European paint manufacturers seeking the latest in convenience packaging now have access to the Easylid closure from CROWN Aerosols and Speciality Packaging Europe, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. Designed to make the opening and reclosing of paint cans significantly easier, the technology made its market debut in Finland and is now available for adoption in other parts of Europe. At the recent 2013 Starpack Industry Awards, the UK’s leading awards program for best practices in packaging design and technologies, the new Easylid™ closure was recognized as a Highly Commended technical innovation, praised for being an “effective solution to an age old problem” with “clever design and good application of secondary material”.

Consisting of a metal plate with a plastic outer ring, the Easylid closure is easy to remove by hand, with no need for tools like screwdrivers or other apparatus which can actually lead to warping of the lid, making it difficult to reclose. This eliminates a potential cause of damage to the lid’s seal, cutting out any risk of spills or of the paint drying out when it comes in contact with the air. To open the Easylid closure, consumers simply place their palms in the middle of the lid, grip the lip of the plastic ring and pull. The outer ring has been designed to ensure a tight seal every time the lid is replaced, maximizing safety and enabling consumers to take advantage of every last drop of product.

“Consumers are looking for added value and convenience from the products they buy and brands are increasingly turning to new packaging formats as a means of meeting or exceeding their expectations,” said Véronique Curulla, European marketing manager, Crown Aerosols and Speciality Packaging Europe. “As we introduce the Easylid closure across Europe, paint consumers will be able to join the convenience revolution and discover the value of easy-to-open packaging.”

To meet consumers’ concerns about environmentally friendly products and enable manufacturers to continue to supply major retailers with increasingly rigorous sustainability standards, the Easylid closure has been developed using metal and plastic. Both of these materials are easy to recycle, with metal being 100 percent infinitely recyclable and a permanent resource. The Easylid closure was initially developed in collaboration with Finnish paint company Tikkurila and is suitable for water-based paints.