Ultralight can wins 2013 Can of the Year Award

Ardagh has won the Can of the Year Award for 2013 for a food can that could potentially save the food canning industry thousands of tonnes of steel each year.

The award was presented as part of The Canmaker magazine Cans of the Year Awards, held during The Canmaker Summit in Edinburgh on 7 November. The Ardagh Nemo can won the Gold Award in the Two-Piece Food Can category and the Gold Award in the Sustainability category.

The can was developed by Ardagh Group in collaboration with French vegetable canner Bonduelle.

The can’s walls are so thin that nitrogen injection is necessary to maintain its rigidity during transit and retailing. The Nemo food can is the result of an advance in both two-piece D&I manufacturing technology and in-can processing. The can’s sidewalls have been reduced by 43% to 80 microns, resulting in a 15% weight reduction to 41 g.

As the can is opened, the pressure release creates a ‘psshht’ sound. Company research shows that consumers perceive this sound contributes to a sense of freshness.

“The introduction of nitrogen dosing in a consistent and controlled way, and how best to accommodate the increased internal pressure upon the can bottom and end presented a design challenge to the Ardagh team,” The Canmaker magazine said.

“The redesigned and re-engineered can is able to withstand pressures of up to 4.5 bar.”

Bonduelle’s Winter Vegetable range was the first to feature the new packaging. Other products in the company’s canned vegetable range will shortly adopt the packaging.

The cans are currently being made at Ardagh’s D&I production plant in Deventer in the Netherlands and filled at Bonduelle’s canning plant in northern France.

The full list of award winners is available from www.spgevents.com/summit.