Tata Steel Nederland has opened a new Trivalent Chromium Coating Technology (TCCT) line in IJmuiden, which the company says will support compliance with upcoming European REACH legislation for packaging steel.
The coating line produces the chromium-coated substrate for Protact, Tata Steel Nederland’s polymer-coated packaging steel. According to the company, the technology replaces hexavalent chromium with a non-hazardous trivalent chromium chemistry to improve worker protection and meet regulatory requirements.
The opening marks the final step in a multi-year investment programme to expand Protact production at the IJmuiden site. Construction of the TCCT line took two years.
“The use of hexavalent chromium is likely to be banned in Europe through REACH legislation to better protect our workers,” said Ilja Portegies Zwart, head of technical packaging and plating. “After years of research, intensive testing and optimised process conditions for high speed production Tata Steel Nederland has developed a new technology TCCT, Trivalent Chromium Coating Technology.”
He said TCCT was “safer for our employees and fully compliant with European REACH legislation”.
TCCT has been developed by Tata Steel Nederland and will be the preferred substrate for Protact packaging steel. The company says Protact TCCT is tin- and lacquer-free, eliminating the need for post-lacquer curing during can making. It says this can reduce natural gas use, VOC emissions and water consumption.
The Protact polymer coating is described by the company as having a simple chemistry, being food safe and free of BPA and PFAS, and compliant with regulatory requirements. Applications include food cans and aerosols for food and industrial fill goods.
With the new line in operation, Tata Steel Nederland says steel substrate production, film-making and lamination are now integrated at a single site in IJmuiden.
“Future steel for packaging needs to be better for the planet, meet all legislation, improve can making efficiency and perform better on the shelf,” said Peter Bernscher, chief commercial officer and member of the board. “Protact TCCT meets all these requirements.”
The company said the opening of the TCCT line was attended by global customers.
