Hot-Hot-fill bottle for Tropicana Products, Inc.,

Because the bottles fit snugly shoulder-to-shoulder on the shelf, you can get more bottles in less space than you would with traditional round bottles. The space savings is an important advantage from the retailers' perspective.

Graham also produced a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) hot-fill bottle for Tropicana Products, Inc., the world's leading producer of branded fruit juices.

"The rectangular bottle is definitely preferred by the retail trade because of its 20 percent space savings-you can store 10 of the rectangular bottles in the same space that held only eight of the old bottles," says Mike McDonald, vice president of sales for Old Orchard. "Consumers like it because it's well-balanced and easy to grip and it fits inside the refrigerator door. On top of that it's also more upscale-looking."

Graham Packaging produced the first non-round rectangular shape PET heat-set bottle in 1998 and then the first rectangular bottle with a grip in the fall of 2002, using a customer's design. Since then, interest in the rectangular shape has been growing, and Graham Packaging is now providing its own new designs of rectangular bottles with improved grips.

"The rectangular bottle provides significant advantages for all concerned-the juice bottler, the retailer, and the consumer," Kojitani says.

Old Orchard is one of the fastest-growing branded juice lines in the United States. It offers the largest variety of 100 percent fruit juices and blended juices, with 21 frozen concentrate flavors and 22 bottled flavors available.

Greater space efficiency is of great importance to the food industry at the moment. A squeezed supply of refrigerated shipping containers in the US has caused shipping rates to rise 10 per cent to 25 per cent since last spring, which has helped to push up prices.

Shipping rates are also expected to continue to climb as shipping lines in the US implement federal security regulations aimed at thwarting terrorism. Other costs including insurance, fuel, terminal charges and even container prices are also on the increase.

About Graham Packaging:

Graham Packaging Company, L.P., based in York, Pennsylvania, USA, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of customized blow-molded plastic containers for the branded food and beverage, household and personal care, and automotive lubricants markets. The company employs approximately 3,900 people at 56 plants throughout North America, Europe and South America. It produced more than nine billion units and had total worldwide net sales of $978.7 million in 2003. The Blackstone Group of New York is the majority owner of Graham Packaging.

Graham is also a world leader in customized package manufacturing.

Graham Packaging Company
2401 Pleasant Valley Road
York, PA 17402
U.S. Corporate - (717) 849-8500

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