STEEL IN PACKAGING

The aim of this paper is to present the packaging steel industry from different points of view. The structure of the steel packaging tinplat e industry and its recent evolution as well on the side of steelmakers as steel canmakers. The different segments in which steel is being mo re and more specialized for tinplate :food, beverage, and speciality s egments for stainless : spray cans, caps, beer kegs, bottling equipmen ts, etc. The <<megatrends>> of packaging for the next years from emerg ing demands of the marker and the consumers are : Lightweighting is th e major trend and in the same time the major coming card of steel. Lig htweighting is on answering reduction of cost, reduction of consumptio n of energy, reduction of impact of the industrial process and of the product on environment (ecoprofile). It also complies with the so-call ed <<source reduction of packaging a which by consequence reduces the land filling for the small part which is not collected an recycled-lig ht-weighting of packaging improves the logistics performances. Innovat ion and tailor-made packaging : steel plate can be expanded and stays in the form obtained with in the plastic area of deformation; with the new technique of blow forming, a new boost is given to shaped cans. T he speed and efficiency of development comes also from stronger partne rship along the chain of production from material producer to canmaker and filler; this is being more and more developed with new marketing methods. The environment : the new dimension that packaging has to fac e covers recycling, ecoprofile, communication, steel packaging has a m aster trump with magnetic collector and sorting. This process efficien t for the recycling rate is being also more and more understood by con sumers who need more confort with then ecological behaviour. Finally, communicating outside on steel performances and future gives more prid e to the industry and to the users. Stainless steel has many attribute s that contribute to its all-around performance in the food, beverage and packaging industry, particularly for parts in contact with food pr oducts. Some of these attributes and their resulting benefits are : it has excellent surface characteristics (dense and homogeneous surface) ; it has an excellent corrosion resistance and it is highly resistant to agressive atmosphere, cleaning agents and sanitizing solution; it d oes not impair the flavour and keeping quality of food products with w hich it comes in contact; it is impermeable to gases, liquids, hot ste am, etc.; it has an excellent deep drawability. Stainless steel is 100 per cent recyclable and stainless steel scrap is turned into virgin m aterial of the same quality level.