Packaging Magazine 23 December 2011

PACKAGING

Inside this issuePage 5Steel industry aims to cut carbon emissions by fifty percent: ULCOS HIsarna project

Page 6Partnership with Tata Steel: Crown takes a strategic view

Page 11In support of packaging: Environmental affairs update

MAGAZINEISSUE 23December 2011

Automotive is a key influence. “It is a global industry, with very high product quality standards. I have a good understanding of the manufacturing requirements behind a high performance product.” So where are the similarities with the steel for packaging industry? “The quality demand on packaging steel is high and we have a good understanding of what is required by industry.”

One of the elements that attracted him to his current job was the Tata ownership. “It is a global brand that makes significant acquisitions and has a long term view.”The role interested him, too. “More than in many traditional works manager roles, I work closely with customers and have to understand their needs well.” He has ideas for ensuring that closeness with customers extends to everyone in the plant.

The two-week lead time project has impressed Max. “It was game-changing for the industry and has been well-received, we need to continue building on our successes.”

He loves working in South Wales. “We have a mature, approachable workforce here with a lot of knowledge and experience. My job is partly to instil that confidence and stimulate the appetite for change.”

So how does he see Trostre’s contribution to producing our high performance steel? “Producing high quality packaging steel is technically challenging – particularly the thin gauge clean steels for two-piece DWI. Techniques have moved on massively in the past 10-15 years, for example in high quality coating and digital inspection techniques. At Trostre we can be particularly responsive and I would like to draw on my auto industry experience so we can be best in class.”

CUSTOMERFOCUS

WORKING ClOSEly WITh CUSTOMERS, I hAvE TO UNDERSTAND ThEIR NEEDS

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 232

KEY PLAYER

Max Humber joined Tata Steel in February 2011 as works manager for the Packaging plant at Trostre, in South Wales. We ask him how his past experience has helped him in his first six months in the job.

How does a career in industries as diverse as petrochemical and aerospace prepare you for the world of metal packaging?

It’s an interesting question to ask Max Humber, the new works manager at Trostre. Max took over at the start of this year from Stuart Wilkie, who is now manufacturing director responsible for all three of Tata Steel’s packaging sites in Europe.

Max has an impressive track record in industry, leading him from Esso where he learnt to make safety a key priority, to top engineering posts in the automotive industry, at Jaguar and GKN. Along the way he added an MBA to his engineering degree. As a manager he has run aerospace and metal processing plants and has gained first-hand knowledge of lean manufacturing from the industry masters, Toyota.

Max Humber, works manager Trostre, Packaging.

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STATE OF PLAY

Committed to packaging steelWhat does our commitment mean? Talking straight it means investment in our installations. Tata Steel is pleased to announce that we have launched an investment program underscoring our commitment to packaging steel.In IJmuiden a number of investments have been made. We have installed a state-of-the-art multi-roll leveller to improve strip flatness, improving speed of work and reducing material rejects and defects. To further improve strip surface quality, we have installed a new surface inspection system. At the temper mill, we have renewed the drive and control systems for better tension control during rolling, improving the consistency of our product specifications, in particular material hardness.

During the last 12 months Duffel has seen two major investments reinforcing our commitment to our market-leading Protact®. The first was the installation of a new extrusion die system which improves our coating quality and reduces waste. The second, the installation of bulk polymer silos for raw materials, improves our polymer purchasing, handling and storage, seen below.

At Trostre, we have started a 1 million pound investment program to add further robustness to our manufacturing installations and products to meet future market demands.

Making the differenceTata Steel aims to deliver efficiency to canmakers - in this issue we show how. We introduce our people: Max Humber on the opposite page, our new works manager at our Trostre site, brings with him new energy and external experience. Meet some of our Customer Service people who work with you on pages four and 12.

