Metal packaging industry faces mounting quality and production pressures
Key takeaways
- A new report from Industrial Physics found that 92% of surveyed metal packaging professionals say their current technology cannot guarantee reliable results.
- The findings highlight quality control as a major challenge, with 86% of respondents citing late detection of defects in can production as a key issue.
- The report suggests the industry is facing mounting sustainability, quality, and regulatory pressures.
The metal packaging industry is struggling to maintain product consistency amid sustainability and regulatory shifts, according to a recent study from test-and-measurement firm Industrial Physics.
The report, titled Ready but not prepared: Metal packaging 2028 reality check, surveyed 200 metal packaging professionals from the UK, US, India, and Germany.
The findings show that 92% of surveyed can-making and filling professionals said their current technology cannot guarantee measurable results.
Stefan Welker, strategic segment manager at Industrial Physics, says: “Action is critical — now is the time to investigate what is available and lean on a testing partner to solve knowledge gaps.”
Supply chain resilience
The study highlights quality issues, with 86% of respondents citing the late detection of defects as the top technical challenge in the production of metal cans.
Industrial Physics points out that, as some production lines can exceed 2,000 cans per minute, short delays in detection can result in tens of thousands of defective products.
“The scale of the risk is difficult to overstate here. The impact of inaccurate, unreliable measurement is enormous and prohibits effective scaling and standardization between sites,” says Welker.
According to the survey, 33% of the respondents identified structural integrity and dent resistance as their top priority over the next three years, followed by cost control amid raw material volatility (31%) and sustainability and recyclability targets (30%).
The report unveils that producer confidence in supply chain resilience also varies across the surveyed countries.
In India, 96% of can-making and filling professionals expressed confidence about upcoming pressures, compared to 92% in Germany, 84% in the US, and 78% in the UK.
