Candid (adj. truthful and straightforward; frank)

Mark Taylor, managing director, Heat Food and Drink

Posted on 11 May 2012 | No comments

I set up Heat Food and Drink in 2010 as a vehicle to take over the unique Hotcan self-heating meal product. From starting off with an empty building and offices, over the past 18 months we’ve installed a completely new production line to manufacture the product and set up a sales and marketing team to promote Hotcan. We started production properly at our site in Staffordshire, UK, in late 2011 and have an ongoing recruitment process to recruit the right individuals with drive and enthusiasm to help build Hotcan into a major brand. I have no doubt that Hotcan has the scope to be one of the biggest brands in the world.
My background is in the steel industry, both running a steel foundry and more recently supplying components to the oil industry. I first had an interest in Hotcan back in 1990 for a short period and when the opportunity came in 2010 to take over the product I jumped at the chance.

Working week
No two days are ever the same but during a normal working week I get involved with all the usual nitty-gritty you’d expect from someone building a business. I also relish the opportunity to speak out in the press and participate in PR opportunities such as recently appearing on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch programme with Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer and telling them (and the nation) all about Hotcan.
Outside the office I have a keen interest in motorsports and in my younger years I raced the likes of David Coulthard, although I have to admit he was a little bit better and more successful than me. I recently spent some time in the US racing NASCAR on the oval course in Las Vegas which was quite hairy.

The product
Hotcans have been produced for over 30 years and when we took over the product in 2010 we completely
re-vamped it as it was very outdated. We re-branded it with a new vibrant image, upgrading the heating mechanism, developing a new range of high quality food and reducing prices to make the product more cost-effective for our customers.
We currently have a range of seven delicious flavours.
Each Hotcan contains over 400g of nutritious food and the self-contained heating mechanism is activated by simply piercing the rim of the can with the provided key. This action sets up a completely safe exothermic reaction which heats the food inside the can to a perfect eating temperature in 10-12 minutes. The food inside then stays hot for up to 45 minutes.

The markets
Historically Hotcan has been supplied to the police, defence and emergency response markets worldwide as it proves to be the ideal feeding solution in emergency situations.
Recently we provided Hotcans to the Metropolitan Police during the 2011 riots for officer feeding and to the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue for one of the largest UK forest fires during 2011, among many others.
This year, we are intending to launch Hotcan to the consumer market and we are positioning the product as the only real convenient hot meal whether you’re in the office, on a building site or at home.

The future
We are currently in the process of developing a new range of self-heating meals which should come to the market in the next 18-24 months. It’s all a bit hush-hush at the moment but it’s very exciting. These developments will help turn Hotcan into the major worldwide brand I believe it will become. At the moment the main push is on the sales and marketing of the product. Hopefully by the end of the year Hotcan will be more widely available in the retail sector.

Alex Grossjohann, vice president, CMC-Kuhnke Worldwide

Posted on 25 April 2012 | No comments

When we tell someone we’ve just met about what we do, we’re usually met with the same initial reaction, ‘Wow, I had no idea there was so much to making a can’, followed shortly after with, ‘How did you get into that?’
As with many of us in this business, I didn’t consciously seek it out – it found me.
Son of German entrepreneur, Heinz Grossjohann, I was literally born into the metal packaging industry. I strongly believe it is the responsibility of each generation to build upon that which was made by the generation before it, and so I have dedicated my now 25 year career to the further establishment and growth of CMC-Kuhnke. I am privileged to have been a part of CMC-Kuhnke’s evolution from a minor division of a family business to an ever-growing, independent corporation with offices on four continents.
From the 1971 delivery of the very first DP-1 Double Seam Projector, to the development of the X-ray Tightness Scanner (XTS) in 2011, CMC-Kuhnke remains a partner to can makers and brand owners who pioneer new innovations in metal packaging. Customers who buy CMC-Kuhnke do so knowing that every product, from a simple manual gauge to a fully-automatic can testing system, carries the knowledge of over 40 years of can making and filling.

