As one of the representatives of sustainable packaging materials, aluminum two-piece cans (including aluminum bottles and cans) are popular with beverage brands and consumers due to their many advantages. First, it’s lightweight and impact-resistant. In addition, excellent canning qualities such as high gas barrier properties, light-shielding properties and airtightness extend the shelf life of the product, resulting in a more consistent content quality and well-preserved flavor. The most important advantage is that in theory, the two-piece aluminum can can be recycled and reused 100%, which is of great significance to the circular economy.

In the past ten years, China’s two-piece can industry has developed rapidly, and there are two typical characteristics. On the one hand, many new can-making enterprises have emerged. After years of painstaking operation, the best ones have even become leading enterprises, injecting new development impetus into the industry. On the other hand, while the production capacity has increased exponentially, it has also changed the production mode of large quantities and few varieties in the past, and injected the genes of seeking innovation and change into all aspects, especially the diversification of can types and the rise of the application of aluminum bottles and cans. protrude.

Successful Innovative Packaging Achieves Brand

Walking into a supermarket full of dazzling products, consumers seem to have entered a visual feast in which a hundred flowers bloom in packaging. From the shape, size, color of the packaging to the theme of the product, the characteristics of personalization and differentiation are becoming more and more distinct.

According to statistics, 70% of consumers’ consumption in stores or supermarkets is impulsive consumption, that is, they usually make temporary purchasing decisions when faced with commodities. More and more consumers pay more attention to the experience in the consumption process, rather than to learn about products through traditional advertising. According to a survey report by Euromonitor, the uniquely designed aluminum two-piece cans and bottles have effectively stimulated consumers’ desire to buy, so the strategic significance of the development and application of innovative packaging technologies is self-evident.

International beer and beverage brands, including Coca-Cola and Budweiser, have always attached great importance to using different packaging forms to achieve differentiation and give consumers a unique consumption experience. Different packaging such as Coca-Cola’s small waist design, Budweiser beer’s ribbed cans, bow tie cans, and even threaded bottle cans have been popular in the market as soon as they are launched. These classic designs not only enhance the brand image of international brands, It promotes the sales of products, improves the profits of products, and also effectively protects the brand and prevents the proliferation of fake and shoddy goods. It can be seen that the innovation of packaging form can achieve the brand, so that the brand can obtain a unique and strategic market advantage.

Special-shaped bottle and can technology types and application in the Chinese market

From the current mainstream technology on the market, the manufacturing methods of special-shaped aluminum bottles are mainly divided into the following types.

DWI technology is represented by Belvac in the United States, Universal Can in Japan, Yamato Can in Japan and Mall Herlan in Germany.

IE technology is represented by Hinterkopf and Mall Herlan in Germany.

Other technologies Mainly based on water pressure, hydraulic pressure, physical extrusion, and electromagnetic technology.

In just a few years, aluminum bottles have developed from a single import model to multiple aluminum bottle production lines in China, providing more packaging solutions for brand customers. Taking aluminum beer bottles as an example, Belvac, which adopts DWI technology, has installed 2 high-speed production lines, and Huanyu Company has installed production lines in the Hubei plant of O.R.G. Group for the production of beverage bottles; in addition, Hinterkopf and MallHerlan adopting IE technology The company has also installed several production lines.

It is believed that in the near future, the trend of “de-plasticization” will further promote the transformation of plastic PET bottles and glass bottles to metal bottles and cans. Those beverage brands that identify market opportunities will also develop more unique special-shaped bottles and cans with their partners to satisfy consumers’ curiosity and improve their consumption experience.

Six Ladders to a Successful Alien Jar

So, how can you design and manufacture a successful shaped tank? Based on our experience, this is roughly divided into the following six core steps.

Choosing a good partner Brands can benefit a lot from innovative tank designs, but this is a complex task with both opportunities and risks. Brands, can makers, and equipment manufacturers must work together to minimize project risk and increase the probability of project success. Choosing a partner with experience, reputation and ability can not only ensure product quality, but also control input and output, and finally achieve win-win cooperation.

Successful Can Design To produce an acceptable profile can, good can design is critical to the success of the project. Reasonable design will not only ensure the success of the project, but also greatly reduce the unnecessary investment and cost of the project. In the manufacture of metal special-shaped cans, limited by technical conditions, the flexibility of bottle-shaped design is not as good as that of PET materials, so the shape of the design and the feasibility of the manufacturing process must be considered.

Design of production layout There is no doubt that the rationality of the layout of the entire production and manufacturing unit will directly affect the production cost, speed and efficiency of the product. The matching of production capacity also involves the investment of capital and equipment. At present, the user end has higher and higher requirements on the flexibility of the production line to meet the needs of the production mode of multi-variety and small batch.

Coordinated procurement of relevant production unit equipment Return on investment is always a topic of concern. Reasonable arrangement of capital investment and logistics and other aspects of affairs will help increase income and reduce expenditure, and improve the efficiency of capital investment.

Installation and commissioning of production line Equipment installation and commissioning is a huge systematic project. The infrastructure of the plant, the coordination of water and electricity, the installation steps of the equipment and the rhythm of the linkage of the whole line will have an important impact on the success of the project.

Packaging Container Certification Brands and can makers alike understand the importance of packaging container certification. Qualified product means the formal commercialization of the product, which can be sold and profited externally. In order to meet the needs of actual production, product size, functional testing, and matching with upstream and downstream products and processes all involve fine-tuning of production equipment, products and processes.

Epilogue

Although the business of special-shaped cans is in the ascendant, it is a new thing after all, and there are still many technical barriers and difficulties to be further broken through. Every successful special-shaped can condenses the wisdom and hard work of brand owners, equipment technology providers and can manufacturers. Cooperation and symbiosis, synergistic progress, cohesion for solutions that enrich the packaging market, and create a better future.