ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products

Online client newsletter | March 2022

Copyright: Trivium

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Lifting the lid

New steel grade reduces the tear-force of easy-open ends and improves productivity of canmakers

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Trivium is a European leader in the production of metal packaging and has worked with ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products for decades. When Trivium noticed a variation in the quality of coils they used to make their easy-open ends, the can maker immediately alerted ArcelorMittal. That call led to a project which has not only enhanced coil quality and improved Trivium’s productivity – it has also resulted in the development of a new steel grade which improves the opening experience for consumers.

Copyright: Trivium
Copyright: Trivium

Trivium’s EOEs are used by major brands in European canned food

Copyright: Trivium

The new EOE steel grade makes opening a can very easy for consumers of all ages



Now the two partners are working to further enhance the new grade and create even thinner easy-open ends which are lighter and utilise less resources.

“This project began when we noticed that we had to adjust our processing parameters with ArcelorMittal steel,” explains Fabrice Leboucher, Trivium’s R&D Innovation and Project Manager for EOE and Components.


Copyright: Trivium

Fabrice Leboucher, R&D Innovation and Project Manager for EOE and Components at Trivium Packaging

New steel grade developed

Over the next few months, the ArcelorMittal team gathered data and worked closely with Trivium to find a solution. “We quickly realised why Trivium needed ArcelorMittal to improve quality, but we also understood that they wanted to dramatically reduce the tear-force of their EOEs,” says Tété Dossah, ArcelorMittal’s Head of Packaging Technical Coordination for North-Europe and Export. “To achieve both goals we began to develop a new steel grade for EOEs.”



Copyright: ArcelorMittal

Tété Dossah, ArcelorMittal’s Head of Packaging Technical Coordination for North-Europe and Export

“Together we did trials with different coils of the new steel to precisely understand how they worked in our production process,” notes Fabrice Leboucher. “The results were very positive and have led to significant productivity gains.”

“The results of our tests confirmed that the force required to open the EOE had been reduced by 10 newtons – in line with Trivium’s target,” notes Tété Dossah.

Copyright: Trivium

The EOEs can be produced in a range of sizes

Modifications enable downgauging

The new steel grade was further modified to reduce the thickness of EOEs. “The modification to the grade supports Trivium’s goal of downgauging EOEs,” says Tété Dossah.

Copyright: Andrew Riverside / shutterstock.com

The different parts of an EOE work together to make can opening as simple as possible

The new steel grade is already in use in Trivium’s can-making plant in Erftstadt (Germany). “We have also used the grade in our plant in Deventer (the Netherlands) in a slightly different process,” says Fabrice Leboucher. “The qualification process is ongoing in other plants, but we are on our way to ramp-up EOE production with the new steel.”

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