.