On page 10 we have an update on the latest environmental activities in the UK and the Netherlands. As an industry we take our responsibility seriously to reduce our carbon footprint. We cover Hlsarna, the ULCOS pilot project in IJmuiden on page five. We set out to explain how by working together with our customers, we have made a difference through a combination of our products and services. Our lead article on page six, shows how mature technology partnerships offer the chance to take a strategic view. A news round-up on pages eight and nine covers how we have worked together to shorten lead times; our participation in our customers’ supplier advisory councils; and more. I hope you enjoy our new magazine.

Luc Brantjes

WAlKING ThE TAlK Luc Brantjes, director commercial, Packaging.

Welcome to our first Packaging magazine under the Tata Steel banner. May of this year saw the official launch of Tata Steel at Metpack in Essen, Germany, we reinforced our commitment to packaging steel and explained that by working together, we can make the difference.

PACKAGING MAGAZINEPhotography: Chris Henderson, Chris Hoefsmit, Sam Ashfield, Adam Cietak, Gayle Budden

Contact: For all comments on this edition of Packaging Magazine and ideas or recommendations for future issues, please contact:Samantha Allison - communications managerBarbra Eilers - communications assistantLinda Scheringa - communications and marketing assistantContributors: Laura Parker - editorWillem Legerstee - traffic & production

Tata SteelPackagingPO Box 100001970 CA IJmuidenThe NetherlandsT: +31 (0) 251 497424F: +31 (0) 251 [email protected] Together we can.

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 234

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Anne-Marie Beukers-BotAnne-Marie has a solid knowledge of Tata Steel. Starting 32 years ago as a crane operator, she then moved to a real hands-on role as operator on the coating line.

To take the next step she completed a diploma and went on to become account representative at Packaging.

After 15 years, Anne-Marie feels really responsible for ‘her’ customers from the moment the contracts are signed, through to supporting lead-time projects and right up to the coils being delivered to the customer.

“I am like the spider in the web,” she says. “Through the years I have built an extensive network, not only internally but also within my customer’s businesses. I know my customers really well - a word tells a whole story - it helps me anticipate their needs daily.”

AnneliesJanseCalm and assertive. That’s the impression Annelies leaves you with. Certainly, those are the characteristics she relies on.

Annelies joined Packaging as an account representative in 2006. During this time she went to college twice a week to obtain her diploma in business economics, all while managing a family with two young children, a boy and a girl who are now seven and six years old. “Looking back I don’t know how we managed. My husband was combining a full-time job and studying, too. I had to set priorities and be very efficient.”

Currently Annelies is in the Beer & Beverage team, serving mainly German customers. The language is no problem – she sharpened her German language skills on the ski slopes in Austria.

“I really like the direct contact with people in the various departments, not just internally but also with our customers. I know exactly what is going on.”

PaulRichards“As a technical account manager I enjoy being the interface between the customer and Tata Steel,” says Paul Richards. His background in both engineering and metallurgy, together with a healthy dose of persistence helps him to maintain the balance.

Paul knows the packaging business well. He started 36 years ago as an apprentice fitter/turner with Crown. In the 80s he moved to British Steel’s automotive sector. But the packaging business still held his passion and in 1988 he accepted a customer-facing role in the Packaging business unit.

“Over the years I have seen my role evolve into a real relationship, with open and honest communication and trust from both sides,” he says.

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An exciting breakthrough technology is under trial at IJmuiden. It’s a world first – and Tata Steel is leading the project.

Putting theory into practice is a nerve-wracking process for any scientist. When your laboratory is a 20-metre high structure and the material being put to the test is many tonnes of hot metal, the tensions become even greater.

So it was a huge relief when the first start-up charge of 50 tonnes of liquid pig iron was successfully poured into the new Hisarna pilot plant at IJmuiden this April and the tests could begin.

HIsarna is derived from the Celtic word for iron. The pilot plant uses new iron-making technology to convert iron ore fines and coal almost directly into liquid pig iron. It completely removes two steps in the production process making it no longer necessary to transfer the coal into coke, and the ore fines into sinter and pellets. It is an energy-

efficient process route that has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20 per cent.

