Aluminium and tinplate represent just over 15% of all applications within the £10bn domestic packaging market: a combined total of 800,000 tonnes per year, produced by 15 UK manufacturers supplemented by a growing level of imports from mainland Europe and lower cost-base economies.
Along with that other old stalwart, glass, metal has ceded ground to rigid plastics and flexible film, which collectively now account for £3.2bn of annual UK packaging sales.
In the new, greener world order, however, some of that imbalance might soon be reversed, hopes Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA) director Nick Mullen.
“The environmental message that we’ve been trying to get across is beginning to be heard. Metal is a sustainable material: recycled and infinitely recyclable; economic and highly affordable; safe and trustworthy; and the whole supply chain process is well understood,” he says.
Mullen has been particularly encouraged by the planned evolution of the Courtauld Commitment to formulate packaging reduction targets on a more holistic basis, rather than purely focusing on lightweighting: a criterion by which metal is clearly disadvantaged. “The point we’ve been making to Wrap is that there’s a big difference between something that arguably can be recyclable and something that is recycled,” he says.
Overseas competition
However, there is a significant difference between recycling rates for steel and aluminium: in 2006 around 57% of steel packaging was recycled, while the rate for aluminium was only 32%. Analysts consider one of the greatest barriers to increased recycling of aluminium packaging to be the fact that aluminium is most widely used for beverage cans, which are often consumed on the go – where no recycling facilities exist. In contrast, steel is used for food and therefore the cans are emptied in
the home.
“In any case, lightweighting the primary packaging will often result in increasing the volume of secondary packaging as an unintended consequence. Metal is well placed within the overall environmental debate to gain market share. We think we’ve got an enormously strong story; what we don’t have is the enormously deep pockets to get that story out,” says Mullen.
Or, it has to be said, the people on the ground. It’s highly probable that the number of UK metal packaging manufacturers will contract, and in the meantime there’s stiff competition via imports from China and closer to home with which to contend.
The one UK product sector where metal does hold considerable sway is in beer and soft drinks for the off-trade, accounting for around 8.2 billion cans filled and sold per annum. That makes us the largest beverage-can market in Europe, where the volume of food and beverage can applications has grown by 57% over the past 20 years, while incurring a 20% reduction in the use of virgin material.
With its strong links to Coca-Cola, Rexam has a one-third share in the UK – evenly matched by Crown (through S&N) and Ball Packaging (through InBev and Coors). Certain to attract interest at Interpack will be Rexam’s new Fusion drawn wall ironed aluminium ‘can bottle’, now running along a pilot line at the company’s Milton Keynes R&D centre.
Incorporating custom-engineered necking technology developed by Rexam’s Italian partner Frattini, bottles can vary in capacity, shoulder shape, neck length and closing options to suit individual requirements. UK & Ireland sales director Gary Aslam says: “Fusion is the most exciting development to have come through during my 17 years at Rexam. It’s the first commercially feasible version of a ‘can bottle’, made with our usual process – so it’ll incur no new engineering costs – and one-sixth of the weight of a standard 33cl glass bottle with a re-sealable closure. We’re very close now to commercialisation, and I’m quite sure we’ll have a production line running next year.”
Aslam is less confident about the UK prospects, at least, for the 250ml slim can for wine, notably adopted by South African brand Eve and currently in search of European markets. “There’s a lot of interest, and there’s certainly a gap in the market with regard to slim cans, but there’s not the capacity within UK filling groups to accommodate changes for low-volume new products. To get this off the ground there needs to be a strong brand partner involved to fund the investment.”
Easy-open technology
Of the ‘big three’, Rexam will have Interpack pretty much its own way. Ball Packaging has opted not to participate, and Crown will occupy a small presence via the MPMA stand. Nevertheless, the recently introduced Easylift next generation of the established Eole easy-open can end technology will be part of Crown’s overall display. Adopted by Nestlé Purina Petcare Europe to trial the new ends on its 400g packs of cat and dog food, it’s a development that the can-making sector hopes could arrest the slide of petfood products into rigid plastic pouches – estimated by Mullen to represent an overall market of around 1.5 billion cans per year.
