Work at Ardagh Groups specialist aluminium can plant in Cuxhaven, north Germany, has resulted in the production of the worlds lightest aluminium seafood can.

The shaped seafood can, referred to as a dingley, has been designed with a conical wall thickness of only 0.170mm, a significant advance over its nearest competitor at 0.215mm. This innovation was achieved by technicians at the Cuxhaven plant supported by Ardaghs R&D centre in Crosmieres, France. Together, they applied their in depth knowledge of beading – the ridges, which come in many shapes and sizes, built into the can to give its body strength and stability.

The development involved detailed testing, which established the most suitable shape and size of the beads, as well as ensuring the correct distance between the beads to achieve the same optimum stability as cans with standard thickness.

The Cuxhaven technical service team also developed a modified seaming technique for the new can. Working closely with Larsen Danish Seafood – the first customer in Germany to use the new lightweight can – they overcame the challenge of securing optimised seaming on a lightweight can with a much thinner body and easy open ring pull lid.

Patrick Savouré, commercial director, seafood at Ardagh Groups metal division, comments, "Our innovative ultra thin seafood can is a continuation of the pioneering work that we carry out to achieve higher standards of performance with reduced material input and weight.

"As is a feature of many of our important developments, the cooperation with our customer, Larsen, was a crucial part of the process and I am delighted that the new can has been well received by their customers."

The lightweight can is now available in 100g or 115g versions.