UK’s Trostre said to be at capacity for tinplate

Factiva: "Corus’ tinplate operations at Trostre in the UK are running at more-or-less full capacity, according to non-Corus sources. The company, which belongs to India’s Tata Group, announced a year ago that it intended to remove 150,000 tonnes of capacity from its only UK site before the end of 2008, but this has not happened, the sources add.

While Corus declines to indicate current production levels, a spokesman tells Steel Business Briefing that last year’s plans have changed because of “better than expected demand for tinplate”. People tend to eat more canned food in times of economic hardship, sources say.

The weak pound is also helping exports, and “we are taking advantage of this window of opportunity,” the spokesman adds.

Demand for food cans is up roughly 3-4% year-on-year, and “once we move into the food and vegetable canning season, they’ll need every ounce of tinplate produced,” a local industry source notes. Depending on the weather, end-users expect to can more fruit and vegetables this year than last, he adds."