Armin von Keitz, environmental affairs manager, Packaging, says: “Cutting carbon emissions is a big challenge for the steel industry. If we take into account the overall life cycle, steel is a truly sustainable material. New technologies like HIsarna potentially take a big step forward in cutting CO2 emissions even further. Our packaging steel customers and their consumers will benefit from this.”

ConsortiumThe HIsarna experiment is part of the ULCOS (Ultra–Low Carbon dioxide (CO2) Steelmaking) project – a consortium of 48 steelmaking companies, research institutes and organisations from 15 European countries, all trying to find alternative and more sustainable methods of steelmaking. ULCOS is aiming to cut carbon emissions by fifty per cent by 2050, compared to today’s best steelmaking routes. HIsarna is just one of the new process technologies that ULCOS is putting forward. With the building of the 60ktpa pilot plant at IJmuiden, it is now one of the furthest advanced.

Tata Steel has played a key role in ULCOS throughout. The HIsarna project is being managed by an international project team led by Koen Meijer from Tata Steel’s R&D department. Koen’s team is now making preparations for a second series of tests. One of the objectives for the next stage is to create a stable, long-running trial to ensure the full process is robust.

As Koen explains: “Developing a process like this takes a long time. We have extremely high requirements for the safety, reliability, maintenance and operational costs of an industrial installation. It will not compete with the conventional blast furnace process until 2020 at least.”

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hISARNA - lOWERING CARBON FOOTPRINT

The HIsarna™ ironmaking process is based on a new type of blast furnace called the Cyclone Converter Furnace and consists of cyclone pre-reduction technology (CCF), owned by Tata Steel, and bath smelting technology (Hismelt) owned by Rio Tinto.

The technology has potential in the long-term to replace conventional blast furnaces, coke ovens and sinter plants.

Used in combination with Carbon Capture & Storage (CSS), HIsarna could lower the carbon footprint by as much as 80 per cent compared to traditional steelmaking.

For more information: www.ulcos.org

If we take into account

the overall life cycle,

steel is a truly sustainable

material.

The pilot plant Hisarna arrived at Tata Steel IJmuiden on 31 August 2011.

STAyING AhEADTOGEThER

the Netherlands. Den Hartog sees these meetings as a tremendous opportunity: “We have been running these meetings with Crown for over 10 years. We have built a shared understanding of where opportunities lie for efficiency and optimisation”. It is a true partnership and it’s a fruitful one.

The opening revolutionOne successful innovation resulting from the partnership between Tata Steel and Crown is the ORBIT™ Closure, that meets the consumer need for easy to open closures for glass jars. Compatible with food products that typically use twist-off metal closures, the ORBIT™ Closure features a central, floating panel that is vacuum sealed to the jar. An outer ring acts as the opening and re-closing device.

A simple twist loosens the ring and breaks the vacuum seal - it easily opens the pack with minimal effort.

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 236

Cost and convenience are the two important drivers in the packaging sector. Continuous improvement and technological developments from canmakers and steelmakers are vital to remain competitive, as Crown and Tata Steel can confirm.

Adrian Noke, director of new product and process development, CROWN Packaging Technology and

Hans den Hartog, co-ordinator Tata Steel on a visit to Crown Neath, UK.

Tata Steel understands that to stay ahead in packaging, canmakers increasingly require steels with new and different properties. Long-term joint projects with customers provide valuable insight into the perfor-mance required from future steel grades. Three times a year a joint team, from both the technical and commercial departments within Crown and Tata Steel, meet to review and initiate projects and activities with a long-term focus.

“We step away from the issues that steelmakers address day-to-day with their customers and look at what is required by us and the metal packaging industry to plan ahead. We can start work on longer-term projects” says Noke.

