Powered by steel

David Hayes interviews Vicente Lozargo Filho, president of Brazil’s Cerviflan Embalagens Metalicas, about the company’s steel aerosol, chemical and paint cans.

Brazil’s three-piece can manufacturers are expected to report a strong increase in can shipments over the past 12 months when full-year sales figures are tallied for 2024.

Rising demand for many types of steel cans reflects continuing growth in consumption of a wide range of canned goods since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Metal packaging is increasingly favoured by Brazil’s environmentally aware population in preference to products being sold in plastic packaging, which is viewed as a less sustainable option by a growing number of people.

Major can manufacturers expected to announce a strong increase in sales for 2024 include Cerviflan Embalagens Metalicas, one of Brazil’s leading producers of steel aerosol, chemical and paint cans. Buoyant demand for Cerviflan’s range of three-piece cans during the past year follows on from an earlier rebound in sales in 2023 when major economic sectors, including the construction industry and the automotive sector, saw renewed activity following the government’s lifting of Covid-19-related social distancing and other protective measures.

“The year 2023 was one of post-pandemic recovery and we achieved approximate sales growth of five per cent compared with the previous year’s sales,” commented Vicente Lozargo Filho, president of Cerviflan. “This past year’s numbers show that our sales are in line with the previous year; they are also showing an annual growth rate of four to five per cent.”

Cerviflan’s aerosol can sales grew during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a huge increase in public demand for healthcare-related aerosol products including sanitiser sprays. Sales of chemical cans slowed during the same period, however, owing to the impact of the pandemic on some markets including the construction sector.

Since then, Cerviflan’s chemical can sales have picked up, while the more general trend in Brazil to use metal packaging has grown. “During Covid, this market felt a negative impact, not because of the type of packaging or material, but because professional and even daily activities were stopped. Then, as normal life began to resume, sales began to expand and soon after there was gradual growth,” Filho said.

Aerosol containers

Brazil’s aerosol can market has been expanding in several different areas in recent years, reflecting the growing use of chemical, food, hygiene, cosmetic and automotive-related aerosol products. “During Covid, the aerosol can market took a leap forward, as the need for hygiene-related aerosol products, such as alcohol-based sanitiser sprays, broke previous aerosol industry production records,” Filho commented.

“We also have other healthcare-related aerosol needs in Brazil currently, such as repellents and insecticides due to new epidemic outbreaks in some areas,” he said. New epidemics affecting parts of Brazil include Oropouche (OROV) fever, which is prevalent in the Amazonas and Acre states, where it is transmitted mostly by mosquitos and midges.

Located in Guarulhos in Sao Paolo state, Cerviflan’s modern plant covers 12,000m2 and is equipped to produce around 400 million aerosol and chemical cans per year.

Established in 1976 as a steel processor, Cerviflan grew through acquisition during its early years, initially producing chemical cans and general cans for paints, varnishes and other products. The company later decided to expand and started producing three-piece aerosol cans in 2005, bringing new features and some new aerosol can sizes to the Brazilian market.

“Cerviflan has been investing in new technology since its opening. In recent years we have installed new aerosol can lines, stamping equipment and implemented the robotisation of our palletising system,” Filho explained.

The Guarulhos plant is equipped with five aerosol can lines, four of which currently are in operation. One of the lines is designed to operate as a swing line and is capable of producing aerosol cans and general line 105mm cans. “Our production lines have been installed over a period of time. Our aerosol can lines installed in the last eight years have been purchased from European suppliers, such as Soudronic of Switzerland,” Filho remarked. “In the chemical can sector, we have three lines that produce one-gallon cans, one bucket can line, two five-gallon can lines and a quarter-gallon can line.”

Cerviflan’s printing facilities are laid out to ensure an optimised process flow. Occupying around 300m3 of floor space, the lithography department is equipped with three two-colour Crabtree printers and one mono-colour Crabtree printer, along with three varnishing machines.

“Our printing department stands out for its standardised equipment from the same manufacturer and using the same printer model, resulting in great optimisation for machine maintenance and operational flexibility,” Filho commented. “The printing equipment and the department’s physical layout, combined with our experienced operations staff and their in-depth technical knowledge of printing, results in the production of our high-quality printed metal packaging.”

Cerviflan produces steel aerosol cans in four different diameters and in various heights up to 300mm, depending on customer requirements. The firm initially supplied 57mm and 65mm diameter cans when it entered the aerosol can market and then later added two more can diameters: 45mm and 53mm, to its aerosol collection.

