RIGID CONTAINERS

Rigid containers [1] - Antares Vision Group Rigid containers [2] - Antares Vision Group

THE RIGID CONTAINER MARKET

The rigid container market, in this instance referring to metal cans and glass bottles, is projected to grow at 4% CAGR from 2020 to 2027. Key drivers of the growth are in the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical industries, heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which created explosive growth during 2020-2022. The pandemic also changed consumer consumption habits, requiring more containers to support greater home consumption.

In addition, other trends influencing growth in rigid containers are the preference for sustainable materials that aren’t harming the environment and allow for recyclable materials. Glass, for example, is easy to recycle at 100%, easy to sterilize, and it retains its properties after infinite recycling.

Changing lifestyles also play a role in the growth through greater urbanization and growth of the middle-income group, influencing greater demand for packaged food. North America is leading the growth in consumption of canned foods. In the beverage market, consumer preference is leaning toward smaller quantities, like the introduction of the mini cans, led by India and China.

Lastly, the water beverage market is gaining traction in the aluminum can segment as well.

The rigid container industry is very narrow in focus with a limited number of large, highly competitive players. In their pursuit of competitive advantage and enhanced market presence, we are seeing a host of new product containers, expanding capacity and geographic operations, and strategic mergers and acquisitions on the horizon.

METAL CAN
INSPECTION

Within the can market, there are 3 dominant types of cans: Beverage, Food and Aerosol. Our container structure and composition inspection entails seams, welds, converted ends, shoulder, curl, inside can, mixed label inspection and decoration, to name a few. These are all driven by manufacturer’s specifications, and our inspection equipment can be tuned to the degree of scrutiny our customer prefers to optimize defect detection while minimizing false rejects (waste). As marketing and branding continues to influence consumer perception and consumption, enhanced emphasis is being placed on the inspection of color accuracy and quality of can decoration.

GLASS BOTTLE
INSPECTION

Our inspection of glass bottles transcends the coloration of the glass (clear, green, amber, etc.), as well as the intricacies in the glass. And within the glass industry, our inspections occur at full line speeds in a non-contact environment. We are inspecting three key features of the glass: The Sidewall structure (for blisters, stones, lean, etc.), Sealing Surface & Base (vision plug, dip, saddle, chip finish, etc.) and Checks (cracks) present in the glass. The integrity of the container has to hold up to not only the manufacturing and filling process, but also the entire supply chain.

Rigid containers [5] - Antares Vision Group
Rigid containers [6] - Antares Vision Group
Rigid containers [7] - Antares Vision Group