To meet your application and processing requirements, we offer reliable ECCS packaging steel in a wide choice of grades, thickness, surface finish and width
Our electrolytic chromium coated steel (ECCS) for packaging is well-proven in a range of applications. Providing an excellent substrate for lacquering, this tin-free steel is available in a wide choice of grades, thickness and surface finish to suit your processes and applications.
To ensure compliance with upcoming European legislation, we sustainable, replacement for conventional tin-free packaging steel, TCCT. Find out more about TCCT here.
Packaging and related applications for our tin-free steel include:
- easy-open ends
- classic (standard) ends
- twist-off caps
- 2-piece DRD
- speciality packaging
- microwaveable cans
- bakeware
Wide choice to meet your needs
We offer a wide choice of tin-free steel – tailoring our products to meet your required strength, surface finish and forming requirements. Our foodsafe ECCS packaging material is produced using Tata Steel’s blackplate.
Bespoke tempering and investment in both batch and continuous annealing ensure that we can match requirements for a variety of applications.
We supply tin-free packaging steel in a choice of:
- single reduced and double reduced steel grades – with material tempered to match your strength and ductility requirements
- thickness (gauge) – with scope for downgauging thanks to our direct rolling operations which produce thin-gauge material with increased strength
- surface finish – to meet your processing needs and product performance requirements
- width - up to 1050mm but with extra-wide (1200mm) material under development for optimised operational flexibility and output
- oils – for protection in transit
Reliable quality for efficient canmaking and product performance
We have a proven track record in ECCS manufacture. Our fully-traceable tin-free products benefit from the dependable quality of our blackplate feedstock and ongoing investment at our dedicated packaging steel mills.
All of our processes – from initial pickling, through rolling, annealing, tempering and chromium coating – are carefully controlled and monitored. Process control is combined with rigorous inspection to deliver:
- reliable mechanical properties – including earing properties required for 2-piece drawn can production
- consistently good shape and dimensional tolerances – for efficient processing
- precise surface coating chemistry – for reliable lacquering
- homogenous coating coverage – for corrosion resistance (although ECCS is not suitable for highly acidic can contents)
- excellent surface finish – at a roughness to match your requirement and achieved through careful control of both direct and temper mill rolling
New tin-free steel development for REACH compliance
TCCT® (trivalent chromium-coating technology) is a sustainable, reliable replacement for conventional tin-free packaging steel. Developed by Tata Steel, TCCT complies with European REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of CHemicals) regulations which ban the use of hexavalent chromium in electrolytic chromium coated steel (ECCS) manufacture.
Food-safe and suitable for a wide range of packaging applications, TCCT enables fast, repeatable processing. It is available in widths up to 1200mm for output optimisation. Key features include:
- reliable mechanical properties – including earing properties required for 2-piece drawn can production
- consistently good shape and dimensional tolerances – for efficient processing
- homogeneous coating – ensuring reliable lacquering and corrosion resistance
- excellent surface finish – at a roughness to match your requirement
Responsive service to suit your production demands
Our flexible, multi-site operations and robust supply chain infrastructure mean we can offer short lead times (as little as two weeks) to suit your production demands.
Packaging steel can be supplied in:
- coil or sheets
- DOS or ATBC oil
Our approachable ECCS experts are happy to advise you on the best products to meet your needs. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Our steel is supplied in accordance with the following standards:
Tinplate and ECCS (TFS) | Blackplate |
---|---|
Euronorm 10202 | Euronorm 10205 |
ASTM 623 (on request) | - |
Our operations are ISO 9001 certified.
