We get so many calls and emails every day asking us about our products. But what exactly are our products? Depending on inquirers’ experience, what industry they are in, where they are from, and how old they are, what they call our tins change.
Packaging is a very big industry. Inside that big industry, metal packaging which includes not only steel but also aluminum products is still quite big. Within metal packaging, we manufacture a small group of products mainly called specialty, decorative or fancy tins or cans.
So where does the word tin come from? The raw material we use is called tinplate which is a thin sheet of steel coated with tin to prevent rust. It was first invented around the 13th century in Bohemia, today's Czech Republic(1). It wasn’t until 1810 that a merchant named Peter Durand got the patent in England for preserving food in what we today call tin cans(2).
Tin cans have been around for so long that the actual containers made out of tinplate are also called tins, especially in British English. There are certain industries and product groups that use tin containers a lot and for the most part, they came up with their name for fancy tins.
One of them is the tea industry. Tinplate doesn’t add any smell or taste to the product inside so it is the perfect packaging for quality tea. In return, the word “tea tin” has been so popular that it became a standard in the industry.
Tins also can tell a story with their colorful designs and embossed surfaces and create an emotional bond with the consumer. That makes decorative tins quite popular with cookies. So the terms “cookie tins” or “biscuit tins”, depending on where you live, are used to describe a tin box used for cookies.
Due to the nature of steel, metal gives a luxury and premium feel to the consumer. When you combine that with quality workmanship, you get the perfect packaging for high-end goods. Many companies use the term “gift tins” to describe the packaging they use for their premium products.
Our world is evolving. Some goods will no longer exist and there will always be new products coming onto the market place. One thing for sure is that packaging is here to stay in our lives and our beloved tin boxes will continue to do so. With the space travel starting soon, thanks to SpaceX, maybe we will soon manufacture tins for moon rocks and rover spare parts. What do you think?
1 – Oner, E. Tenekenin Kesfi. Teneke Muzesi. Retrieved from http://teneketarihi.com/tenekenin-kesfi
2 –Brittanica Group. Peter Durand. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Peter-Durand