How do you improve on the humble food can? Well at Tata Steel what was until now only known by customers and the trade press has been revealed to the whole world.

Protact is a new steel packaging material which is as safe as it has always been, but easier for canmakers to work with and truly 100% recyclable. Protact is used in the food processing industry (including canned food).

“We are extremely pleased with the high-quality new production line for making Protact,” said Simone Vooijs, Director Operations Tata Steel Packaging. “With this strategic project we are ensuring our steel company will continue to have a strong competitive position in the field of packaging steel in the future. Another special feature of Protact is that we help our customers to become more sustainable through this innovative product. I am very proud of the step we have taken as a company.”

What makes the new production facilities at Tata Steel’s IJmuiden site special is the addition of an in-house laminating line - the largest of its kind in the world - to apply a special food-safe layer to the steel, but also its own film production line for manufacturing the high quality polymer needed. plastic film. Tata Steel now holds several patents on this product.

The production line for Protact has been running in IJmuiden for more than a year now and with great success. The installation has a capacity of more than 150,000 tonnes per year.

The Protact production facilities have been designed in such a way that they meet all the requirements set out for food-safe production in both Europe and the United States. This also means employees wear special clothing to ensure optimal hygiene in the factory.

Protact is one of the most innovative steel grades for the packaging sector. The unique product has several advantages:

- Customers no longer need to apply a coating layer to the steel themselves

- Customers can significantly reduce the number of steps in their production process, reducing production costs, making more cans faster and supplying their customers faster

- Extra width of the material yields 15% higher production turnover for customers

- With Protact, the production process at customers factories can be set up much more sustainably (less energy and water consumption and lower emissions)

- The outside of the material can be printed much more easily than with traditional packaging steel types

- Optimal corrosion protection for use in the food industry and for other applications, such as for making aerosol cans giving a longer lifespan.

-ends-

For further information: Damien Brook on +44 (0)7818 588545 or damien.brook@tatasteeleurope.com

About Tata Steel’s European operations

Tata Steel is one of Europe's leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the Netherlands and the UK, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality steel products to the most demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering. Tata Steel works with customers to develop new steel products which give them a competitive edge. The Tata Steel group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes. It is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world. The group’s turnover (excluding its South East Asia operations) in the year ending 31 March 2020 was US $19.7 billion.