April 25, 2022

FloraCraft® Receives National Award for Sustainable FōM Product

The Company Earns Its Third National Award for Product Innovation

FloraCraft’s® breakthrough new product, FōM^TM with PolyRenew^®, has won a bronze Edison Award^TM for an innovative product related to manufacturing.

Winning projects represent “game-changing” new products and services, marketing, human-centered design and innovation. Winners were selected by the award’s 3,000-plus panel of judges composed of the world’s top senior business executives, academics and innovation professionals. Previous winners of this award include Google, IBM, SC Johnson, Carrier, Caterpillar and GoPro.

Vice President of Extrusion Phil Gable represented FloraCraft at the Edison Awards Gala on April 21 in Fort Myers, Florida, He also attended the Innovators Showcase and Forum to network with fellow winners and learn more about their innovative products.

“It was humbling to be recognized nationally for our team’s work and be in the company of some of the greatest innovators in the country,” said Gable. “I loved having the opportunity to share FloraCraft’s story about the work that went into producing FōM and was inspired to hear from other innovators about the processes that made their organization, industry and the world better.”

The award marks the third national honor FloraCraft has received since debuting FōM in September 2020. Last year, the company was recognized with a Manufacturing Leadership Award for sustainability from the National Association of Manufacturers – one of the most prestigious awards in the industry – as well as a Stevie® Award in the product innovation category.

FōM is the first craft and floral foam product made with post-consumer plastic. The product saves hard-to-recycle plastics from landfills by using recycled garment hangers and other recycled polystyrene sourced from retailers across the country.

FōM was a result of more than a decade of research and development with a significant multi-year capital investment, including the company becoming vertically integrated. FloraCraft now designs, engineers and produces its own extruded polystyrene, or XPS, from its Ludington, Michigan headquarters, allowing it to maintain greater control over the quality of its products.

“Our team is well-deserving of this honor and their hard work further validates we are an organization that cares about our people, customers, community and the environment.” President and CEO Eric Erwin said. “To continue to be recognized nationally for our years of dedication to developing an innovative and sustainable product is incredibly rewarding.

“This Edison Award is a great representation of a truly innovative product that has changed the industry. As we continue to rethink our products and processes, we’re confident this is just the beginning for us as we reach for new innovation and sustainability goals in the future.”

By using recycled materials, the company can still make the same amount of product it normally does, but takes out the equivalent of nearly 1,000 miles of plastic, or the distance between New York and St. Louis, per year. By producing its own XPS in-house, FloraCraft also reduces nearly 400,000 miles of truck traffic each year from its former supplier to its headquarters.

According to consumers, the product is still the lightweight material crafters and florists love, only smoother and less brittle than the company’s legacy foam, making painting and cutting easier while producing less dust.