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THE CONSTANT INNOVATION WITHIN THE BEVERAGE CAN INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS THE PASSION AND EXPERTISE THAT GOES INTO WHAT IS AN ICONIC AND SUPERBLY ENGINEERED MASS-PRODUCED PRODUCT. HERE, TIM SYKES EXPLORES SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND ASTOUNDING ADVANCES IN CAN DESIGNThe beverage can has been a familiar item in shops and homes for around 80 years, and from a distance the modern can looks reasonably similar to its 1930s ancestors. On closer inspection though, today’s beverage can – less than a tenth of a millimetre in thickness – emerges as one of the great, unfolding feats of industrial design. It’s a high-tech product that is pushing the boundaries of metal-forming technology.The can industry is a hub of innovation, driven forward by cutting-edge technology to bring a level of performance and a range of forms, functionalities and decorative capabilities that would have been unimaginable to the users of the metal cylinders of yesteryear. From downgauging to stretching the possibilities in can shape, from ends that become apertures to smart inks, the industry never tires of introducing state of the art innovation to the marketplace. ULTRA-THIN WALLSOne of the greatest achievements in beverage can technology has been a dramatic downgauging since its emergence as a popular packaging format. Driven by cost and environmental pressures, manufacturers have reduced the amount of material to the degree that today’s can is a quarter of the weight of its predecessors 60 years ago, and its walls – at 87μm (0.087mm) – are today thinner than a human hair. According to Pim van Dam, Manager Primary Materials & Processes, Ardagh Group, the successes have been made on the back of a passion for innovation combined with attention to detail. “We have reduced the weight of a 33cl can down from 50g to today’s 12.2g by engineering out the unnecessary”, he says. “Historically, beverage-can making has been at the forefront of innovation in metal-forming technologies – it has moved the industry from soldering and welding to two-piece drawn and drawn and ironed cans.”PACKAGING FROM THE FUTURETHE CAN INDUSTRY IS A HUB OF INNOVATION, DRIVEN BY CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY TO BRING A LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE AND RANGE OF FORMS, FUNCTIONS AND DECORATIVE CAPABILITIES UNIMAGINABLE TO THE USERS OF YESTERYEAR➤EUROPEAN CAN MARKET REPORT 2016 17INNOVATION