The industries that produced these cans, or tins, were small and usually family owned, with limited ability to compete with one another because the market was so large.

The business interests of G. E. Williamson's family, (who had refused to join Allied Tin Box), purchased the new machinery and subsequently earned itself a government contract.

Inevitably with this importation of superior production technology, members of the U.S. canning industry quickly expressed a keen interest in the British tin manufacturing market.

Soon after this it made an attempt to acquire Metal Box, which in an effort to stay independent, arranged a partnership that ensure it remained so, but defined and encouraged its positive growth.

The two companies agreed to not only exchange stock shares, but the deal also gave Metal Box the exclusive rights in Great Britain to buy machinery, technical support, training, and patents from Continental Can.

In the late 1930s, the company planned to upgrade and revolutionise its forms of packaging, however the onset of the Second World War put a halt to all new production.

But by the late 1940s the company was hit with a major setback when the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against the business practices of Continental Can and began to look into its dealings with Metal Box more closely.

In 1970, it had expanded its product line in Britain to include aerosols, plastic film, engineering and central heating by buying Wallis Tin Stamping, Brown Flexible Packaging and Bibby & Gregory.

The company had also expanded its business abroad by establishing facilities or subsidiaries in many countries including: Italy, Malaysia, Japan, and Iran, and had upgraded its older installations in India, South Africa and France.

Two-piece cans were considered the most modern technology at the time and whilst dealing with these problems in the UK, Metal Box increasingly looked abroad for growth opportunities.

[1] In 1979 Metal Box also opened its own two-piece can manufacturing plant based in Carson, California, and eventually went on to supply Pepsi-Cola.

[1] Metal Box barely survived the early 1980s; recession and bad management had marred the company as had ever increasing competition in the canned foods market.

Eventually, in the mid-1980s, the company hired Brian Smith (the man mostly known for helping to turn around ICI) as chairman, and Murray Stuart was appointed as chief executive.

[1] In April 1993, MB-Caradon sold its stake in CMB (which was, at the time, called Carnaud-Metalbox) finally shedding itself of the roots that it had tried so hard to disassociate itself with since the early 1980s.

The deal went against the wishes of the Royal Bank of Scotland which held a 15% equity stake in Ideal Stelrad and had advised the company to offer up its two operating divisions in separate sales.