Big catch for Protact cans in US & Canada
22 Sep 2004
Fishing requires patience, so they say. However, no more so than that needed by Corus Packaging Plus (CPP) and Corus International (CI) Americas when they embarked on the long qualification process with key customers in North America for polymer coated tinplate as a replacement for the standard tinplate traditionally used for the manufacture of Salmon cans.
That was nearly four years ago and about the time the Red Salmon run cycle last peaked in Alaska and Canada. It also coincided with the looming impact of environmental legislation concerning VOCs - that’s Volatile Organic Compounds - and the effect of coating emissions on canned foods. But more compelling perhaps was the speed with which a satisfactory replacement material could be developed, proved and assimilated into the high volume packaging market in time for the next predicted peak. The new product, branded Protact®, was developed by CPP and produced through the direct extrusion process to meet this demand at their polymer coating operation at Duffel in Belgium.
Working with customers, Crown Cork and Seal (CC&S), Ball and Silgan - the three main salmon players in North America and starting back in 2000 - this was going to be no rushed job for the on-the-spot CI Americas team of Rich Brolly, David Shuler and Anissa Norris. With support from their colleagues Nick Busby and Hans Pattiasina at CPP they settled in for the long haul. The qualification process was necessarily slow and deliberate, lasting a number of years. Only this year did customers CC&S and Ball approve the product and the process is still continuing with Silgan. The Canadian Fish Industry Association also had to give its approval. But Rich believes it was all worthwhile. He says:
"Slowly, slowly often pays. Now, with 6,500 tonnes heading West per annum, things are moving along nicely back in Belgium. This is a significant volume for a high value product such as Protact®. Commercial deliveries started in the last quarter of 2003 and volumes have ramped up in recent months.
It is my firm belief that these customers view Corus as an innovative supplier. We also offered them technical support locally and from the mill in the development of specifications."
