DS Smith (London, U.K.) has been awarded the title of UK Packaging Company of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards. A highlight of the packaging industry calendar, the UK Packaging Awards recognizes the very best companies, individuals and innovations in pack design.

The Packaging Company of the Year award is chosen by a panel of experts who are all highly respected and influential business leaders, designers, technologists and consultants in the world of packaging. When choosing a winner, the judges evaluate the company based on its financial performance, future strategy and its commitment to the UK packaging industry as a whole.

DS Smith was chosen as the ‘clear winner’ in the category for being a company at the forefront of packaging development, its commitment to investing in state-of-the-art technology and its strong financial performance. In particular, the judges commended DS Smith for its growth in the e-commerce market, with innovations such as its Made2Fit and DISCS (Drop, Impact, Shock, Crush, Shake) technologies which tackle key challenges such as void space and pack protection in the supply chain.

When selecting the winner, one of the UK Packaging Awards’ judges said: "DS Smith demonstrated a strong financial performance and a very impressive strategy. We were particularly impressed with the company’s commitment to investing in the latest technology as well as its strong track record in the e-commerce sector".

Commenting on winning Packaging Company of the Year, Chris Murray, Managing Director of DS Smith, said: "We’re extremely proud to win this award and receive recognition from the industry for all our fantastic team members across the UK who do amazing things every day for our customers. It’s been a challenging 12 months in the packaging industry due to a variety of factors, but we have risen to that challenge, adapted as industry leaders and are set up for a great future.

"We’d like to say a huge thank you to all our wonderful customers and partners who we work with every day to create sustainable packaging solutions that are used around the world. 12 months ago, we set ourselves some basic targets: to manage and reduce risk in our business; improve our customer service and quality to previously unachieved levels; and to build strategic partnerships with our customers. I think this award symbolizes the success we’ve achieved within all three."