Water Feature for 2009 Really Could Soon Make the Breakthrough Into the Big Time

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CANS OF THE YEAR AWARDS

ightweight aluminium bottles seem to have been on the cusp of high- L volume commercial production for many years, but it looks as if the Exal C2C bottle that won the Can of the Year Water feature for 2009 really could soon make the breakthrough into the big time. An aluminium bottle with a ﬁstful of attractive features We’ve seen the C2C bottle before, but what swung the judges in its favour this won the Can of the Year in 2009. John Nutting delves time was that the latest version – com- into the story behind its development mercialised with Canadian source water supplier Eaux Vives – was the complete What makes Exal’s C2C bottle special lined thin-wall container and then neck- package featuring a screw-thread alu- is that the Youngstown, Ohio, metal ing and forming the thread reliably with- minium closure that topped a container packaging specialist has overcome the out affecting the performance of the made from aluminium coil. challenges of making a decorated and coatings. ▲

● Aerosols ● Ends, Caps & Closures What caught the eye of the ● Food Three-Piece judges with Toyo Seikan’s Impress Metal Packaging’s Easip end is a A B development of the Easy Peel end which aerosol can for Kao ● General Line Cans Corporation in Japan was uses a peelable foil membrane that is thermosealed to a polypropylene-coated steel Finite-element analysis the contrasting effects of print E was used at Brasilata to and surface ﬁnish, created by ring. What’s clever in the Easip end on the Bonduelle can is that a change in the geometry design this 18-litre can so the partial grinding with of the ring and the composition of the aluminium that it met the latest UN drop sandstone of the aluminium and polypropylene membrane enables the food test requirements for monobloc can. By using special can to be processed with a pressure differential dangerous products while design patterns an almost of up to 1.4 bars, whereas only 0.3 bar was reducing tinplate use by nine three-dimensional effect possible before, requiring overpressure retorts. percent. Saw-tooth beads is created, and the decorative This looks like a traditional food can, yet is advanc- enable the can to absorb appearance changes depending ing the technical and convenience features for the impact on the corners on the viewpoint food processing industry

● Beverage Three-Piece This shaped three-piece syrup container made by Massilly’s Safet division in France for Routin’s Fruiss C Syrup displays superb graphics with a subtle proﬁle that matches the blue plastics pouring spout C

● Food Two-Piece Gomes da Costa in Brazil is one of the world’s biggest ﬁsh packers. It’s GDC D Embalagens canmaking division makes B drawn cans with strong graphics and con- F venience features such as an easy-open end and cap to keep the product fresh after opening

CANS OF THE YEAR AWARDS

● Fancy Cans ● Beverage Two-Piece Jean-Paul Gaultier, the When the Wong Lo Kat herbal CAN OF THE French fashion tea brand – China’s biggest F designer, has long been G selling drink produced under YEAR 2009 a supporter of metal licence by JDB – started using packaging, and this aluminium cans for the first time in particular tinplate container 2008 it wanted to match the flat- made by Crown Speciality sheet print quality of the three- Packaging for Solid Perfume piece welded cans it has been Jewel first sold last year in a using for many years. Pacific Can pack for both women and was one of the first canmakers to men combines intricate match that label quality on a two- embossing with a striking piece can along with meeting the metallic finish stringent performance requirements for a hot-filled and ● Decoration & retorted drink ● BOTTLES: Exal Corporation Print Quality Winner of The Canmaker Can of the The judges chose this ● Prototype Year for 2009 H container made by This clever idea from Impress Canada’s Eaux Vives Water planned Crown Speciality Metal Packaging uses three to launch its pure Eska waters with a Packaging for the I fish cans that click together, so premium image that would meet Bruichladdich Distillery that when one is opened it can growing scrutiny of environmental because of its decoration be clicked into the base of another, issues. It chose Exal’s aluminium and print quality using thereby sealing it to keep the bottles made with C2C D&I-based half-tone images to contents fresh technology that almost halves complement stunning the weight compared with impact- graphics to create the theme extruded bottles. The result is Eska of ‘Waves Rock and Peat’ branded water in a premium pack with a resealable ROPP cap

