Clear, Retortable Plastic Can Made from Extruded Tube

Global packaging company Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C., last month introduced the TruVue Can, the latest clear plastic alternative to metal food cans. Unlike the injection molded Klear Can developed originally by Kortec (now part of Milacron Co-Injection Systems), Sonoco’s can starts as a extruded tube, which is cut to length and sealed with two double-seamed metal ends, one of them an easy-open lid. It can run on existing canning lines, according to Sonoco.

TruVue is a “highly engineered multi-layer” structure consisting of PP and EVOH. Wall thickness is varied depending on the application. The material combination reportedly gives the can the high-heat performance required by the retort process and the shelf life needed by many targeted applications. Patented and proprietary technology, which Sonoco calls Fusion FreshLock, is said to create high integrity in the seals marrying the can body to the ends.

Sonoco maintains that TruVue is the first clear plastic can that will “withstand the rigors of continuous retort systems without overpressure, performing in high-temperature and high-pressure environments.” In customer trials, TruVue has been processed at temperatures greater than 121 C (about 250 F). Sonoco says it is in talks with potential customers and is hopeful to see a product on shelves by the summer.