Offset Printing

Independent Can Company commissions new MetalStar 3 from Koenig & Bauer

Tuesday 11. October 2022 - In late September 2022, Independent Can Company - a leader in the printing and manufacturing of specialty metal packaging - celebrated the official start-up of its new MetalStar 3 press from Koenig & Bauer at its Belcamp facility during an open house.

ICC is currently the only company with a nine-colour metal printing line in the Western Hemisphere. The new nine-colour line prints up to nine colours in a single pass. This is instrumental in doubling production per man-hour and delivering products to customers within four to five weeks from order.
“We have made unprecedented investments to strengthen our market position, not the least of which is this new press,” says Richard Huether, president and CEO of Independent Can Company. “We want to be the market leader for intricately printed specialty cans in the United States, so we’ve invested heavily in expanding our facilities and the latest technology for manufacturing and printing cans.”
ICC is the largest user of MetalStar technology in North America. In addition to the new nine-colour press, the company also operates two six-colour MetalStar 2s and one four-colour MetalStar 2 at its plants in Maryland and Ohio. For more than twenty years ICC has been awarded the High Performance Metal Decorator of the Year 2021 for outstanding print quality by the trade publication The Canmaker, the International Metal Decorators & Packaging Association and most recently by Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint. This award is given to honour Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint customers who achieve excellence in metal decorating with Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint products.
Sam Pernice, sales and service manager at Koenig & Bauer MetalPrint (US), on the historic nature of the commission: “Independent Can Company is a true American success story that dates back to 1929. Under the leadership of the Huether family, the company has grown and flourished for decades. This success is due to a variety of reasons, not least the careful and professional selection of their business partners. Their choice of a nine-colour MetalStar 3 will go down in history as there is no other press of this size in the Western Hemisphere that comes close to this performance in single-pass printing.” For Pernice, the decision to go with the MetalStar 3 “reflects extremely thorough planning and careful management. We are honoured that ICC has chosen to place their trust in us again.”
ICC is determined to compete in a global marketplace and provide leading brands with local solutions to supply chain challenges. The company is more firmly committed than ever to keeping their printing and manufacturing processes in the United States. As the largest supplier of specialty canned goods to a variety of markets, ICC secures more than four hundred jobs in North America. Continuous optimisation and technological investments benefit all customers and employees.