Experience
Our experience in the canning industry, and our pragmatic approach to engineering solutions ensures the equipment we provide is ‘fit for purpose’ – not only in that it meets basic functional requirements, but it does so accurately, reliably, and cost effectively. By using CMC-Kuhnke can testing and double seam inspection products, international can making and can filling organisations maintain higher quality standards because their gauges and testers deliver the same results whether on the line or in an air conditioned quality lab.
In 2003, when my father and I purchased the Manfred Kuhnke Company, then our largest competitor, I was thrilled to have access to the dozens of elegant designs which Manfred had accumulated. Nearly 10 years later, this repertoire of engineering solutions plays in perfect harmony with our various data acquisition and image analysis software – allowing the company to rapidly deploy robust new technologies in keeping with our customers’ needs.
The pinnacle of this is the new MARS-XTS – our fully-automatic extension of the bench-top SEAMscan XTS system. Initially code-named Revolution, the patent-pending XTS systems use low-power X-rays to virtually teardown the can seam providing non-destructive, operator-independent, wrinkle measurement.
The inexpensive MARS-XTS system is particularly exciting when integrated directly with the production line. This non-destructive, smart system performs complete double seam inspections, automatically rechecks individual seaming stations, emails SPC reports and alerts, and can even stop the production line if required by customer SOP – previously the stuff of metal packaging science fiction.

Continued success
Much of the success and continued growth of CMC-Kuhnke can be attributed to the vision, aggression and belief shown by our staff.  I am fortunate to work with a team of the industry’s finest professionals, both within our organisation and throughout the canning industry, and collaborating with them on new projects is what I find most stimulating.  Sure, we might not have the seemingly limitless budgets of national defence, or nanotechnology, but that somehow makes the creative process all the more enjoyable.
So if you happen to see one of us in an airport lounge waiting for the next flight to Hong Kong, Berlin, New York, or Mexico City, just let us know that you work in the canning industry, and you’ll be met with a pleasantly different, ‘Hey, so do I’. Together, maybe we can find the next simple solution to a complex challenge.

Anders Linde, secretary general, Metal Packaging Europe (MPE)

Posted on 5 March 2012 | No comments

Metal Packaging Europe represents the united interests of producers and suppliers of rigid metal packaging across Europe.
Bringing together European and national industry associations, Metal Packaging Europe is the voice for the industry ensuring the benefits of metal packaging are understood and promoted.
The members of MPE are the main European trade bodies across the metal packaging industry. They include the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (Apeal), Beverage Can Makers Europe (BCME), The European Aluminium Association (EAA) and European Metal Packaging (Empac).
My past experience includes working as director of external environmental affairs at Rexam. I was also chairman of Europen between 1998 and 2003. I was director at Beverage Can Makers Europe between 1992 and 2011 and am now the managing director.
When I left Rexam I decided to stay within the industry. The idea came up to try to find a wider platform for sustainability aspects. We needed to have a broader approach.
We had plastics companies talking about plastic, glass companies talking about glass and paper companies talking about paper. We needed to have a platform to talk about metal.

The role
My role as secretary general of MPE includes managing strategies, and coming up with programmes for communication and lobbying. MPE is formed as an umbrella organisation with the aim to communicate with stakeholders how responsible resource management of metal packaging will offer unique advantages to meet sustainability objectives.
Metal Packaging Europe engages on issues of common interest for the metal packaging industry across Europe. As an organisation we recognise metal packaging is a valuable contributor to sustainability in public policy and through the supply chain.
We have to make sure we are reaching the key policy makers. In the past the metal packaging industry has been too complacent and always believed that it was fully understood. That’s not always been the case so we have to be pro-active and engage with policy makers.

Exposure
The first real exposure to policy makers came in January this year at a high-level debate on metal packaging’s contribution to a resource efficient Europe, at the European Parliament in Brussels. (For more on this see page 14).
The debate featured an invitation-only forum of EU policy makers, industry representatives, European associations and NGO’s. The most important objective was to be known as MPE and to get the message across that metal is a permanent material that can be recycled infinitely.
We have a vision that no metal packaging should go to landfill. This is probably not realistic but you need to have it as a vision. If we don’t believe in it then I think we are giving up. As part of our sustainability manifesto we want the average European recycling rate to increase from 70 per cent to 80 per cent by 2020. This is quite challenging but many Member States have already reached 80 per cent and I am quite confident that it can be achieved. This event pointed out what was needed from everyone to make it happen.
Initiatives like Every Can Counts, which aim to make it easier for people to recycle their drink cans at work, at college, at an event or festival, help to increase recycling rates. Metalmatters, which is a partnership between the UK drinks can manufacturers, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and the aluminium and steel packaging and recycling industries and local authorities, is another. The programme is designed to support the UK’s current kerbside recycling schemes and encourage the public to recycle more at home.
One of the things to come out of the debate in Brussels is that it has given the industry an opportunity to talk to green NGO’s. We now have an agenda to follow up with stakeholders.
The thing I want to underline is that it is great to have the opportunity to get the whole industry together to speak with one voice on policy. It is a real strength for the industry and is something that hasn’t happened before.

