Container specifications are also changing. 
In 1965, one can company developed a process 
for cementing side seams and introduced a 
tin-free can using such a process. The tin- 
free can is currently used for beer and is 
being tested for food products, 
A further development, the ''first commer- 
cially practical'' welded can, has been an- 
nounced by another can company . It was 
available for consumer testing in the summer 
of 1966 and is expected to be commercially 
available in 1967, 
Competitive containers such as paper car- 
tons and blow-molded rigid plastic containers 
have retarded the growth of glass containers 
for food products.’ This trend can be expected 
to continue as new technology develops. One 
processor reported the use of lighter weight 
wine bottles, primarily to reduce material and 
freight costs. 
Observations of changes in uses of corru- 
gated cardboard containers were too limited 
to reflect industrywide trends, but several 
seemed significant. One processor reported a 
shift to smaller cases for cans; for example, 
12 cans per case instead of 24, Another major 
processor reported a trend toward the use of 
only one-color printing on shipping cartons. 
A third major processor reported the in- 
creased use of large plastic bags for frozen 
vegetables due to the IQF method of freezing. 
(The IQF method of freezing allows the user 
to pour out any desired amount of vegetable 
from the container, reseal the container, and 
replace it in the freezer.) 
Container Manufacturing by Cooperatives 
The possibility of cooperative manufacture 
of containers for processed fruits and vege- 
tables can be illustrated to some _ extent 
through a review of the operations of can- 
manufacturing plants served by C T Supply 
Company, Inc., Fremont, Calif., and Winter 
Garden Citrus Products Cooperative, Winter 
Garden, Fla. 
C T Supply Company, Inc., 
Fremont, Calif. 
C T Supply Company was chartered under 
the California laws on March 10, 1964, to 
manufacture tin cans, California Canners and 
§ The two metal surfaces are fused by electrically 
generated heat, and the power costs are less than the 
adhesives used in cans with cemented seam or the 
conventional soldered seam, Both processes permit 
lithography to be wrapped almost completely around 
the can, 
7 U.S, Department of Commerce, Container and 
Packaging Quarterly Industry Report, Business and 
Defense Serv, Admin,, Oct, 1965, p, 5, 
Growers, Inc., San Francisco, owns two-thirds 
interest and Tri Valley Growers, San Fran- 
cisco, owns one third. C T Supply is controlled 
by its own board of directors which is inter- 
locking with the boards of the two owner co- 
operatives, 
Sales are made to the two affiliates on va- 
rious terms. C T Supply serves about 15 in- 
dividual processing plants located within a 
30-to-50-mile radius of its can-manufacturing 
operations, 
FACILITIES AND EMPLOYEES 
C T Supply operates manufacturing plants at 
Fremont and Modesto, Calif. The largest plant, 
at Fremont, includes the main office and is a 
well-kept one-story concrete building covering 
about 200,000 square feet (figs. 3 and 4), The 
two plants employ about 325 people, including 
management and supervisory personnel, on a 
year-round basis, 
23 