Compatible with existing canning line equipment, Crown is also targeting Easylift at a wide range of food applications including ready meals, fruit and vegetables, fish and dairy products, and is expected to go into full production across Europe later this year
Metal showcase
Also on the MPMA stand will be Roberts Metal Packaging and the Norwich-based Impress Paints & Coatings division, both showcasing new developments.
Having invested more than £750,000 in relocating to a new 3,000m2 facility in Thamesmead in January last year, Roberts aims to boost its current £4.6m annual turnover through an extension to its Softline aluminium packaging range into larger-format 200ml and 250ml sizes, currently available in sizes from 15-100ml. “Having previously tailored our offer to match an existing enquiry, as a stock range Softline has been a very successful change of step, and already represents over 10% of total sales, of which 50% goes to export,” says managing director Chris Saunders.
Impress (Norwich) produces 80 million cans per year for the paint and coatings market, and key account manager Matt Sykes says it is “just weeks away from launching a new easy-open facility with enhanced lid retention”. The new lidding technology was outsourced to the company’s Czech Republic and Dutch facilities, and will reduce material use by 500 tonnes of tinplate per year.
The easy-open closure picked up last year’s MPMA ‘Best in Metal’ sustainability gold award, and very much underlines Impress’s conviction that environmental issues are likely to strengthen metal packaging’s market profile and adoption. The company is currently working on a major sustainability improvement project with an undisclosed existing paint customer, says Sykes. “When your major customers ask you to explain your carbon footprint, you have to be ready with the answer. The process can be complex and time consuming, but it also provides a real insight into how your business ticks and allows you to evaluate and fundamentally change the way it operates, in both an economic and ethical ways.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO...
Metal packaging manufacturers were outraged last year when The New Covent Garden Food Co supported the introduction of a new soup range by calling on its customers to ‘ban the can’. Following pressure exerted by the MPMA, the slogan was subsequently withdrawn. Adding insult to injury last December, however, was Sainsbury’s adoption of Tetra Recart as the new lighter-weight packaging format for its own-label chopped tomatoes.
According to Tetra Pak UK & Ireland marketing manager Claire Robins, the switch was entirely consistent with many of the packaging material reduction criteria to which retailers are fully committed: “Tetra Pak cartons have long been used for liquid foods such as yoghurt and pasta sauce. Tetra Recart’s introduction provides more choice for retortable packaging, but this does not mean the can has had its day. Choice is essential for consumers, and there’s room on the shelves for both cans and Tetra Recart alike.
“We’re excited to be able to bring innovation to UK supermarket shelves. The package is lighter (only 18g) and its rectangular shape also reduces carbon impact, as it is highly efficient during transportation, storage and in distribution, using 33% less space than existing formats that are commonly used. Shelf life for tomatoes is around two years.”
In the same way that Robins is careful to acknowledge that the metal can still has a role to play, MPMA director Nick Mullen is equally punctilious in recognising that, just like any substrate, metal has to slug it out in a competitive commercial climate. Battle-lines, however, might be drawn on the definition of what constitutes an adverse carbon footprint impact.
“The Courtauld Commitment has hitherto been very much focused on light-weighting as the means of reducing volumes, and that doesn’t much help if you’re a can-maker,” says Mullen.
“Tetra picking up Sainsbury’s own-brand tomatoes is symptomatic of the everyday cut and thrust of modern business, so you more or less have to shrug your shoulders and get on with it. That’s OK until you get to the point where they say that the reason for the switch is that the Tetra solution is 50% lighter than the can. That only answers a tiny part of the question. OK, they’ve installed returnable skips in 65% of local authority tips, but who’s using them? Genuine and practical recycling is just as important a contributor to lessening overall carbon footprint.”
Whether or not Tetra’s gain represents the end of tinned tomatoes as a supermarket staple remains to be seen. In the meantime, Sainsbury’s decision has enabled the MPMA to convince Wrap of the need to incorporate the services of a metal packaging sector specialist in structuring the next stage of the Courtauld Commitment.
