NEX Paper Tube Former wins ART OF PACKAGING 2026

Our paper sleeve, the NEX Paper Tube Former, has won the Technological Innovation category at the 20th edition of the ART OF PACKAGING competition. Oskar Nawrocki and Aleksandra Nawrocka collected the main award on 14 September 2026 at the Poznań Philharmonic. In August we wrote about the nomination. Today we can write about the win.

The jury recognised “outstanding technological innovation” and the effective use of advanced solutions in packaging. For us, what matters most is what lies behind that sentence: when moving from film to paper, the problem is never the paper itself. The problem is the process.

01 What exactly the award is for

Anyone can buy heat-sealable paper. It only becomes a packaging solution once it has been printed, formed into a sleeve and implemented on the customer’s packing line, where it has to run as reliably as the film it replaces. We did that work in four areas.

02 Results of the implementation

Estimated figures from the implementation at our current customer, based on internal data:

03 Paper sleeve specifications

04 What comes next

Winning ART OF PACKAGING opened the way to the international competition: we have entered the NEX Paper Tube Former in WorldStar 2027, the global competition of the World Packaging Organisation. At the same time, we are testing further applications for the sleeve: selected food products (subject to food contact requirements) and small accessories in the furniture sector.

This award belongs to the whole Kablonex team, who turned an idea into a working technology. Thank you.

05 Frequently asked questions

Why did the NEX Paper Tube Former win ART OF PACKAGING 2026?

For technological innovation: the combination of printing on heat-sealable paper, forming a sleeve from a material less elastic than film, and an implementation that lets a paper sleeve replace a film sleeve with no new machinery at the customer’s site. The sleeve won the Technological Innovation category at the 20th edition of the competition.

Will a paper sleeve work on my existing packing line?

We design the sleeve for the customer’s existing packing equipment and supply it on a roll, like a film sleeve. We start every implementation with trials on your line, because the seal settings may need adjusting. At our current customer, the move from film to paper took place with no investment in new machinery.

Is the paper sleeve recyclable?

The sleeve is paper-based, with no plastic film layer, and is intended for the paper recycling stream. The base material holds the Made for Recycling certificate issued by Interzero, with a rating of “good”, 18 out of 20 points.

Which products is the NEX Paper Tube Former suitable for?

Currently, industrial packing of bedding and home textiles. We are testing applications for selected food products and small furniture accessories.

More on why the problem in paper packaging is the process, not the material: Paper instead of film? We wrote about the nomination itself here: NEX Paper Tube Former nominated at ART OF PACKAGING 2026.