Bangkok--8 Oct--Aziam Burson-Marsteller Bangkok Can Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Thailand’s leader in food and beverage can manufacturing, utilizing world-class technology, announced today the official opening of its Toyo Ultimate Lightweight Can (TULC) production line. This state-of-the-art line represents the world’s latest can production technology that helps address the critical issue of global warming. Presided over by H.E. Air Chief Marshal Kamthon Sindhavananda, Privy Councillor, the opening ceremony is attended by Pathumthani Governor Mekin Methawikul, Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana, Director-General of the Pollution Control Department, and Mr. Shunji Kaneko, Vice President of Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd., a joint venture partner of Bangkok Can. The establishment of the innovative TULC line means that Thailand is the first country in the world to produce new environmentally-friendly beverage cans for everyday consumption. “Bangkok Can and the Toyo Seikan Group, a leading global packaging producer from Japan, worked closely together to create this impressive new can that helps address one of today’s most important issues, global warming,” said Mr. Satoshi Nishino, President of Bangkok Can Manufacturing Co., Ltd. “We are very excited that Thailand is the first country in the world to commercially produce cans using this cutting edge technology for use by general consumers. These cans will help save our planet in the long-term while allowing consumers to conveniently enjoy their favorite drinks today. TULC technology helps us produce premium-quality beverage cans that are not only safe for consumers but also are environmentally friendly,” explained Nishino. TULC is a technology for a lightweight 2-piece can that is made of tin free steel or aluminum. The TULC manufacturing process does not require the large amounts of water used in traditional can production, to rinse out coolants. Further, the lamination with a PET film on both the internal and external surfaces of TULC cans eliminates the need for the coating and baking processes that are essential with traditional cans. As a result, emissions of carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming, from one TULC can are less than a third of that from one conventional steel can. In addition, because the PET film used for lamination only consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, it releases no toxic fumes when the can is melted down for recycling. The TULC process also dramatically reduces industrial waste and energy usage because this breakthrough technology requires a shorter production process. At the same time with its reduced weight, TULC cans offer remarkable advantages in terms of the conservation of resources and ease of recycling. “The state-of-the-art production line was constructed on budget at a capital cost of approximately 800 million baht, adding production capacity of 500 million cans per year to our current capacity of 1 billion cans. The TULC cans will be used by leading soft drink, coffee and alcoholic beverage companies in the domestic market,” said Mr. Pairojana Meethawee, Vice President of Bangkok Can Manufacturing. The new production line is located at Bangkok Can’s existing plant at Rangsit Klong 2, Pathumthani, north of Bangkok. In addition to TULC, Bangkok Can manufactures 2-piece (ADI) cans and 3-piece (welded) cans for food and beverages and offers both ring pull and stay-on-tab easy-opening ends. For further information, please contact: Sribenja/Nattakarn Aziam Burson-Marsteller 0-2252-9871 E-mail: [email protected]