Chris McKenzie, sales manager, Carnaud Metalbox Engineering

Posted on 7 February 2012 | No comments

I have more than 20 years of experience in engineering and can manufacturing, with a primary focus on enhancing efficiency. I have held management roles in several companies in the can making industry or those associated with it, including Preferred Tooling, D.A. Stuart Ironsides, Henkel Surface Technologies and Chemtool. My career has taken me across the US, South America, Russia, Europe as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

CMbE has an excellent reputation in the industry. I’ve admired and respected the company since joining the sector 20 years ago. So when the opportunity arose to become part of the team, it was a place I knew I would be proud to work.

As part of the Carnaud Metalbox Engineering (CMbE) team, I intend to build on the company’s strong tradition of innovation, research and high quality customer service and support. My process engineering background and understanding of each machine’s place in the production process puts me in a strong position to advise customers and help them identify the correct technology for their needs. I’ll also be able to leverage my knowledge of the global market to help CMbE enhance service to customers worldwide.

Growth opportunities
While the economic climate continues to be difficult in North America and Europe, there are significant opportunities for industry growth in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. CMbE’s global reach will ensure our customers are well-positioned to capitalise on these emerging markets.

We want to expand the range of machines we offer to customers. We also plan to expand our spare parts and technical services to customers, offering comprehensive support at every stage of the production process.
My predecessor, Adrian Long will be a difficult act to follow. I’m working closely with Adrian to ensure a smooth transition and he will continue to have a role in the
company, enabling the team to take advantage of his invaluable industry knowledge.

New projects
The Sovereign Can Decorator, which is about to enter the production stage, is a big focus for us right now. The machine offers enhanced decorating capabilities as well as improvements that optimise production line efficiency through easy can diameter changeovers. The Sovereign Decorator has already been received positively by the industry and we expect the positive feedback to continue as we engage more of our customers and prospects in discussion about it.

We ensure that all of our products are available to all of our customers globally. Our experienced service personnel are ready to travel with our machines to
customers anywhere in the world to ensure speedy and precise installation, safeguarding their investment and guaranteeing the highest quality performance from our products. These attributes will remain hallmarks of CMbE’s work moving forward.

Building relations
Providing first-class support is a priority for CMbE, no matter where the customer is based. Asia-Pacific is such a powerful opportunity for growth for many of our customers and my experience of the region will enable CMbE to take advantage of this. However, Europe and other global markets will remain an important focus for us. We have built strong relationships with can manufacturers across the continent, and we’ll continue to provide the technology, support and service they have come to expect. The best way to sum it up would be to say my goal is to provide fully integrated global support to help our customers achieve their business goals around the world.

Can manufacturers are always seeking to enhance the quality of their products while optimising efficiencies and reducing costs. At CMbE, it’s critical that we continue to improve our technology and services. By working closely with our customers, and giving them these tools, they are well-positioned to remain competitive and prosperous into the future.

I want to ensure CMbE continues to do what it does best, which is to provide high quality can making equipment and comprehensive customer support. But beyond that, my goal is to leverage the strong CMbE team to further enhance our performance, the service we provide and our product offering to customers.

Joanne York, managing director, York Engineering Solutions

Posted on 12 December 2011 | No comments

York Engineering Solutions offers the can making industry a new choice for service and support, by providing an engineering base of skilled specialists in many different aspects of the business.

As we are a service solutions company to the can making industry, we currently have within our team engineers specialising in cuppers, bodymakers, Belvac trimmers, Belvac neckers, Pressco high speed vision and centrifugal separators.
I spent 18 years working for Belvac Europe and during that time I was commercial manager for 10 years. The majority of my responsibilities involved scheduling service engineers. I also worked as ISO quality manager during my time at the company.

I was made redundant following the closure of Belvac Europe’s UK office and decided to set up my own business. I’m now working beside my business partner and commercial director Eric Hall, whose proven business and service experience within the can making industry for over 20 years, complements the York Engineering Solutions product.

I’ve got to know many people over the last 18 years and the majority of them are still speaking to me, which is great.  Eric helped inspire me to set up this business. He reminded me of how many people I know in the can making business and how many people know me.

Someone recently said to me that once you work in the can making industry you stay in it. My father Alex Fieldwick worked for Metal Box for 39 years starting at the age of 15 when they had a large plant in Crawley.  He began as an apprentice tool maker before working his way up to commercial manager. He has been very supportive and encouraged me to set up my own business.