The meetings take place either at Crown’s technical centre at Wantage, in the English countryside near Oxford, or at Tata Steel’s harbour-side head quarters in IJmuiden,

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Duerr’s Marmalades and Preserves immediately recognised the benefit of this breakthrough: improved ease of opening for consumers of all ages and the opportunity to enhance its brand image. Launched at Interpack earlier this year, Crown provided support to Duerr’s from start to finish and enabled them to be first to market with the innovation.

“Tata Steel brought the concept to us from a third party (Plato Product Consultants). Coincidentally, at about the same time, Crown’s Innovation Team had also identified a 2-part all-metal closure as one of their leading options for improved ease-of-opening. Therefore the concept was a perfect fit for Crown and we took it on and developed it,” says Noke. “It’s different to many tinplate closure developments as it involves no substrate material changes. But it came about through the spirit of collaboration with Tata Steel.”

Hans den Hartog explains “Crown defines three key areas of focus regarding the future of metal packaging: brand identity, convenience and sustainability. We maintain innovation networks and when we saw the Plato concept we realised it was a good fit with Crown’s track record for award winning convenience solutions like the Ideal Closure®, Easylift™ easy-open ends and Clipper Can™”.

World class R&D Another project underway, with a focus on sustainability, is a study to understand easy-open end performance and the gains to be made on lightweighting. The project looks in detail at the score on the can end, to see if it presents a restriction to the material thickness reduction. Tata Steel uses its Finite Element Modelling (FEA) and electron microscopy to understand how steel behaves during the scoring process.

“It’s a great example of collaboration,” says Noke. “We started around 18 months ago. The project has at least one more year to run before we have tangible and implementable results.”

Reaching into the futureAn academic research project shows a future focus. Crown and Tata Steel, with leading organic coatings supplier Akzo Nobel, have appointed a postgraduate (EngDoc) researcher from Swansea University which the three parties will jointly fund and manage. The purpose is to further explore adhesion between organic coatings and the steel substrate. The metal can is the single most effective packaging solution that has ever been invented, something all three parties fundamentally believe. Steel cans are the benchmark for heat processed food and organic coatings play a critical role in its success. The research will run beyond two years and will be monitored by all three parties.

Shared learningA lively aspect of the partnership is training, which gives insight into the production of steel packaging. Tata Steel started to provide the Crown technology team with tailored technical training to further understand steelmaking: from blast furnace to the final material delivered for specific can making applications.

“Gaining knowledge into Tata’s steelmaking processes is a good way to appreciate the constraints that steelmakers face and how they deal with quality and logistical issues” says Stefan Hirth, team manager – prime materials, CROWN Packaging Technology.

Feedback from Crown’s technology team shows a wider understanding of the performance capability of steel. Training sessions have now been extended to include Crown personnel from their manufacturing operations. In June of this year, a session was tailored for attendees from three of Crown’s aerosol plants.

Ongoing commercial relevance and project implementation are important indicators of the partnership’s maturity for both Crown and Tata Steel. “The partnership meetings with Crown provide an open forum, free from shorter-term commercial and manufacturing activities and provide a chance to share a technical vision for the future. It offers us as steelmakers insights on how we can help canmakers gain a competitive advantage in their market. In the long run, with a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect, it’s a win-win situation” says Ton Hertogh, commercial manager Tata Steel.

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“ThE PARTNERShIP WITh TATA STEEl IS A ChANCE TO TAKE A STRATEGIC vIEW” Adrian Noke.

A technical training session for Crown in IJmuiden.

Crown plant visit in IJmuiden.

New annual reports outIn 2010 the UK achieved a national steel recycling rate of just over 59 per cent, comfortably surpassing the European target of 50 per cent. This is the key statistic in the new annual report and review of activities in the UK Packaging Recycling 2010 Annual Report. Each year we give an account, according to Government requirements, on how we allocated funds in the UK to enhance the recycling profile and tonnage for steel.

