Filling a broad market
Coster’s product offering for filling ranges from semi-automatic machines (15/20cpm) to fully integrated rotary lines (up to 500cpm). Image: Coster Group
Evert van de Weg charts Coster Group’s history, its unique position in being the industry’s sole supplier of aerosol packaging plus filling machines/lines, and speaks with the company’s Albert Koobs, sales manager for Benelux & Scandinavia
Since 1963, Italian company, Coster, has played a significant role in the development of the market for spray packaging solutions and aerosol filling equipment. The company is still family-owned and employs 1,000 people. Coster Group has 15 factories in ten countries and it serves no less than 600 customers worldwide. Today, Coster offers a complete range of aerosol valves and actuators, spray pumps, dispensers and filling machinery for aerosol dispensers. It is the world’s only supplier of both aerosol packaging components and filling machinery.
Historical and market data
Today, we take the convenience of aerosol cans for granted. Hundreds of products, for consumers as well as for industrial applications, are packed in aerosol cans. The product in an aerosol can is always ready for use – hygienically packed, well closed, easy to dose and economical in use. It is not surprising that such an invention has become a tremendous success over the last 100 years or so.
So how did this begin? In the 19th century there were already some inventors who created metal spray cans incorporating a valve for carbonated beverages, however, the steel containers were too heavy to be commercially successful.
It was on 23 November 1927 that the Norwegian engineer, Eric Rotheim, patented the first aerosol can and valve that could hold and dispense products and propellant systems.
The real boost came in World War II, when the US government founded successful research to develop a small aerosol can which enabled military servicemen to spray malaria-carrying bugs. In the 1970s, concerns about the use of fluorocarbons adversely affecting the ozone layer led to the replacement of these fluorocarbons by water-soluble hydrocarbons, thus creating an environmentally friendly aerosol can. After this important change, the worldwide production of aerosol cans increased exponentially for various market segments.
The main market segments are personal care/ cosmetics, which cover more than 50 per cent of the market total. The household segment (air fresheners etc) covers approximately 20 per cent and other applications (paints, automotive etc) approximately 25 per cent. The figures for the international production of aerosol cans display some astonishing developments over the last ten years, as you can see from the figures below, provided by the European Aerosol Federation, the FEA.
Worldwide aerosol production, 2012-2022. Image: FEA
The role of Coster Group
From 1963, the Coster family began production of aerosol valves and filling machines in the Milan area. In the 1970s, the company’s production expanded into another plant in Italy, and pumps were also added to the company’s portfolio. In the 1980s, Coster started to produce plastic spray caps and it did this by implementing computer-driven production management, together with IBM, as the first company in Italy.
A most significant innovation came from Coster in the 1980s, with the introduction of bag-on-valve technology, in which the product is completely separated from the air or nitrogen propellant, offering several advantages. In the 1990s, Coster realised a global expansion outside of Europe, entering the US, India, Argentina and Malaysia.
In the first decade of the 21st century, Coster founded a special division for the application of aerosol dispensers for pharma products. Later, Coster became the first manufacturer of valves for the cosmetic industry meeting Good Manufacturing Practices.
Albert Koobs, sales manager for Benelux & Scandinavia, located in the Coster-Netherlands location in Zwolle, confirms: “We are unique in our ability to supply packaging such as valves, actuators, spray caps, pumps and filling machines for aerosol cans, and even complete filling lines. We pride ourselves on our ‘360 degrees consultancy’ for aerosol packaging. We now have in total 16 plants – 15 plants for all the packaging components needed for aerosol cans and one plant for filling machines. Here in Zwolle, we produce valves and actuators and injection-moulded plastic spray caps. We also have here the sales office for the Benelux and Scandinavian countries.”
A unique position
In its plant in Pero, five kilometres from Milan, Coster produces filling machines for aerosol cans. Its filling machines, well known in the market for their high quality and safety standards, are supplied worldwide. Coster reports that it manufactures around ten complete filling lines per year. The capacity of Coster filling machines – semi- automatic or fully automatic – varies from 15 to 500 cans per minute. The filling lines offer tailor-made solutions, as the needs of customers often vary. Coster also developed filling machines for the highly specialised Pharma aerosol market, where ‘cleanroom’ (a localised environment created by an enclosure to isolate the product from contamination) technology is often a must.
Countering environmental impact
“Our business has many initiatives to further decrease our environmental impact,” states Koobs. “In our Dutch association of aerosol can-related businesses, we have regular meetings, like in other European countries, to exchange the progress in our efforts to handle this,” he says.
“The measures we take together vary, from replacing certain propellants by compressed air or nitrogen, to the application of mono- or recycled material for plastic parts for aerosol cans instead of the use of two plastic types, to ease recyclability. Together with the downgauging measures the producers of aerosol cans are implementing, the carbon impact of the total aerosol can decreases considerably in this way.
“I see brand owners stressing more and more the importance of the lowest carbon footprint possible, and that sets the tone for our whole market. It really is a must for our whole aerosol can business to provide the right answers to this challenge,” Koobs says.
As in most European countries, the proportion of aerosol cans made from aluminium or steel is approximately 50 per cent versus 50 per cent, whereas the percentage of PET aerosol containers is negligible.
On the topic of lightweighting, Koobs comments: “The downgauging in thickness of the metal cans is tested intensively, as you often have to do with a container under pressure. Therefore, the safety demands are very strict.
“We must comply with the international FDA rules. In Europe we advance, together with all the members of the FEA, to meet the regulations of the European Commission. Our Dutch aerosol association, the Nationale Aerosol Vereniging, of which I am a member of the board, also contributes significantly to these activities, for instance by providing three representatives in working parties of the FEA.”
As we conclude our interview, Koobs highlights the company’s involvement in the pharmaceutical sector, noting that aerosol cans for pharmaceutical applications require a particular approach because of the high hygiene demands.
He says: “Coster Group has always been present as a supplier to the pharmaceutical market. However, some years ago, together with the Lindal Group, German supplier of aerosol dispensing packaging solutions, we founded RxPack. This company brings together a wealth of experience and expertise in this highly specialised market, in which cleanroom technology is the standard.
“Moreover, the products to be packed are often so-called ‘active pharma ingredients,’ and this requires special know-how and technologies. The new combination RxPack is the perfect answer to these requirements.
“At Coster, we look forward to a bright future and to tackling more interesting challenges.”
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