Tuna cans that save on tinplate costs

The Canmaker: "Savings in the weight of tuna cans of almost a fifth could be made using new draw-redraw technology developed in the US by Alfons Haar Inc

The tooling and press manufacturer based in Springboro, Ohio, has designed a can aimed at the seafood and tuna market that is made from double-reduced 0.14mm DR8 tinplate.

Currently, tuna cans are usually made from tinplate with a gauge of either 0.16mm or 0.17mm. Customers would achieve a saving in tinplate of at least 12.5 percent with the new design, which uses vertical beading in the walls to improve stability with the thinner material.

Reducing the gauge from the thicker material would provide a 17.7 percent saving. Typically an 83mm diameter x 43.5mm high can weighs 24 grams. So canmakers could save 4.24 tonnes of tinplate for every million cans produced. At current prices that would mean a cost saving of around US$4,500."