Also launched in IJmuiden is the Dutch language IJmuiden site Sustainability brochure covering sustainability performance for the last year. To receive your copy email us a [email protected]

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 238

On the BallThe beverage market demands a quick response. The weather, major events and promotional events can all cause rapid fluctuations in demand. For canmakers, the 2010 crisis in tinplate supply highlighted further the need to be as agile and reactive to market changes as possible, a challenge when the standard European order time is eight weeks.

Tata Steel’s approach to support Ball Packaging Europe in streamlining their supply chain began in 2009, with a presentation at Trostre. Tata Steel account manager Olivier Jolivet and team showed how a change of approach, supported with increased trans parency and open communications between both partners, could bring mutual benefits. It was the start of a short lead time initiative that is now in place in the UK supply chain, and is currently being rolled out in Europe.

Olivier explains: “We mapped out the whole supply chain process on both sides. We learned a lot about our mutual routines and processes. It brought more structure to the way we work together. Forecasting and accuracy has improved. All specifications we supply to Ball come from one generic substrate specification. Our production process has been made leaner to reduce our production lead time and avoid delays. Stock is minimised and reaction times are faster on both sides.”

Ball now has access to weekly reports that make visible the forecasts, production, current and projected stock levels for each Ball plant and product specification. With this insight, Tata Steel is able to ensure that the right specification can be supplied to the right plant at the right time to each Ball plant in Europe.Alexander Baudisch, metals manager at Ball Packaging Europe, says: “Tata Steel’s flexibility helps us to meet fast-changing customer requirements and make sure the right material is in the chain at all times.”

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Wear it PinkBreast cancer impacts not only sufferers but families, too. Trostre has shown great enthusiasm in helping raise funds for Cancer Research UK. The plant has had a number of initiatives in recent years to support the charity’s tremendous work.

Wear It Pink Day is the campaign’s biggest event to raise funds for breast cancer research. It encourages partici pants to wear something pink for the day and donate £2 to the campaign. Together with generous donations from suppliers and customers, Trostre was able to raise over £2,000 during the last event.This summer, a team from Trostre joined the Race for Life. This is the largest women-only fundraising event in the UK where women of all ages and fitness levels come together to walk, jog or run to help beat cancer. Gillian Furlong, departmental accountant Packaging and driving force behind these initiatives, says: “I am already busy developing ideas for the next event. Let me know if you want to sponsor us!”

Bradley Mitchell, director purchasing metals Ball Packaging Europe & Olivier Jolivet, Account Manager Packaging, Tata Steel.

Tata Steel is proud to announce it has received a Supplier Golden Circle Award from H.J. Heinz Company Limited. By this, Tata Steel enters the Heinz Supplier Advisory Council, a council consisting of the top 15 suppliers of Heinz, selected on performance criteria and acting as the voice of the suppliers into Heinz.

“With our multi-disciplined account team and with the help of Trostre works we have proved to Heinz that we are a worthy recipient of this award and that working together can be beneficial for both parties”, Adam Cietak, commercial manager Packaging, Tata Steel, explains. “We have worked hard on quality, we now manage the order book on a 2 week lead time and both Trostre and IJmuiden are now qualified to supply Heinz.”

Tata Steel is in regular dialogue with Heinz, not only to discuss operational topics but also more strategic ones, such as supply chain sustainability. Etienne Meijer joins the Packaging account team for Heinz replacing Anja Pijl-ruiter who took a new position in another commercial team.

Green solutions for Central EuropeAPEAL and U.S. Steel Europe co-hosted “Steel for Packaging, Green solutions for Central Europe” in Kosice, Slovakia, in September 2011. Endorsed by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, ministers, policy makers, supply chain customers and steel producers came together to present strategies, exchange ideas and communicate their vision for the future for steel packaging in Central Europe.

During the summit, APEAL released the latest Life Cycle Analysis figures for steel packaging. APEAL is the European steel manufacturers association.APEAL has received positive reactions from the countries involved. Both customers and media and are now inviting Apeal to events in Brussels to increase the visibility of Apeal and reinforce the sustainability credentials of steel for Packaging in Central Europe.

