November 15: Heineken’s ten-litre beer keg, developed with canmaking company Impress, claimed four of the top honours at this year’s Best in Metal Awards, making it the most successful metal container in the event’s history.
Launched in 2007, the TenCan keg won the Supreme Gold Award as well as the Gold awards in the Technical Innovation, Consumer Appeal, and Alcoholic Beverages categories. Using an internal carbon dioxide can to maintain pressure that keeps the beer fresh for up to 30 days, the TenCan is aimed at restaurants, hotels and bars.
Combining extreme shaping with distortion printing, a special lacquer which withstands the shaping process, and a minimum internal pressure of five bar, the TenCan was described by director of Impress’ Speciality Division Woep Möller as “one of the most sophisticated metal products on Earth”.
Nick Mullen, director of the UK’s Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association which organises the Best in Metal Awards, said: “Technically the TenCan illustrates the continually extending boundaries of what is possible in metal packaging, both in terms of the material and production technology.”