Engineering
We use a number of independent engineers. Some of them, either Eric or myself have known for a long time and others we’ve worked with over the years. Others have been recommended to us. We use engineers based in the UK, US and Spain and cover all aspects of the can
making business.

Since forming York Engineering Solutions we have received requests from companies asking us to put together training, service and maintenance packages. We have been in discussion with engineers so that we can fine tune everything and get the right package for the customer.

We have had a tremendous amount of interest, more than either myself or Eric could ever have expected. We have quoted for work in the UK, Europe and Asia.

The best term to describe the company is a one-stop engineering specialist shop for can makers. A customer can contact us and inform us that they have a maintenance day scheduled and that they need a specialist engineer. If an engineer is available, we can we provide them with a quote.  We are open and honest; unfortunately our engineers are not always available which is conveyed to the customer.

We aim to provide support for our customers as often as possible and understand one of the main reasons why people are coming to us is because they are losing faith with the big suppliers. We strive to provide a high level of customer service and our prices are competitive, as we believe it goes a long way to building and keeping a good relationship with the people we are speaking to on a daily basis.

The future
Going forward we’d like to be in a position where we have more engineers working with York Engineering Solutions. We are expanding the range of specialist services and we will be happy if we continue to grow steadily.

We’re already working with some of the world’s largest packaging companies which shows the level of support we have.

The amount of investment in the metal packaging industry shows it’s doing well even in this financial climate. Organisations do not invest if they don’t think there is going to be a return.

We have recently started receiving enquiries for spare parts and this is an area that we’re hoping to expand on. We would like to be seen as a friendly and approachable organisation and that our engineers take a great deal of pride in the work they do.

Steve Cook, chief technical officer, Dayton Systems Group (DSG)

Posted on 1 August 2011 | No comments

DSG is an engineering and technology leader, specialising in production tooling systems, products and services to meet the needs of the can industry. We are located in Miamisburg, Ohio, US.

The company was founded in 1993 and is well known for integrating its technology and numerous patents in bringing innovation and solutions to meet the needs of our customers and to expand the markets we service together on a global basis.

Among the broad array of speciality products that DSG offers are reclosable food and beverage can products, fully automatic, high efficiency bagging and palletizing systems for can ends, high speed shell and end conversion press tooling systems for easy-open-ends, high production vacuum cap tooling systems and high accuracy sheet feeding systems. DSG also offers machining and manufacturing services, engineering, technical support, training and field service.

I am chief technical officer and have been with DSG for 18 years. I am responsible for all technology at Dayton Systems Group. This includes product innovation, system innovation, design and engineering for products, tooling and systems. I interact with customers on all aspects of the technology from concept, quoting and scheduling, installation and service.

Consumer convenience

The continuing challenge for the metal packaging industry is to make the container more convenient for the consumer. Most of the innovation recently has been towards reducing the cost of the package and there has been little advancement towards consumer convenience. If you go to the grocery store today versus 30 years ago the can looks virtually the same.

This is why we are very excited about our new resealable/reclosable food can. Our Food Cap Can is an innovative, patented cap, and can design, utilising existing three-piece steel can technology, specifically engineered to replace full panel open ends, foil ends and sanitary ends eliminating the need for a mechanical can opener. Food Cap Can utilises standard can sizes, existing standard filling technology and existing seaming and/or capping technology, enabling high volume fillers of food products new opportunities in marketing and expansion of the can industry. The cap can be manufactured utilising litho or decorated sheets.

The DSG Food Cap Can is an easy and safe to open, resealable, tamper-evident closure that converts standard three-piece food cans into a lightweight, unbreakable counterpart to a standard glass jar. The opening force is much lower than a glass jar and the vacuum within the DSG Food Cap Can is not broken all at once the cap is rotated, unlike a conventional glass jar cap.

Another key feature of the Food Cap Can is that the curl is on the outside of the cap, making it much stronger than current lug caps, enabling it to be retorted without requiring overriding pressure.

Other developments

DSG has developed a hydraforming process, which expands, embosses and debosses aluminium and steel cans, three-piece and D&I. Due to the gentle forming process of the hydraforming, the expansion percentage of the can or cylinder is greater than current punch and die expansion equipment. Unlike existing expansion or stretching equipment that require expanding segments which leave gaps or tooling marks in the can, DSG hydraforming process is smooth and conforming allowing for virtually infinite shapes and profiles in the can.