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A positive experience Four years down the line as part of Tata Steel, one thing is very clear: Tata is a company with strong values. For example, taking respon si-bility for the communities that serve us.

In the UK, Tata Steel is the corporate partner of the British Triathlon Federation. “We are committed to the development of Britain’s triathletes from grassroots level through to potential Olympic champions,” says Sarah Jolley, Tata Steel communications manager. “We place a strong emphasis on community-based projects, in particular the popular Tata Kids of Steel events, which have introduced triathlon to thousands of schoolchildren aged eight to 13.”

Tata Steel (formerly as Corus) has been involved with triathlon since 2006 and has helped British Triathlon build an environment which enables people of all abilities to participate in Britain’s fastest-growing sport.In August Tata Steel presented the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship in London. The women’s gold medal winner Helen Jenkins has been supported by Corus

previously as a Corus Ambassador along with silver medallist Jonathan Brownlee, younger sibling to gold medal winner Alistair.

The Tata Steel VIP Pavilion showcased innovative use of post-tensioned steel technology and transformed the finish area, hosting the event’s VIP guests, with hospitality provided by Tata Group’s Taj Hotel. In addition, over 100 staff from Tata Steel and Tata Group took part in the Tata Steel Triathlon Challenge.“This sponsorship provides an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the health, safety and well-being of employees and local communities by encouraging involvement and participation in triathlon and in sport,” Sarah adds.

Heinz Golden Circle Supplier Award

SUSTAINING OUR FUTURE

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 2310

As a steelmaker, Tata Steel is committed to making steel in the safest and most responsible way. We work continuously to minimise the impact of our products and processes on the environment, and we annually review and benchmark our emissions.

As a packaging materials supplier, we are also a provider to the highly-regulated fast moving consumer goods industry. It receives a good deal of legislation, packaging taxes, end-of-waste directives and government-set recycling targets. Packaging provides tremendous solutions for the supplychain. Because we take our role in the metal packaging chain seriously, we believe it is vitally important to help regulatory decision-makers understand metal packaging’s excellent sustainability credentials.

Way ahead of the gameAt both the European and local levels we are working with our industry partners so regulators understand that:

• Recycling rate, not recycled metal content, is the only true measurement of metal’s environmental performance. Metal is the most recycled packaging material in Europe (EU27) - for more information see www.mpma.org.uk

Packaging taxes and waste regulation can have negative costs further down the chain. Armin von Keitz, environmental affairs manager, explains what Tata Steel is doing to limit the impact for our customers and gives a short update.

SUSTAINING OUR FUTURE

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Steel recycling rates continue to riseSteel is the most recycled packaging material in Europe. The latest figures from APEAL show that recycling rates for steel packaging in Europe increased to 72% in 2009, a rise of 2% from the previous year. Belgium topped the list for the ninth consecutive year, with a rate of 98%. Germany and the Netherlands achieved recycling rates of 93% and 89% respectively. In Germany and Belgium this is enabled by efficient national kerbside collection systems, in the Netherlands it is achieved through integrated waste management. Poland, which introduced ferromagnetic sorting methods in its waste sorting facilities in 2009, saw an increase of 20% in its recycling rates.

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• The metal packaging supply chain aims to keep all metal packaging in the material-to-material loop. Once metal products are made, they are a permanent materials source for new products and are infinitely recyclable, regardless of how many different applications they have been used for or how many times they are reused.

• The more cans that are recycled, the less virgin material is used for production of new cans. This saves significant amount of energy and CO2 emissions. Once steel is made it can be recycled over and over again, saving 17.4GJ of energy and 1.88 tons of CO2 per tonnes of recycled steel.