Mechanical properties
Yield / Proof | Tensile | Range | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special | AISI / ASTM | BA / CA | SR / DR | strength (MPa) | strength (MPa) | (MPa) | |
TS200 | Bake ware and extreme deformations | BA | SR | 200 | 320 | +/- 50 | |
TS230* | T1 | BA | SR | 230 | 325 | +/- 50 | |
TS245* | T2 | BA | SR | 245 | 340 | +/- 50 | |
TS260* | BA | SR | 260 | 360 | +/- 50 | ||
TS275* | T3 | BA | SR | 275 | 375 | +/- 50 | |
TS290* | BA | SR | 290 | 390 | +/- 50 | ||
TS345 | Aerosol components | BA | DR | 345 | 400 | +/- 50 | |
TS480 | More formable DR grade | BA | DR | 480 | 505 | +/- 50 | |
TS520 | Formable DR Grade | DR 7.5 | BA | DR | 520 | 545 | +/- 50 |
TS550* | DR 8 | BA | DR | 550 | 575 | +/- 50 | |
TH415* | T4 | CA | SR | 415 | 435 | +/- 50 | |
TH435* | T5 | CA | SR | 435 | 460 | +/- 50 | |
TH465N | Easy open ends | T5 | CA | SR | 465 | 495 | +/- 50 |
TH465 | Sanitary ends | CA | DR | 465 | 480 | +/- 50 | |
TH480 | Easy open and sanitary ends | CA | DR | 480 | 500 | +/- 50 | |
TH520* | DR 7.5 | CA | DR | 520 | 540 | +/- 50 | |
TH550* | DR 8 | CA | DR | 550 | 570 | +/- 50 | |
TH550N* | Easy open ends | DR 8 | CA | DR | 550 | 560 | +/- 50 |
TH580* | CA | DR | 580 | 590 | +/- 50 | ||
TH620* | DR 9 | CA | DR | 620 | 625 | +/- 50 |
*Euronorm designation
Mechanical properties - D&I grades
Our tinplate for drawn and wall ironed (D&I) applications includes boron alloyed extra low carbon, continuously-annealed products to ensure excellent formability and highly efficient processing.
D&I grades | Yield / Proof | Tensile | Range | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(B&B and food) | BA / CA | SR / DR | strength (MPa) | strength (MPa) | (MPa) |
TH340 | CA | SR | 340 | 360 | +/- 40 |
TH360 | CA | DR | 360 | 380 | +/- 40 |
TH380 | CA | DR | 380 | 400 | +/- 40 |
TH415 | CA | SR | 415 | 435 | +/- 40 |
We can supply other packaging steels with special properties such as minimum earing and deep drawing properties – please contact us.
Product | Coils/sheets1 | Sheets | |
---|---|---|---|
Thickness | Width | Cut length | |
Single reduced (SR) | 0.17 - 0.49 mm | 700 - 1200 mm | 457 - 1137 mm (width max. 1018 mm) |
Double reduced (DR) | 0.13 - 0.26 mm | 700 - 1200 mm | 457 - 1137 mm (width max. 1018 mm) |
Wide DWI | - | Up to 1219 mm | - |
Width tolerance | Standard trim | (- 0.00, + 3.00 mm) | |
Special trim | (- 0.00, + 1.00 mm) | ||
Super trim | (- 0.25, + 0.00 mm) |
General specification window for packaging applications
Customer Technical Support
Our Customer Technical Support team supports you to get the most out of our packaging steels. Knowledgeable, approachable engineers provide practical advice to ensure the best product match for your application. We can work with you to optimise your processing efficiency and help improve your product’s performance. Supported by world-class research facilities at our Centre for Packaging Technology, we offer:
- material recommendations for smooth can-making processes
- process technology assessment to realise can-making line efficiencies
- can design reviews to improve can performance.
- logistics assessment to improve supply chain performance
- sustainability assessment to optimise today's can-making operations
Supply Chain Support
The day-to-day dynamics of the packaging supply chain demand a flexible supplier who can quickly anticipate changes in demand and specifications. We understand this – and that’s why you can count on us to meet deadlines. We have also developed innovative tools to simplify and shorten order lead times and improve information flow.
Our Supply Chain Support teams work with customers to:
- improve existing processes
- implement new supply chain processes for optimised efficiency, flexibility and performance
- reduce costs
The following downloads contain further information:
EN-Packaging-Brochure-Product range overview
Packaging steel - Product range overview
EN-Packaging-Brochure-Protact
Protact® brochure
Applications