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Designing a can with ultra-thin walls that is fit for purpose requires accomplished engineering. The most recent advances in downgauging have benefited from a more rigorous and empirical, industry-wide approach to understanding specifications. “Around six years ago BCME led a drive to go out and scientifically prove what is fit for purpose in the market,” says Bill Neilson, Technical Vice President at Ball Packaging Europe. “We measured the external load and internal pressures on cans across their whole lifespan. External laboratories were engaged for testing. What emerged from this process was an exact understanding for the first time of the pressures a beverage can has to withstand, and from this we could define the minimum viable material widths.”The reduction in material is an engineering feat in itself, but all the more remarkable in the context of the speed at which a modern canning line operates – typically producing 2,000 cans per minute, running 24 hours per day, seven days a week. In this respect, downgauging relies on more than an innovation in 18 EUROPEAN CAN MARKET REPORT 2016 INNOVATION