At the WorldStar Awards ceremony today in Interpack in Dusseldorf, Germany, Prent Corp. is being honored for its universal thermoformed clamshell for Cook Urological. The package is helping the global medical device manufacturer cut tooling costs, per package costs, and assembly costs. This is Prent’s 14th WorldStar Award.

The clamshell accommodates 35 different Nitinol Basket product line options, including two different handle configurations, Prent reports. The baskets are used for urinary tract stone manipulation and removal.

“As Cook continues making refinements in its medical device line, our universal package design will help them easily accommodate both existing and new devices, including those with different handles, triggers and product configurations,” explains Joseph T. Pregont, Prent's president and CEO, in a press release.

“Our design is also helping Cook reduce its packaging costs three ways,” he explains. “First, the one-piece design is slashing tooling costs because it is thermoformed using just one tool —rather than separate tools for trays and retainers.

“Second, we cut the cost per package by more than 25% with the one-piece design.

“Third, less assembly time is now required,” points out Pregont, “since the one-piece clamshell can be loaded faster.”

Prent's design features four undercuts inside the circular cavity that have helped ease device loading and unloading . They also help prevent the devices from popping out of the package or out of the operating room’s sterile field.

“These were some of our biggest concerns because damage during loading and unloading was previously a common occurrence. I think the WorldStar judges agreed that our solution to the problem was pretty unique,” explains Pregont.

Prent’s package for the Cook Nitinol Basket had previously won an AmeriStar from the Institute of Packaging Professionals.