Along with that other old stalwart, glass, metal has ceded ground to rigid plastics and flexible film, which collectively now account for £3.2bn of annual UK packaging sales.
In the new, greener world order, however, some of that imbalance might soon be reversed, hopes Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA) director Nick Mullen.
“The environmental message that we’ve been trying to get across is beginning to be heard. Metal is a sustainable material: recycled and infinitely recyclable; economic and highly affordable; safe and trustworthy; and the whole supply chain process is well understood,” he says.
Mullen has been particularly encouraged by the planned evolution of the Courtauld Commitment to formulate packaging reduction targets on a more holistic basis, rather than purely focusing on lightweighting: a criterion by which metal is clearly disadvantaged. “The point we’ve been making to Wrap is that there’s a big difference between something that arguably can be recyclable and something that is recycled,” he says.
Overseas competition
However, there is a significant difference between recycling rates for steel and aluminium: in 2006 around 57% of steel packaging was recycled, while the rate for aluminium was only 32%. Analysts consider one of the greatest barriers to increased recycling of aluminium packaging to be the fact that aluminium is most widely used for beverage cans, which are often consumed on the go – where no recycling facilities exist. In contrast, steel is used for food and therefore the cans are emptied in
the home.
“In any case, lightweighting the primary packaging will often result in increasing the volume of secondary packaging as an unintended consequence. Metal is well placed within the overall environmental debate to gain market share. We think we’ve got an enormously strong story; what we don’t have is the enormously deep pockets to get that story out,” says Mullen.
Or, it has to be said, the people on the ground. It’s highly probable that the number of UK metal packaging manufacturers will contract, and in the meantime there’s stiff competition via imports from China and closer to home with which to contend.
The one UK product sector where metal does hold considerable sway is in beer and soft drinks for the off-trade, accounting for around 8.2 billion cans filled and sold per annum. That makes us the largest beverage-can market in Europe, where the volume of food and beverage can applications has grown by 57% over the past 20 years, while incurring a 20% reduction in the use of virgin material.
With its strong links to Coca-Cola, Rexam has a one-third share in the UK – evenly matched by Crown (through S&N) and Ball Packaging (through InBev and Coors). Certain to attract interest at Interpack will be Rexam’s new Fusion drawn wall ironed aluminium ‘can bottle’, now running along a pilot line at the company’s Milton Keynes R&D centre.
Incorporating custom-engineered necking technology developed by Rexam’s Italian partner Frattini, bottles can vary in capacity, shoulder shape, neck length and closing options to suit individual requirements. UK & Ireland sales director Gary Aslam says: “Fusion is the most exciting development to have come through during my 17 years at Rexam. It’s the first commercially feasible version of a ‘can bottle’, made with our usual process – so it’ll incur no new engineering costs – and one-sixth of the weight of a standard 33cl glass bottle with a re-sealable closure. We’re very close now to commercialisation, and I’m quite sure we’ll have a production line running next year.”
Aslam is less confident about the UK prospects, at least, for the 250ml slim can for wine, notably adopted by South African brand Eve and currently in search of European markets. “There’s a lot of interest, and there’s certainly a gap in the market with regard to slim cans, but there’s not the capacity within UK filling groups to accommodate changes for low-volume new products. To get this off the ground there needs to be a strong brand partner involved to fund the investment.”
Easy-open technology
Of the ‘big three’, Rexam will have Interpack pretty much its own way. Ball Packaging has opted not to participate, and Crown will occupy a small presence via the MPMA stand. Nevertheless, the recently introduced Easylift next generation of the established Eole easy-open can end technology will be part of Crown’s overall display. Adopted by Nestlé Purina Petcare Europe to trial the new ends on its 400g packs of cat and dog food, it’s a development that the can-making sector hopes could arrest the slide of petfood products into rigid plastic pouches – estimated by Mullen to represent an overall market of around 1.5 billion cans per year.
