Raw Materials for Metal Cans and Containers – China Tinplate Introduction

Electroplated tin-plated steel sheet (hereinafter referred to as tinplate or tinplate) is widely used because of its suitable strength, excellent weldability and punchability of the substrate, good corrosion resistance of the surface coating, and easy coating and printing. Food packaging is also used in the packaging of sprays, chemicals, paints and other items in various forms, as well as the manufacture of various utensils.

Electroplated tinplate developed on the basis of hot-dip tinplate has a production history of more than 70 years. The world’s tinning production lines and total output are basically stable, but developing countries have built or are building some tinning lines one after another, especially in China. In terms of varieties, secondary cold-rolled tinplate and chrome-plated sheet (TFS) have been greatly developed, and Japan’s coated iron (TFS surface covered with a layer of plastic film) has developed rapidly in recent years. The production and consumption of tinplate in developing countries are increasing rapidly, while developed countries are characterized by the development of new cans, exquisite printing, and environmental protection.

The development of China’s tinplate started relatively late, and it mainly relied on imports for a long time, with a self-sufficiency rate of less than 50%. In the 1990s, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong successively built factories in the mainland, which greatly increased the production capacity of tinplate. Especially in 1998, the two tinning production lines of Baosteel were put into operation, which raised the self-sufficiency rate of China’s tinplate to about 70%, and high-difficulty products such as K plate and DI material were also based on domestic supply, which changed the K plate required in my country. (high corrosion-resistant tinplate used in fruit cans in plain iron state) long-term dependence on imports, the production of DI material (tinplate for two-piece beverage cans) makes Baosteel one of the few steel plants in the world that can produce this product ranks.

Metal packaging has experienced more than 20 years of development in China’s reform and opening up, and has now formed a complete metal package including iron printing, can making (two-piece cans, three-piece cans), aerosol cans, various bottle caps, and steel drums. The packaging industry system has become one of the important categories of China’s packaging industry.

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the total consumption of tinplate required for metal packaging is growing at a rate of about 10% per year. It can be expected that the demand for tinplate in China will continue to develop at a relatively high speed in the next few years.