CAN OF THE YEAR 2009

CANS OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Key is the fact that it weighs just 27 ENDS, CAPS & CLOSURES grams, about a third less than an equiv- CATEGORY WINNERS GOLD: Impress Metal Packaging (France). alent impact-extruded bottle and hugely Easip peelable end for Bonduelle less than a glass bottle, which is good for SILVER: Franpac - Massilly Group (France). CAN OF THE YEAR 2009 Easy Open Ends on pâté cans for Hénaff reducing logistics costs. And it’s recy- Exal C2C (USA) aluminium bottle for Eaux Vives Water BRONZE: Universal Can Corporation (Japan). clable, which is part of the reason why UniSOREX ROPP closure on French Café aluminium bottle AEROSOL CANS Eaux Vives’ managing director Simon for Namyang Dairy Products GOLD: Toyo Seikan Kaisha (Japan). Lester selected it. Liese Hair Refresher can for Kao Corporation COMMENDATION: Bericap VUN SK 24/12 AF plastics closure The C2C – short for Coil-to-Can – pro- SILVER: Impress Metal Packaging (Germany). ject kicked off in 2001 when Exal and Ger- ‘3 Wetter Taft’ Power Haarlack can for Schwarzkopf & Henkel FANCY CANS man machinery manufacturer Hinterkopf BRONZE: Aerocan (France). GOLD: Crown Speciality Packaging Europe (France). Bosque Verde shoe polish aluminium can for Francisco Aragon Solid Perfume Jewel embossed tin for Jean-Paul Gaultier collaborated to design a production line SILVER: Huber Decorative Packaging (Germany). that combined the lightweighting and pro- BEVERAGE THREE-PIECE Churchill’s Porcelain Jar and Biscuit Tin for Churchill’s ductivity potential of a D&I canmaking GOLD: Safet, part of the Massilly Group (France). Confectionary line with the styling opportunities offered Fruiss Syrup can for Routin BRONZE: Crown Speciality Packaging Europe (France). by monobloc aerosol can lines. SILVER: Impress Metal Packaging (The Netherlands). Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey container for Brown Forman Karvan Cévitam Specials Syrup can for H J Heinz COMMENDATION: Huber tin for Martell Cognac. “The key is to combine the efficiency of BRONZE: Daiwa Can Company (Japan). beverage canmaking and the flexibility of Starbucks Double Shot premium coffee can for Suntory, FOOD THREE-PIECE aerosol manufacturing systems,” Exal’s the filler for Starbucks GOLD:Impress Metal Packaging (France). chief executive Delfin Gibert told The Can- Food can with Easip peelable end for Bonduelle maker. “[Customers] like the C2C bottle BEVERAGE TWO-PIECE SILVER: Pirlo Metal Packaging (Austria). GOLD: Pacific Can (China). Lever Lid Can with aluminium membrane for Beck’s Cocoa because it looks expensive, but is more- Wong Lo Kat Herbal Tea aluminium can for JDB Group No Bronze award cost effective than previous versions.” SILVER: Rexam Beverage Can North America (USA). Nitrous Monster Energy Drink aluminium can for Revealed in The Canmaker at the end FOOD TWO-PIECE of 2003, the first bottle prototypes featured Hansen Beverage Company BRONZE: Ball Packaging Europe (Germany). GOLD: GDC Embalagens (Brazil). plastics thread outserts, a well-tried but Grotwerg Schwarzbier aluminium can for Germany Gomes da Costa Pâté drawn can for GDC Alimentos more costly technology. International Beverages Ltd SILVER: Glud & Marstrand (Denmark). First to use this design at the end of Fiskeduserne fish pâté drawn Cup Can for Amanda Seafood 2004 was US firm Brain Twist for its novel BOTTLES BRONZE: Galeb Group (Serbia). Neo Chicken Pâté drawn can for Neoplanta drink Fair Warning. About half a million GOLD: Exal Corporation (USA). Aluminium bottle for Eska – still and sparkling water bottles were made for the drink sold for Eaux Vives Water GENERAL LINE through 7/11 stores across North America. SILVER: Boxal (France). GOLD: Brasilata (Brazil). It took another three years for the next Floressance Range of Food Supplements shaped 18-litre UN-spec dangerous goods