Also in development at DSG is the pasteurizable and retortable version of the beverage Cap Can container, for beverage categories including beer, juices, milk and nutritional drinks. Having passed internal testing at DSG, such as pressure testing and product process testing, the Cap Can beverage ends and caps will be tested by a can maker in the next few months.

Our major challenge for next year is to build filler and consumer interest and demand for our technology. The heightened filler and consumer interest, we believe, will increase the can maker’s confidence to invest in our technology. We will be increasing our efforts to expose our technology and development abilities to both the can maker and the end user. We have confidence that in 2012 several of our development programmes will come to fruition and we will be able to grow. Innovation is like most things in life, if you do not continue to develop, someone else will pass you by.

The Apeal of steel

Posted on 20 April 2011 | No comments

Evelyne Frauman, quality and environment manager, Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL).

For 25 years now, Apeal has demonstrated the advantages of steel for packaging as a reliable and sustainable packaging material. With a young and   dynamic team, Apeal will further develop its new and ambitious strategy. This strategy aims to establish that steel packaging is not only a highly performing packaging material, but has also to be considered as a permanent resource, because of its unique recyclability features.
Thanks to these overall performances and the growing demand of steel industry for recycled steel scrap for reuse in all kinds of applications, Apeal will further facilitate the optimal regulatory conditions for the manufacturing, marketing and recycling of steel for packaging.

Apeal also wants to develop a knowledge centre for steel for packaging in  Europe, monitoring legislation, providing technical knowhow, statistics and messaging. In other words, Apeal will become the reference in Europe for every question relating to steel for packaging.

I am a bioengineer specialised in environmental management. I have previously worked mainly in the humanitarian and development area with water and waste management and environmental project management with major organisations, including which the European Commission.

In Apeal, I am in charge of developing a knowledge centre for the technical matters of steel for packaging: environment, sustainability, life cycle inventory and analysis, recycling, food contacts/food safety, and all other technical questions that may arise. The idea is that Apeal becomes the European knowledge centre for steel for packaging, for our members as well as for our customers and consumers.

Working with can makers

Apeal represents and promotes steel for packaging. We work together with other packaging material representatives when common interests are involved. According to the environmental concerns of its members, Apeal wants to focus on the infinite recyclability of steel packaging, and demonstrate that steel is a permanent resource, a story that steel shares with the other major metal packaging material, aluminium. In this view, Apeal and the European Aluminium Association are collaborating under a new umbrella called Metal Packaging Europe (MPE). Its formation was agreed in Brussels at the end of May 2010 by executives from European Metal Packaging (Empac), Beverage Can Makers Europe, Apeal (the packaging steel manufacturers) and the European Aluminium Association.

On a day-to-day basis, Apeal collaborates with Empac and MPE. Indeed, can makers and producers of steel for packaging have of course a common interest in the development of the metal packaging market for beverages. Apeal will support certain initiatives made by the can making associations.

Steel Day

Apeal will organise a Steel Day on the Metal Plaza during the Interpack Fair in Düsseldorf. We will demonstrate in front of a public of professionals, the efficiency of steel for packaging in terms of sustainability and reliability.

We shall also be present at the Empac General Assembly in Edinburgh on June 9 where we will organise an interactive workshop for the can makers, our customers. With this workshop we want to familiarise them with the overall benefits of steel for packaging and also create participation and commitment from the can makers. This will allow them to better convince their clients to choose steel for packaging.

Steel is 100 per cent recyclable. Furthermore, the fact that steel is magnetic makes it the easiest and most economical material to sort and recover. Steel loses none of its strength or inherent qualities, which makes it infinitely recyclable. Well-established routes for collection and recovery of steel cans have ensured recycling excellence. In 2008, over 70 per cent of steel packaging in Europe has been recycled, and CO² emissions per tonne of steel produced are now 50 per cent lower than they were 40 years ago.

Steel making processes accept all kinds of used steel packaging, including drinks, food and paint cans, as well as aerosols – all of which can be recycled indefinitely into an unlimited range of new steel products without any loss of quality.

Knowledge centre

The metal packaging industry is aware of its importance to our planet as a resource using sector. We have always taken this responsibility seriously. Steel packaging has an excellent story to tell as the environmental credentials of the material are extraordinary and unique, meeting many of the essential criteria for packaging in the sustainability-conscious 21st century. I’m looking forward to further developing Apeal as the steel for packaging knowledge centre in Europe. I will also be involved in the calculation of the yearly recycling rates for steel for packaging for the European countries.

Apeal’s slogan summarises very well the message we want to spread about steel packaging: “protecting today, preserving tomorrow”.