RBS CAN : Flexible Packaging for drinks Alongside the DWI drinks can, a classic in the field of carbonated soft drinks and beers, a new type of packaging now exists in polymer coated steel offering great flexibility in terms of production. Thanks to the can's potential for shaping and lower level of capital investment required in comparison to the traditional DWI series, it effectively allows producers of all types of drinks, be they carbonated or other, to position their brands in a distinctive way. We wanted to find out which markets could benefit from this innovative packaging solution jointly developed by Corus Packaging Plus and the Redicon Corporation. David Jones, R&D Manager at Corus Packaging Plus : "The logic behind the concept was to enable drinks cans to be produced in developing markets such as in China, where pre-requisites necessary to the manufacture of the DWI can such as the water quality, the solvents and the quality of the equipment required etc. are not so easy to meet. The polymer coated RBS can manages to circumvent all these constraints which often prove to be very costly in terms of equipment and tools. In some emerging markets the production volume is often too low to launch a DWI production line which requires higher investment capital.   Winner of the Corus Packaging Plus Design Award 1997, a prototype of the Carlsberg Tetley Elephant Beer Can was produced using RBS technology.   "In developed countries, on the other hand, one advantage of the RBS can lies in its shaping potential, even for limited batch production, which is often the case when products are being launched in high added value niches of the market." Hilary Moss, Marketing Manager at Corus Packaging Plus Tinplate, explains : "The features of RBS mean that it fits perfectly into the added value "premium" drinks niche, where the producer wants packaging that really stands out on the retail shelves and fully supports the positioning of the brand. This is an increasingly common requirement in the European market where there is considerable growth of new kinds of drinks. Whilst in the Asian markets the canned drinks concept covers a much broader product range from exotic fruits to tea and coffee, there are now signs that the European market is opening up to added value and convenient drinks of this kind."     David Jones : "An RBS production line allows for the production of both straight and shaped cans. The shaping process occurs at the end, which minimises disturbance to the production line. It can be used to package both carbonated and still drinks. If you look at the European market, RBS lends itself perfectly well to "food type" drinks, which we differentiate from traditional drinks. And it is precisely these kinds of drinks which are not produced on a large scale as is the case for traditional drinks. RBS technology offers flexibility for all kinds of drinks, providing a solution for nearly all types, and responding to the growing diversification of the market."   RBS technology: flexibility, design and practicality.