Abstract: An oven for heating can ends comprising a generally elongate heating chamber having walls which closely surround a conveyor for conveying the can ends through the chamber, a source of infra-red heat arranged in the upper region of said chamber and having a parabolic reflector by means of which radiant heat is directed downwardly onto a generally narrow band which corresponds in width to the width of the region of the can end to which sealant and/or repair lacquer has been applied, said conveyor being constructed from a plurality of interconnected slat-like elements having upturned edges the spacing between the upturned edges being selected so that the edges engage narrow portions of the curled edge of the can end whereby the can end is supported with the surface to which sealant or lining compound has been applied directed downwardly so that the heat source principally heats the upwardly directed surface of the can ends, a cooling chamber of similar dimensions to said heating chamber following said heating ch

Abstract: Fine fibres of steel for use as concrete reinforcement are produced by longitudinally slitting continuous steel strip to form narrow strip segments and severing the strip segments at intervals along their length. The strip is slit longitudinally on passing between a pair of nip rollers having intermeshing circumferential tongues and grooves so that penetration of the tongues into the grooves severs the strip longitudinally. The resulting strip segments are passed between chopping rollers which chop them into discontinuous fibres and also deform the thus formed fibre ends to promote anchorage in the concrete.