ArcelorMittal FCE supplies 140,000 tonnes of steel for drinks cans
In 2013, ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe will supply an estimated 140,000 tonnes of drawn and wall iron steels to beverage can producers across the globe.
However, these will be produced in our FCE Packaging Europe sites in Florange (France), and Aviles (Spain). The unique properties of our steels enable our customers to produce 2,000 beverage cans per minute, with can walls that in some parts are not thicker than 60µm (comparable to paper thickness 100µm).
Across Europe, more than 59 billion drinks cans (aluminium and steel) were filled in 2012, a 3.7% increase compared with 2011, and an impressive 55% increase over the past 10 years.
Mr Gilles Mangin, senior specialist, Global R&D packaging development, said that “ArcelorMittal FCE has long been recognised by beverage can manufacturers as an innovative steel supplier, after introducing metallurgical solutions to drastically reduce the amounts of steel needed to produce a can. Reducing costs related to metals consumption is one of the key objectives for our customers, as it represent about 50% of the final cost of a beverage can. This is achieved by reducing the metal thickness of can walls, and ArcelorMittal FCE is aiming at thicknesses between 0.190 millimeter to 0.180 millimeter, significantly below current standard levels of 0.210 millimeter.”
Our customers include Ball Corporation and Crown, leading beverage can manufacturers in North America and Europe, and among the world's leading suppliers of metal packaging to the beverage and food industries.
Steel cans offer several benefits to manufacturers and the retail trade: they are easy to brand, easy to fill at high volumes, extremely rigid and tough, both on filling lines and at the point of sale, and fully recyclable. The steel beverage can is a modern phenomenon on a global scale.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal FCE Packaging Europe is a world leader in DWI steel and offers an organisation fully dedicated to the entire beverage industry, thanks also to a team of experienced engineers who aim to continuously improve processes and support new developments at the customers’ premises.
Source - Strategic Research Institute