Ball Corporation in America has announced details of what it claims is the world's first microwaveable steel can.
Ball Packaging r&d personnel have collaborated with Ball Aerospace engineers to develop the Fusion-Tek, in initial form a 307 x 306 diameter can which holds 15oz of product. Limited commercial production is expected to start later this year.
Jennifer Hoover, manager, marketing communications, Ball Packaging Products, Americas, says the Ball Aerospace engineers helped the company's packaging development team better understand microwave transmission - for instance in terms of directionality. This enabled the team to develop a special dual-purpose multilayer PP/EVOH can base, which enables microwave energy to pass through and effectively heat the can contents, but also ensures they stay fresh “for at least 18 months”.
Hoover adds: “Finding a way to join the plastic end to the steel walls was a challenge, but one we successfully overcame.”
“Shelf-stable, tamper- and puncture-resistant”, the Fusion-Tek is intended for shipping to fillers with the plastic end in place. After filling an easy-open or other conventional end is seamed on and labels and an overcap applied. While the cans require overpressure sterilisation, Ball claims they can be processed faster than plastic microwavable containers because the metal transfers heat into the product and cools faster. Hoover adds: “Our tests suggest they can also be produced more cheaply than many microwaveable containers with no effect on line speeds.”
Ball easily dismisses one obvious concern - that microwaving the metal cans would cause arcing. Hoover explains: “The thickness of the steel, 0.0072in, and the cans' rounded profile, mean arcing should not occur.”
