ATLANTA, October 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Graphic Packaging International (GPI) has developed KeelClip™, a can cardboard packaging solution that offers sustainability benefits and merchandising advantages over other packaging options. KeelClip, the company’s latest innovation in cardboard packaging solutions, works well in high-speed environments thanks to the corresponding KeelClip 1600 machine system.

“KeelClip is preferable to other packaging options can because of the sustainability, brand positioning and benefits of high-speed application. It’s a game changer, ” said GPI Executive Vice President and President of America Joe Iost. “This is a product that has been designed with sustainability in mind. It also serves our customers with more branding options and, even better, it provides its consumers with an improved user experience and a product that they can feel good about using.”

KeelClip works on a wide range of styles and sizes can, and in multiple product configurations. Thanks to the way cans and packaging are assembled, the branding potential is better than ever. During application with the KeelClip 1600 machine system, cans can be precisely targeted for maximum shelf appeal, and the center of the keel provides the product for reliable delivery and consistent display. In addition, the package can be printed with high-quality graphics to demonstrate the branding of the product in a way that plastic rings can not.

“In addition to sustainability, the consumer experience has been at the forefront of our mind when designing KeelClip,” said Steve Gould, GPI new product and marketing Director, beverages division, Europe. “The robust, comfortable finger holes at the top of the pack make it easy to carry, and the tops can be fully covered to keep them cleaner than before. We have also made sure that while the cans are safe in the package for transport, they can be easily removed for the consumer to enjoy without disappointment. Finally, when the latter can be removed, the KeelClip can be thrown straight into the trash.”

As an innovator in this category, Anheuser Busch InBev, the world’s leading brewer, will be one of the first to commercialize KeelClip. Starting in March 2020, brewer Budweiser will have brands in the UK market such as Bud Light packaged using the new KeelClip.

“As one of the largest can users in the world, with best-selling brands like Stella Artois and Budweiser, the circular packaging solutions we take on must be scalable and efficient to keep up with demand. The KeelClip technology will allow us to produce up to 2,000 cans per minute in sustainable, recyclable paperboard. We will be reconfiguring our entire canning production lines in the UK to introduce this machinery and expand overall paperboard packaging capacity so that we can ensure all plastic rings are eliminated,” commented Elise Dickinson, head of innovation for Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, part of AB InBev.

For more information about KeelClip, including videos, visit https://www.graphicpkg.com/products/keelclip/.

ABOUT GPI

Graphic Packaging International, a subsidiary of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (GPK), is committed to providing consumer packaging that makes a world of difference. The Company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a leading provider of paper-based packaging solutions for a wide variety of products to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer product companies. The Company operates on a global basis, is one of the largest producers of folding cartons and paper-based foodservice products in the United States and holds leading market positions in solid bleached sulfate paperboard, coated unbleached kraft paperboard and coated recycled paperboard. The Company’s customers include many of the world’s most widely-recognized companies and brands. Additional information about Graphic Packaging, its business and its products is available on the Company’s web site at www.graphicpkg.com.

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