The global fan base for beverage cans is growing. Beverage producers and consumers appreciate them for their high recyclability and light weight. If Austria's Top Cap Holding GmbH has its way, the beverage can could become even more versatile in the near future thanks to a resealable can end. Top Cap Holding has now recruited two renowned managers with deep industry expertise to lead the final phase of the development and marketing of the "click cap" – a scalable solution that could serve as the standard closure for the beverage can of tomorrow. With Robert Jansen as CEO and Valerie Auer as CMO, the Austrian technology company is working with renewed vigor to bring its innovative closure technology to market.
The new management duo heralds a strategic change at Top Cap Holding: Instead of licensing the technology, the company is focusing on its own manufacturing and development capabilities to mass produce the patented closure system. Robert Jansen and Valerie Auer combine industry and consumer understanding with cutting-edge technology.
Robert Jansen – Innovation Driver with Business Acumen and Deep Recycling Expertise
Robert Jansen is regarded as one of the most renowned leaders in the beverage packaging industry. In a career spanning almost thirty years, he has paved the way for new technological developments as a production technology engineer and managing director of renowned companies in the sector. As a developer with an affinity for innovation, he consistently relies on a culture of exchange and creative collaboration: during his many years with international beverage can maker Ball Packaging Europe, Robert Jansen and his team brought Ball’s resealable can end (BRE) to market maturity. Tactile coatings, thermochromic colors, and the “Sleek Can”, an elegant can for the premium segment, were also created in this way.
As former long-term Managing Director of Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH, Robert Jansen is also an expert on the topics of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) and DRS (Deposit Return Scheme). In this role, he helped develop and successfully implement new technologies for fraud prevention, among other things.
Robert Jansen explains his move to lead Top Cap Holding with his passion for innovation and demanding challenges: "The resealable beverage can end has long been regarded as the ultimate challenge in the industry. When we bring this key innovation to production, it will mark a major milestone in the evolution of how drinks are packaged. Ultimately as a development that has the potential to open up new beverage segments for the can," says Robert Jansen. "With its agile structures and quick decision-making processes, Top Cap Holding offers exactly the right creative environment in which such disruptions can succeed." The resealable can end uses less plastic than comparable solutions, opens intuitively, and enables efficient filling.
Valerie Auer – Expert in Consumer-Centric Marketing and Brand Strategy
As Chief Marketing Officer, Valerie Auer, together with Robert Jansen, is preparing the successful strategic launch of the "click cap" technology and is responsible for brand development. She was most recently Head of Marketing for the D-A-CH and Nordics region at "Innocent" drinks and has more than 15 years of experience in various marketing positions for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage brands.
She knows the specific requirements of the complex beverage sector inside out. "Our strategy has to appeal to can manufacturers, beverage producers, contract fillers and consumers alike, and convince them of the benefits of the 'click cap'," the highly driven manager explains. "The 'click cap' solves an existing consumer problem and opens up entirely new use cases for the beverage can. We are creating lasting change in an industry that has seen little disruption for decades, which is a particularly exciting challenge."
With the management change, Top Cap Holding is reaffirming its commitment to bring the "click cap" to market readiness. Robert Jansen and Valerie Auer work hand in hand with an experienced team of developers who are developing the "click cap" in their own R&D laboratory.
Further information: theclickcap.com