Design advice helps old concept meet new demands

A technology that has been around since the Second World War to give soldiers a hot meal on the go is now being used by a Derbyshire company to conquer the US market.

A technology that has been around since the Second World War to give soldiers a hot meal on the go is now being used by a Derbyshire company to conquer the US market.

Chesterfield-based OSL, which manufactures the hotcan, has been working with the Manufacturing Advisory Service East Midlands (MAS EM) to refine the self-heating can's technology to make it more robust and marketable.

The hotcan is designed to hold any moist products - everything from chilli and macaroni ready meals to casserole dishes.

OSL is planning to launch the hotcan into full UK production next month (FEB 2007) and has also secured a production partner in the USA which could see its profits soar.

Director and founding partner of OSL Anthony Brownlow said: "We have been working with the MAS EM over the last six months".

"They've helped us financially to rapid prototype a new component that makes the can more reliable and customer-friendly".

"This will help us to minimise the amount of materials that we use and it has also speeded up the manufacturing process".

"So far we are looking at a potential 20 per cent saving in terms of assembly time, which will definitely boost our bottom line".

"We are delighted with the way that MAS applied themselves to the moulding project".

The main benefits of MAS EM's support have been to enable OSL to consider a fully automated assembly process for the hotcan products, as well as progress to the verge of exploring alternative means of activating the can's self-heating feature, which were not possible using the old technology.

MAS also helped develop the new technology which will be used for a sachet version of the hotcan which the company's US partners plan to start producing from mid-2007.

Peter McLeod, a MAS productivity specialist who worked with OSL, said: "We have enjoyed working with OSL on its hotcan design".

"We had a few technical difficulties with producing a better integral moulding which meets OSL's assembly and reliability requirements".

"And the pressure was on throughout the project as OSL was keen to feed the results straight into their US partners which are high volume manufacturers of the technology".

"With the new technology we expect OSL to go from strength to strength".

The hotcan is a self-heating can system designed for people on the go.

It provides quick hot meals on demand by simply opening the can without using an external energy source, enabling a hot meal to be enjoyed virtually anywhere.

Although originally pioneered in World War II, the technology has been updated by OSL which is initially targeting the US market.

MAS EM has recently received more funding to expand the range of support it can offer manufacturers across the region.

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