Welcome to December!

Among the many traditions that have sprung up to accompany the Advent season over the years (the Christmas tree, wreaths etc), one of the simplest and most popular is the Advent calendar. Instead of strictly following the four-week Advent period, which can start anywhere from November 27 to December 3, an Advent calendar typically begins on December 1 and counts down the days until Christmas. Advent calendars now come in many forms, but the tradition began simply enough when German families in the mid-nineteenth century started counting the days until Christmas by tallying chalk marks on a door or wall. Variations of the countdown included lighting a candle or hanging a religious picture for each day leading up to Christmas Eve. Some families began making homemade Advent calendars to accompany their countdown, and by the early 1900s, a few publishing companies and newspapers had produced simple printed calendars.

The team at Canmaking News had a wonderful time reviewing some of their favourite canned Advent calendars so you didn’t have to. It’s a tough job but hey, we were happy to do it on your behalf! Read more here.

You’ve been busy….

Anheuser-Busch has reached a $13 million investment in its Cartersville Brewery this year, which has gone towards ongoing capital projects designed to increase capabilities and support ongoing improvements at the brewery. The new projects include strengthening the brewery’s beyond beer and craft production capabilities, as well as upgrades to its facility infrastructure and equipment that improve efficiencies to help sustain the longevity of the brewery. Find out more here.

AkzoNobel Packaging Coatings has launched Accelstyle 100 – a waterborne Gloss overprint varnish (OPV), and Accelstyle 200 – a waterborne Matt OPV to give can makers and brand owners external coatings for conventional two-piece aluminium beer and beverage cans that are free from Bisphenol, styrene and PFAS.i Accelstyle 100, matches the performance of AkzoNobel’s standard polyester OPV with excellent can line mobility and pasteurization performance, as well as resistance to necker tooling line pick up. Accelstyle 100, which is BPA-Ni, styrene-free and PFAS-free has already undergone multiple successful large-scale trials and qualifications with key major European can makers. Find out more about the new products here.

Belvac have launched a new initiative, designed to support the transition to a brighter and greener future. Belvac say that the Belvac Carrier Ring Bottle, which was launched on National Recycling Day, is the future of sustainable packaging. The lightweight aluminium bottle features an integrated transport ring, allowing it to be a direct replacement package for PET bottles. Almost 10 million tons of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year. By 2050 plastic pollution will likely outweigh fish in our oceans. Plastic pollution is killing the environment and is still the most widely used packaging option and Belvac has decided it’s time for a change. Read more here.

Ahead of the hoidays, please do keep sending us your news and ideas, we love hearing from you!

Janis Osborn

Publisher

janis@canmakingnews.com