As we prepare for full production of the EEASY Lid, we are in the process of creating a state-of-the-art production facility at our Dayton, Ohio headquarters and will begin manufacturing lug versions of the EEASY Lid in Q3/Q4 of this year.
We’ve tapped into a network of excellent companies to provide us with top-of-the-line production equipment and resources:
Our facility will be capable of producing lid sizes ranging from 58 millimeters to 82 millimeters to accommodate various demands in the industry.
The focus for manufacturing this year and leading into 2021 will be the 63-millimeter lug lids and 70-millimeter CT caps. The 63-millimeter lugs are the most popular size in the industry, dominating the total volume of lug lids manufactured. Lug lids are used on jarred pasta sauce products, while 70-millimeter CT caps are used on remaining jarred products.
Looking ahead to 2021 through 2022, our manufacturing plan will focus on the 82-millimeter lids. The remaining lugs manufactured for vacuum-sealed products are the 58-millimeter lids and 70-millimeter lids.
See photos below of our new facility and stay tuned for more updates as it nears completion!
We’ve gotten a lot of questions about how the EEASY Lid came to be and the inspiration behind it. While everyone on the CCT team has been an integral part of its inception, we wanted to take a moment and pay homage to one of our late co-founders and masterminds behind the EEASY Lid, Pete Stodd.
Pete co-founded multiple businesses within the beer and beverage can industry that were both innovative and successful, such as Formatec Tooling Systems in 1986 and Container Development Ltd. in 1998. These businesses are world renown for providing cutting edge technology in metal forming. That’s when Pete went on to become a managing partner here at CCT, where he developed and perfected the EEASY Lid to aid consumers in the task of opening jars.
The EEASY Lid concept was born after Pete was approached by a close friend, Dawn Real, who couldn’t open a jar due to her loss of strength after undergoing surgery for breast cancer. She asked Pete why there wasn’t an easier way to open jars. Pete recognized there were more people like Dawn – including those with disabilities, physical limitations and the overall aging population – who struggle daily to do simple tasks such as opening a stubborn jar.
Pete and managing partner Jim Bach had the insight and initiative to create the EEASY Lid and spent the next eight years developing and testing prototypes.
While Pete sadly passed away last year, everyone here at CCT carries on his legacy as we continue to raise awareness of the EEASY Lid and keep inclusivity and consumer needs in mind.
For more information on the case for inclusivity in packaging, read our recent blog post on the topic here.
While it may not be something we tend to think about every day, there is a need for packaging to evolve in order to better serve consumers. A large portion of our population here in the U.S. lives with some type of disability or may have physical limitations such as arthritis or carpal tunnel. This means that completing a simple task – such as opening a stubborn jar of sauce to cook a meal – is actually a daily struggle for most consumers.
Physical limitations or not – think about how many times you’ve struggled to open a jar of pickles, pasta sauce, or other favorite food and thought to yourself, “how come there isn’t an easier way to do this?”
Since its inception, the EEASY Lid has been built around inclusivity to alleviate these issues for everyone.
Before developing the EEASY Lid, Dawn Real (a friend of our co-founder, Pete Stodd) underwent treatment for cancer where she immediately struggled to complete everyday tasks, including opening packaging like vacuum sealed jars. Knowing that Pete was a packaging pioneer in the beer and beverage industry, Dawn approached him and asked why no one had invented a jar lid that was easy to open for people like her.
Pete, Jim, and the rest of our team here at CCT spent the next eight years developing the EEASY Lid, ensuring our packaging was accessible to everyone – no matter age, gender, or physical capability.
While the EEASY Lid has been a hit and proven successful amongst consumers, we’ve been shocked to find just how many people struggle to open jar lids – even outside of being disabled or having a physical limitation.
As we mentioned in our previous blog post around the North Cliff study we had conducted, the study results revealed that nearly 50 percent of consumers struggle to open traditional jars – and not just the elderly population. Consumers in the study ranged from 25-74 years old, showing this is a universal problem for people of all ages. The study targeted 80 people – both male and female – and asked a series of questions to determine the level of difficulty they experience opening traditional jars compared to the EEASY Lid.
While we aim for all consumers to have an enjoyable experience, the EEASY Lid serves as proof for the case against better packaging. If more companies can accommodate the majority of the population with disabilities or physical limitations, they can open themselves up to a much larger market while providing a better quality of life
