Kaufman Container Awards Novapak 2004 Vendor of the Year

Presenting the "Vendor of the Year" award to Novapak Corporation are Kaufman Container's Jeff Gross, vice president of sales and marketing (left); John Connoy, vice president of purchasing and vendor relations (second from left) and Ken Slater, president (far right). Accepting the award for Novapak are (third from left, to right) Ken Stufko, vice president of sales; Michele Heinle, project manager; Jason DiNardo, regional sales manager and Bill Bergen, president and CEO.

CLEVELAND, OH — Kaufman Container named Novapak Corporation, Eatontown, NJ, "2004 Vendor of the Year" at its annual award presentation and dinner held February 10, 2005. Novapak is the only supplier to receive the award twice. The first award was presented in 1996 when Novapak was known as PVC Container Corporation.

"Novapak is competitive, responsive, and their scheduling is supportive of our customer needs," said Ken Slater, Kaufman Container's president. "The company is a real partner." Novapak is one of Kaufman's top suppliers and has partnered with the distributor for approximately 20 years.

Recipients of the award are chosen based on the following criteria: quality, on-time shipments, communication, service, sales, marketing, and technical support. Accepting the award for Novapak were Bill Bergen, president & CEO; Ken Stufko, vice president of sales; Michele Heinle, project manager; and Jason DiNardo, regional sales manager.

One of the projects that had a major impact on Kaufman's decision to award Novapak Vendor of the Year was the launch of the Performance Chemical Line for Tenneco Automotive, Lakeforest, IL. Novapak produced a unique tilted-neck PVC container for the line that met Tenneco's deadline and won a gold award from the National Association of Container Distributors (NACD). Slater praised Novapak for meeting Tenneco's demands on this and other projects in 2004. He made special mention of Ms. Heinle, who had been Novapak's customer service representative since 1995 and who is currently its project manager, for her involvement in the project: "She is a true asset," he said. "Her communication and information flow made it all happen."

Kaufman Container is a packaging-sourcing center that offers stock bottles, closures, dispensing systems, custom mold development, and state-of-the-art package decoration. The company serves a wide range of markets including food and beverage, industrial chemicals, healthcare, cosmetic and personal care, and contract packers.