ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products

Online client newsletter | December 2020

Copyright: ArcelorMittal
5 / 6

A perfect balance

OCM relies on ArcelorMittal tinplate to produce high-quality coffee cans for illy

Scroll down to read article

Illy is one of the world’s best-known producers of quality coffee for domestic use and the catering industry. The company’s premium coffee is packaged in tinplate cans which are made by ArcelorMittal
customer OCM, an Italian producer of packaging solutions. For more than thirty years, OCM has manufactured the iconic illy cans using tinplate from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.
The result is a high-quality can which protects the aroma and taste of the coffee inside. The bare steel design also stands out from the competition on the shelf and meets illy’s
requirements for traceable and recyclable packaging.

Copyright: OCM

The OCM plant in Gruaro, Italy

Copyright: illy

The high-quality illy can is designed to protect the aroma and taste of the coffee inside



In addition to 250-gram cans for domestic use, illy also markets its coffee in three-kilogram tins for catering. Each year illy also selects an internationally renowned artist and replicates their artworks on a limited edition of cans. The limited editions are produced by OCM and are highly sought after by collectors.

OCM began producing cans for illy in 1990. “illy wanted a can with an excellent surface appearance, good mechanical properties, and good raw material traceability,” explains Ettore Dagnolo, CEO of OCM. “The surface is very important as most of it is bare metal.”


Fully recyclable, tamper evident

Illy’s focus on the environment made tinplate the logical material, notes Ettore Dagnolo: “Tinplate is infinitely recyclable and sustainable, factors that are fundamental for both illy and OCM when it comes to material selection. Tinplate offers peace of mind as any attempt to tamper with the packaging is immediately evident. This has helped to ensure global acceptance of the illy brand.”

Copyright: illy

illy cans are filled with freshly roasted coffee and natural, inert nitrogen under pressure

Copyright: illy

The three-kilogram can for catering has a stamped end which enables it to be screwed into a coffee grinder

“The high product quality we achieve for illy is a perfect balance between the quality of the raw material provided by ArcelorMittal and OCM’s unique processes,” says Ettore Dagnolo. “We can rely on the stability of the product and ArcelorMittal’s logistics performance to meet our just-in-time delivery schedule. The finished cans are a credit to the skills and professionalism of OCM’s workforce.”

Copyright: OCM

OCM utilises the most advanced tools to create the high quality illy can

To read the full article, please
Click here
















All articles