#25.04.2013 UK Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association and the BBC celebrate 200 years of the can
The UK Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA) has joined forces with the BBC to help produce two videos which mark the 200th anniversary of the can this year: How the first tin cans were made and How tin cans are made today
Working with Dr Mark Jepson from Loughborough University’s Department of Materials, ”How the first tin cans were made” recreates the labour intensive manufacture of a single food can, while “How tin cans are made today” shows food can production today at the Crown plant in Leicester where some 10 million cans a day are produced.
The videos are hosted on the BBC website along with a major BBC feature The story of how the tin can nearly wasn’t which presents the 200 year history of the can. On Monday 22 April the story was among the BBC’s five most viewed items.
In response to the wide interest in the can’s 200th anniversary, MPMA director and chief executive, Nick Mullen, took to the airwaves with appearances on BBC news and general interest programmes taking about the future of cans in particular: Nick Mullen on BBC Breakfast News This clip may take up to 2 minutes to load and will be available until 30th April.
“Much has been made of the past history of this most remarkable invention which changed the lives and eating habits of armies and seafarers and which is now revered as one of the greatest food inventions of all time,” he said.
“But the can also has an assured future: using fully recyclable materials, food cans today are the most perfectly evolved food preservation and storage system to meet the global food distribution challenges of the 21st century and beyond.”