IT WAS DIFFICULT DECADES AGO TO PRODUCE CANS, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FORMS OF FOOD PACKAGING EVER DEVELOPED. IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CANS PRODUCTION, IT WAS NECESSARY TO USE DIFFERENT MACHINES FOR EACH STEP OF OPERATION. IT REQUIRED A LARGE AMOUNT OF FLOOR SPACE, A LARGE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL, AND A LOT OF MANUAL HANDLING BETWEEN MACHINES. NOW, THERE ARE MODERN MACHINES FOR ALL WORKING PROCESSES, AND REQUIRING LESS SPACE. TODAY, ONE SKILLED WORKER CAN SUPERVISE MANY MACHINES, A TASK WHICH WAS ONCE HANDLED BY DOZENS OF EMPLOYEES. THE OUTPUT OF EARLY CANS PRODUCTION FACILITIES TOTALED ABOUT 3,600 CANS/HOUR. NOW THE OUTPUT RATE IS 20 TIMES HIGHER AT UP TO 1,200 CANS PER MINUTE