Compatible with existing canning line equipment, Crown is also targeting Easylift at a wide range of food applications including ready meals, fruit and vegetables, fish and dairy products, and is expected to go into full production across Europe later this year
Metal showcase
Also on the MPMA stand will be Roberts Metal Packaging and the Norwich-based Impress Paints & Coatings division, both showcasing new developments.
Having invested more than £750,000 in relocating to a new 3,000m2 facility in Thamesmead in January last year, Roberts aims to boost its current £4.6m annual turnover through an extension to its Softline aluminium packaging range into larger-format 200ml and 250ml sizes, currently available in sizes from 15-100ml. “Having previously tailored our offer to match an existing enquiry, as a stock range Softline has been a very successful change of step, and already represents over 10% of total sales, of which 50% goes to export,” says managing director Chris Saunders.
Impress (Norwich) produces 80 million cans per year for the paint and coatings market, and key account manager Matt Sykes says it is “just weeks away from launching a new easy-open facility with enhanced lid retention”. The new lidding technology was outsourced to the company’s Czech Republic and Dutch facilities, and will reduce material use by 500 tonnes of tinplate per year.
The easy-open closure picked up last year’s MPMA ‘Best in Metal’ sustainability gold award, and very much underlines Impress’s conviction that environmental issues are likely to strengthen metal packaging’s market profile and adoption. The company is currently working on a major sustainability improvement project with an undisclosed existing paint customer, says Sykes. “When your major customers ask you to explain your carbon footprint, you have to be ready with the answer. The process can be complex and time consuming, but it also provides a real insight into how your business ticks and allows you to evaluate and fundamentally change the way it operates, in both an economic and ethical ways.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANYTHING YOU CAN DO...
Metal packaging manufacturers were outraged last year when The New Covent Garden Food Co supported the introduction of a new soup range by calling on its customers to ‘ban the can’. Following pressure exerted by the MPMA, the slogan was subsequently withdrawn. Adding insult to injury last December, however, was Sainsbury’s adoption of Tetra Recart as the new lighter-weight packaging format for its own-label chopped tomatoes.
According to Tetra Pak UK & Ireland marketing manager Claire Robins, the switch was entirely consistent with many of the packaging material reduction criteria to which retailers are fully committed: “Tetra Pak cartons have long been used for liquid foods such as yoghurt and pasta sauce. Tetra Recart’s introduction provides more choice for retortable packaging, but this does not mean the can has had its day. Choice is essential for consumers, and there’s room on the shelves for both cans and Tetra Recart alike.
“We’re excited to be able to bring innovation to UK supermarket shelves. The package is lighter (only 18g) and its rectangular shape also reduces carbon impact, as it is highly efficient during transportation, storage and in distribution, using 33% less space than existing formats that are commonly used. Shelf life for tomatoes is around two years.”
In the same way that Robins is careful to acknowledge that the metal can still has a role to play, MPMA director Nick Mullen is equally punctilious in recognising that, just like any substrate, metal has to slug it out in a competitive commercial climate. Battle-lines, however, might be drawn on the definition of what constitutes an adverse carbon footprint impact.
“The Courtauld Commitment has hitherto been very much focused on light-weighting as the means of reducing volumes, and that doesn’t much help if you’re a can-maker,” says Mullen.
“Tetra picking up Sainsbury’s own-brand tomatoes is symptomatic of the everyday cut and thrust of modern business, so you more or less have to shrug your shoulders and get on with it. That’s OK until you get to the point where they say that the reason for the switch is that the Tetra solution is 50% lighter than the can. That only answers a tiny part of the question. OK, they’ve installed returnable skips in 65% of local authority tips, but who’s using them? Genuine and practical recycling is just as important a contributor to lessening overall carbon footprint.”
Whether or not Tetra’s gain represents the end of tinned tomatoes as a supermarket staple remains to be seen. In the meantime, Sainsbury’s decision has enabled the MPMA to convince Wrap of the need to incorporate the services of a metal packaging sector specialist in structuring the next stage of the Courtauld Commitment.
Source: packagingnews
No comments:
Post a Comment