from a new paint can to record steel industry recycling rates
It's official - the Can is the greatest packaging innovation of the last 100 years.
Recently, The Grocer published a Packaging Special on the top packaging innovations of the past 100 years. Amongst other things it asked three industry experts to pick the 10 best packaging innovations of the past century. We are very pleased to report that the can was recognized for all its merits!
Source: The Grocer. For the full article of 31 January 2009, please visit www.thegrocer.co.uk
Impress Ringo can offers a quality leap for the paint industry.
The new Ringo® can designed specifically for the paint market raises the standards for consumer convenience with a new lightweight easy to open and re-close metal can.
When the paint can has worked so well for so many years, why change it? This was the challenge faced by Impress Norwich, part of the Specialities division. Frequent dialogues take place between the customer and Impress R&D teams. "Customers have a right to challenge their suppliers to be innovative and come up with new and interesting products," says Matt Sykes, Impress UK Sales Manager. "We encourage and welcome dialogue, this moves the business forward, generates sales growth and keeps us all motivated."
In 2008, when one of the most important sector customers asked whether paint cans could be made easier to open and close, it seemed the right moment to carry out a comprehensive series of market research tests to establish the key requirements for today’s consumer. Impress Norwich has embraced the challenge by up-dating the paint can and introducing the following improvements:
it opens easily; it closes tightly and it pours out totally.
After 12 months of rigorous testing, subtle adjustments and customer meetings, Impress is proud to launch the Ringo® can onto the UK Retail Paint Market. The lid has been re-profiled to allow it to be removed in one simple manoeuvre and it can be closed with a reassuring "snap". The can itself has been re-engineered to allow total pour out, an important factor in terms of reducing product (paint) waste.
The Ringo® can weighs 10% less than a traditional metal paint can, which means it will save almost 500 tonnes of steel in the manufacturing process at constant volumes. This is a key element of modern packaging and reinforces the metal can’s sustainability credentials.
"Selling in the current economic climate is a challenge, but selling something you really believe makes a difference, is easier," confirms Matt Sykes. "The Ringo® can answers all the questions our customers have asked and even some they haven’t. For example, the Ringo® can is 100% recyclable and we are currently engaging with Local Government and paint industry stakeholders to increase the opportunities for consumers to recycle their used metal paint cans." Metal packaging is the "most recycled" packaging in the UK with a 2007 recycling rate of 69% (source UK Government), and there remains huge potential for further improvement. By integrating recycled steel into the manufacturing process, the steel industry achieves energy savings of 70% and lowers its output of CO2. Put simply, the higher the recycling rate the lower the CO2 emissions.
As a consequence, this new can is ready to meet the criteria now being placed on DIY retailers to sell products with first class recycling credentials.
Additionally the Ringo® can does not impose changes on customer supply chain arrangements, a key factor in the development process and in fact it still retains the qualities of the traditional paint can, integrating perfectly with existing filling processes, without the need for additional customer investment.
Impress Norwich currently produces a 2.5ltr Ringo® can and has firm plans in place to produce 750ml and 5ltr versions, which will be available later in the year.
The recycling rate of 69% confirms steel for packaging's continued position as leader in Europe.
Figure represents a further 3.5% reduction of steel for packaging's CO2 emissions year on year.
The latest figures from APEAL (the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging) show that 69% of steel packaging is recycled in Europe. This represents over 2.5 million tonnes of food and drinks cans and other steel containers being recycled in 2007, saving 4.8 million tonnes of CO2.
According to the latest available data, this places recycling rates for steel above those of other packaging materials such as plastic, beverage cartons and glass (19.7%, 32% and 62% respectively).
Source: Rasselstein. For the full article, please refer to www.rasselstein.com.
Impress is a global market leader in the consumer metal packaging industry. Worldwide leader in the Seafood can market, European and Australasian leader for Aerosol cans, European leader in cans for Paints and Coatings, European leader in cans for Infant Formula and Nutritional Powders and the second largest supplier of heat processed Food cans in Europe and Australasia. Based in Deventer, the Netherlands, Impress has approximately 8,000 employees in 56 facilities in 21 countries in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, The Seychelles and Morocco. Worldwide sales in 2008 were approximately €1.75 billion.
Discover Impress at: www.impressgroup.com
For further Information please contact:
Matt Sykes, Impress Norwich: Tel +44 (0 )1603 427313 Fax: +44(0)1603 789913 e-mail: Matt.sykes@uk.imp-group.com
Blanche Frankel, Press'Publica: Tel: +33 (1) 56 89 56 64; Fax: +33 56 89 56 50; e-mail: b.frankel@press-publica.fr
Mary Chapman, Mary Chapman Communications: Tel: +44 (0) 1452 720208 Fax: +44 (0) 1452 723724 e-mail: marychpm@aol.com