“Cerviflan is a pioneer in the packaging market. There was initial resistance when we introduced the concept of using steel sheets instead of aluminium to produce aerosol cans for hygiene and cosmetic products,” Filho recalled. “However, using market research we worked with end consumers and with aerosol filling industries, emphasising what they would gain: they would have a new material option in addition to aluminium and they would benefit from our great printing quality in the presentation of their aerosol products.”

To win orders from companies supplying cosmetic and other personal care aerosol products, Filho explained that Cerviflan first had to educate potential customers about the three-piece can manufacturing process and steel cans’ physical properties. “When we think of lubricants, for example, we have steel aerosol can packaging, which has been in use for a long time, but for the cosmetics and personal care aerosol market, we had to do a lot of ground work to demystify and promote the use of steel aerosol cans,” Filho said.

“We also conducted market research in conjunction with our Brazilian research institute IBOPE, contacting end consumers directly to find out what they thought about the use of steel cans for aerosol cosmetics packaging.”

Using steel or tinplate to make aerosol and chemical cans offers Cerviflan’s customers various important benefits when supplying the geographically large Brazilian market which includes remote, less developed regions. “Steel cans are truly safe for packaging products. The superior thickness of the steel provides greater rigidity of the packaging, which is very important for transportation,” he explained.

Cerviflan’s individually quality control-tested aerosol containers are designed to withstand internal pressure of up to 18 bars. “Our aerosol can domes are ergonomically designed for use by consumers with smaller-size hands, so they provide more comfortable handling,” Filho said. “Also, our aerosol cans do not rust as they receive a PET coating application on their base and dome.” Another important feature of Cerviflan’s aerosol cans is the use of what the company claims to be the narrowest electro-welding margin in the Brazilian market to weld its aerosol can bodies. The narrow electro-welding margin, just 0.10mm, allows for greater and better exposure of the customer’s printed image being used to decorate the aerosol can body.

“Our aerosol can body seam has a minimum solder reserve that allows a larger area for displaying the customer’s printed image. This is the biggest selling point with our customers,” Filho said. “In addition to offering the smallest aerosol can weld margin range on the market for aerosol cans, we are the only producer of 45mm diameter aerosol can bodies in Brazil, as this size depends on having the correct machinery.

“For us, being the sole producer of 45mm diameter aerosol cans in Brazil is a differentiator in the cosmetics aerosol can sector as we are the only company to make them here.”

Brazilian companies supporting Cerviflan’s growing production operations include Metalitho, a São Paolo-based can making and offset printing technology consultancy and equipment supplier. For more than two decades, Metalitho has supplied most of Cerviflan’s current fleet of printing presses, along with upgrades and spare parts.

In addition to supporting Cerviflan’s introduction of UV printing technology, Metalitho has delivered various pre-press consultancy projects and provided technical training in printing process controls. Metalitho also acts as a representative of the Dugraf Group in supplying Cerviflan with high-performance printing blankets manufactured by German group Continental.

Chemical containers

The company’s president, Vicente Lozargo Filho

Meanwhile, Cerviflan’s sales of chemical cans have risen during the past two years, following the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the chemical cans produced are used for paints, both decorative paints for civil construction projects and home improvement, and for industrial paints used by the automotive industry. Other important uses of Cervifllan’s chemical cans are for agricultural chemicals, solvents, greases and some other products.

“We have a line of square cans, specifically for chemicals, approved STD pails, and we make cylindrical cans in many different diameters and heights,” Filho said. “Steel packaging is safe, both for strength and durability. Inside the cans, specific varnishes are applied depending on what chemicals the cans will be used to hold.”

Cerviflan supplies product-specific packaging for various chemicals. “The chemical products market has space for different packaging produced from different materials, so it is important to know the customer’s needs,” Filho said.

“For example, solvent-based industrial paints require resistant packaging, with a specific internal finish; often this is approved STD packaging.

“For industrial paints we have approved steel pails with a capacity to hold 22 litres. These can be considered very safe for transporting and storing paint products,” he said. “These paint pails are stackable packaging, which is a benefit for storage in warehouses and other locations.”

Chemical cans require high quality printing, Filho noted, to clearly identify their contents and warn those handling the containers of special handling and storage requirements.

“We seek to meet the chemical industry’s needs in terms of container design and printing,” he commented.

“Our lithographed cans follow a printing standard that provides high resistance to the effects of external light (UVA and UVB rays), they fade less and use colours that provide better resolution and sharpness of images and technical specifications.

“The print quality that can be achieved on a steel can is incomparable, as it allows the use of a wide range of colours, and ensures print clarity and durability even in environments with different temperatures and changeable ambient light conditions,” Filho concluded.