Netherlands packaging taxTax authorities in the Netherlands plan to cancel the tax on packaging materials in January 2013. This Packaging Tax was introduced in 2008 to finance the recycling of packaging materials, with the idea of having lower taxes on the packaging with the least environmental impact. The aim was to make more sustainable packaging cheaper. However, studies show that it has not had the positive environmental impact hoped for. Moving forward, different methods will be used to fund recycling.

Tata Steel has always argued that a high end-of-life value (good quality scrap) should provide funding for recycling, rather than a packaging tax. High recycling rates limit the use of virgin material, save energy and promote a more sustainable future for packaging. We are welcoming this new opportunity to change the way packaging recycling is funded. We will continue to work with the metal packaging supply chain to make sure steel’s environ mentally performance is understood in the methods used for funding packaging recycling.

UK and the EU End of Waste regulationIn the UK, the EU End of Waste Regulations on iron, steel and aluminium scrap came into effect on 9 October 2011. Tata Steel was heavily involved in contributing to the new regulations. These define the point at which iron, steel, and aluminium scrap metal ceases to be classed as waste, and put in place strict quality standards for scrap.

One potential impact of this change was on the PRN (Packaging Recovery Note) system in the UK. The PRN system is the way the UK counts recycling rates for packaging waste. The PRN is the name given to the evidence that shows the amounts of packaging waste that has been recovered or recycled.

In the past PRNs were issued by accredited steel reprocessors such as Tata Steel. The new regulation potentially allows PRNs to be issued by scrap steel collectors too. However, the stricter quality and safety standards mean that it is unlikely that many scrap steel collectors will take up the option of upgrading their collection plants to be able to issue PRNs.

Garvin Freeman, manager, packaging recycling, Tata Steel, says: “It seems we will continue as a major issuer of steel PRNs in the UK, contributing to low cost compliance for the steel packaging supply chain.”

PACKMAN Simon EdwardsSimon Edwards technical account manager

tells us a bit more...

Your Dutch is excellent – how come?It’s a question I am often asked. I got a head start at the age of 22 when I met my future wife, a Dutch student, at Swansea University in Wales. I felt bad that her family and friends had to speak English when I was around, so I learnt Dutch!

What were you doing at Swansea?After completing a degree in European Engineering in Swansea and Stuttgart which unusually combined the German Language and Engineering I decided that I would come back to the UK to do a PhD sponsored by nuclear power and became a research officer at the University.

How did you end up in the steel industry?After nine years in academia I became bored and was really ready for my first job in industry. In 2001, I started work in Corus R&D at the IJmuiden Technology Centre in the Netherlands – (my Dutch paid off ). My work frequently took me to the cold rolling mills at Port Talbot and Llanwern in Wales as well as the Packaging plant at Trostre. In 2007 I was asked to go back to the UK for a year to work for Tata Steel’s Strip Products division.

What’s been your steepest learning curve?In May 2010 I replaced Mostyn Lewis as a Technical account manager and in December we returned to the Netherlands. Dealing with the numerous customer contacts across each sector and plant was a steep learning curve. I have put a lot of time and effort into developing the relationships and its paying off. Mine is a linchpin job, liaising with the customer service and production teams as well as commercial and account managers. Also I’m frequently on the move, visiting customer plants in the UK and on the continent.

Whats your main responsibility?Product quality and technical service delivery at the customer. As the face of Tata Steel to my customers I need to make sure any issues are investigated and resolved quickly.

What do you rely on most?I reckon my unusual academic and personal background has been a huge advantage. I am used to working in different cultures. Experience has taught me not to take problems at face value but to diagnose their causes rigorously and look at the facts. The way we approach and tackle problems is vitally important to the customer. Our main aim is for consistency.

How do you relax?When I’m not travelling and working I am busy making improvements to our 1920s home. Of course my girls keep me busy between horse-riding and gymnastics. Playing centre for the local rugby team keeps me fit (yes they do play rugby in Holland).

PACKAGING MAGAZINE December 2011 Issue 2312