ArcelorMittal FCE Supplies 140,000 Tonnes of Steel for Drink Cans
08/30/2013 - This year, ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe (FCE) will supply an estimated 140,000 tonnes of drawn and wall iron (DWI) steels to beverage can producers across the globe.
These will be produced in ArcelorMittal’s FCE Packaging Europe sites in Florange, France, and Aviles, Spain. The unique properties of the steels enable the company’s 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 (aluminum and steel) were filled in 2012, a 3.7% increase compared with 2011, and an impressive 55% increase over the past 10 years.
“ArcelorMittal FCE has long been recognized 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 0.190-0.180 mm, significantly below current standard levels of 0.210 mm,” said Gilles Mangin, senior specialist, Global R&D packaging development.
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.
ArcelorMittal FCE Packaging Europe is a world leader in DWI steel and offers an organization 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.
It also has a team specialized in recycling, working with APEAL and involved in the promotion of least-cost steel can recycling in Europe.
Record for steel recycling
Steel remains the most recycled packaging material in Europe.
According to a recent press release issued by the European packaging steel producers’ association APEAL, a new record has been reached for steel packaging recycling in Europe. In 2011, 2.6 million tonnes of steel packaging were recycled to make new steel products, corresponding to an average European rate of 74%.
Plastic, beverage cartons, aluminum and glass were recycled at rates of 33%, 37%, 67% and 70% respectively (according to latest available data).
