Graham Packaging Company, L.P., has introduced a new 24-ounce plastic apple sauce jar for the Musselman's and Lucky Leaf brands of Knouse Foods, one of the world's largest apple processors.

With the addition of the 24-ounce size, Knouse, based in Peach Glen, Pennsylvania, is now marketing a full line of custom hot-fill plastic jars from Graham Packaging, including 24-ounce, 48-ounce, and 64-ounce sizes.

All three sizes incorporate grip features that make the containers easy for consumers to handle. "Basically, Knouse has moved its brands into plastic to provide their customers with a lightweight, safe, and customer-friendly package -- one that's easy to carry, store, open, and reclose," said Paul Bailie, vice president and business manager of food packaging at Graham Packaging.

Bob Fisher, vice president of marketing for Knouse, said the company made the move to the plastic 24-ounce jar based on the success it had with the conversion of its 48-ounce apple sauce container from glass to plastic. During its first year in plastic, the 48-ounce container achieved double-digit growth in sales volume and Knouse significantly increased its market share in the category.

Fisher pointed out numerous advantages offered by plastic jars: They provide a lighter, easier-to-grip and easier-to-open package preferred by most consumers. Plastic jars are 20 percent lighter than comparably sized glass jars, and 30 percent more cases can be shipped per truck. Plus, plastic jars sustain less in-store damage because they're shatter proof and offer superior on-shelf stacking.

Graham Packaging currently supplies nearly 100 percent of the hot-fill plastic jars used by the apple sauce industry.

In addition to grip jars for Knouse, Graham Packaging makes a family of round, full-wrap-label jars designed to work with existing full-wrap labelers.

All of Graham Packaging's hot-fill apple sauce jars have recommended fill temperatures of 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit and can accommodate both one-piece plastic and two-piece combination closures in finish sizes of 63 and 70 millimeters. The finish size can be increased to 82 millimeters.

Graham Packaging maintains a national network of 10 jar-manufacturing lines in eight locations, including facilities in Bradford and Emigsville, Pennsylvania; Lakeland, Florida; Holland, Michigan; Evansville, Indiana; Muskogee, Oklahoma; Selah, Washington; and Modesto, California.

All of Graham Packaging's apple sauce jars are fully recyclable and support supply chain sustainability through lightweight design and reduced carbon footprint.

Graham Packaging, based in York, Pennsylvania, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of technology-based, customized blow-molded plastic containers for the branded food and beverage, household, personal care/specialty, and automotive lubricants product categories. The company has an extensive blue-chip customer base that includes many of the world's largest branded consumer products companies. It produces more than 20 billion container units annually at 83 plants in North America, Europe, and South America, and had sales of $2.49 billion in 2007.

Graham Packaging is a leading U.S. supplier of plastic containers for hot-fill juice and juice drinks, sports drinks, drinkable yogurt and smoothies, nutritional supplements, wide-mouth food, dressings, condiments, and beers; the leading global supplier of plastic containers for yogurt drinks; a leading supplier of plastic containers for liquid fabric care products, dish care products, and hard-surface cleaners; and the leading supplier in the U.S., Canada, and Brazil of one-quart/one-liter plastic motor oil containers.