can for Sherwin Williams limited-volume launch when Canada- aluminium bottle for JLB Développement SILVER: Blechwarenfabrik Limburg (Germany). based Blue Spike Beverages launched BRONZE: Exal Corporation (USA). Ecosta 10 pail for various customers Amber Sun Ale aluminium bottle for 16 Mile Brewing Company BRONZE: Companhia Metalúrgica Prada (Brazil). Octane 7.0, an alcoholic energy drink, Wanda Safety Can for Akzo Nobel Coatings SA using a C2C bottle with a metal crown. In DECORATION & PRINT QUALITY the intervening period, Exal’s Gibert GOLD: Crown Speciality Packaging Europe (France). PROTOTYPE revealed plans for setting up a series of Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey tin for Bruichladdich Distillery GOLD: Impress Metal Packaging (France). C2C production lines around the world SILVER: CPMC Company (China). PowerClick Cans with Easy Peel ends Long Jing Tea decorated tin for COFCO SILVER: Xolution (Germany). which would have a combined capacity of BRONZE: Crown Speciality Packaging Europe (France). XO-422 recloseable beverage can lid 12 billion cans. Bushmills 1608, 400th Anniversary tin for The Old Bushmills BRONZE: Pirlo Metal Packaging (Austria). Vital for this was to develop a line with Distillery Company DryCan for tea and coffee the facility to form the screw thread and eventually raise productivity. The first Other brands recently launched with First used by French-based vegetable objective was achieved early in 2009 and C2C include the Dejant Group’s Cloud9, canner Bonduelle in 2008, the ends are the Eaux Vives Water product using a 30cl an ‘aphrodisiac’ drink initially intended for assembled from a steel ring made from C2C bottle was launched commercially in hotel mini-bars but expanded into night- Corus’s polyester-coated Protact to which Canada. An additional novelty is that the clubs where its popularity prompted its an Alcan Alufix Retort membrane is heat- screw threads are different for the still and sale into supermarkets across the US. A sealed. sparkling versions of the drink, probably sugar-free version is planned for 2010. The membrane is prevented from tear- acknowledging that the internal pressure Another significant advance in can- ing away under internal pressure by the influences the opening torque required. making technology was launched in the conical shape of the bonding surface which This is why the last C2C bottle was past 12 months by Impress Metal Packag- puts the bonding area into shear, enabling judged the Can of the Year. ing, which won three Gold awards this year. it to be stronger. The ease of opening is “It has been a long time coming, but the Conventional peelable easy-open ends unchanged. For this Impress won Gold in apparent simplicity of the aluminium bot- have been expanding in the food markets Ends, Caps & Closures, and Three-Piece tle belies the huge amount of technology but are limited to use on cans in counter- Food cans. necessary to make it succeed in global pressure retorts in which the expansion of Impress also won Gold in the Prototype markets, which we believe will happen the end is counteracted by external pres- category for its Powerclick cans. Anyone soon,” said the chairman of the judging sure. But the Easip end from Impress uses who uses only part of the contents of a tuna panel. “We have chosen aluminium bottles different coatings and a structure that can will appreciate this idea, which uses before as the Can of the Year, but this is enables it to withstand higher pressure three cans, each with a peelable easy-open the first developed outside of Japan to offer differentials, enabling its use in non-coun- end, that cleverly click together. Once one a commercial customer the option of light terpressure applications, making it more is opened it can be clicked under another in weight and recloseability.” versatile. rotation to seal it. So simple.