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Arlington, VA, July 31, 2007 – Packaging Machinery Technology (PMT) magazine announces that Swisher International’s mail pouch tobacco line has won the 2007 Packaging Line of the Year Award. With the help of BluePrint Automation ( Colonial Heights, VA), a multinational packaging automation company specializing in secondary casepacking, vision-guided robotics and total line integration, Swisher International was able to move from a totally manual operation to full automation and meet growing demand for a product that constitutes almost 50% of its business.

In addition to BluePrint Automation, Kliklok-Woodman, Wexxar and Garvey Corporation made key contributions to the line.

“Winning this award means a great deal to Swisher International, Inc. as we move forward,” says Greg Vike, plant manager, Swisher International. “I am sure that there is great pride at BluePrint Automation, Kliklok-Woodman, Garvey Corporation and Wexxar as this project was complex and a strong move forward in how our chew packaging would evolve. The award consummates all the time, planning and teamwork of the participants within our company and the companies that worked on this project.”

PMT’s Packaging Line of the Year Award is the industry’s most prestigious honor for packaging line engineering and innovation. This year’s award winner showcases the impact a well managed integration project can have on line efficiency and flexibility.

“Collaboration and communication were essential to the success of this line,” says Maria Ferrante, editorial director of PMT. “Without strong project management and teamwork, it would have been impossible to get all eleven pieces of equipment up and running on schedule. The result is a fully automated line running at the rate and efficiency Swisher needs to keep up with product demand.”

Details about Swisher International’s line will be shared during a special Conference at PACK EXPO session on Monday, October 15 from 12:45 – 1:30pm. Representatives from Swisher International will be present to formally accept the award. There will be no fee to attend the session, but registration is required.

The Conference at PACK EXPO will be held in conjunction with PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2007, running from October 15-17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV.

The winning line will also be the subject of PMT’s cover story in the November/December 2007 issue.

The editors of PMT along with members of the magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board evaluate award applicants on various criteria including the packaging line’s contribution to the company’s business plan, the level of innovation in packaging line design, the use of floor space/layout of the line design and integration of machinery to optimize productivity.

Swisher International is the third recipient of PMT’s annual Packaging Line of the Year Award. Previous winners include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (2006) and Kraft Foods (2005).