[en] The papers from the first international conference on Friction Stir Welding (FSW) have been reviewed. Taken together the papers provide a very optimistic picture for the development and application of friction stir welding in general and to the case of the copper canister in particular. Whilst a considerable development effort is in progress the process has been industrialised for joining of aluminium sheet and it is accepted by Lloyds register for this purpose. Development of procedures and equipment to weld thicker materials and a wider range of materials is progressing ahead of the research activity to aid the understanding of the process at this stage. Nevertheless, well-established weld assessment procedures are being applied to experimental welds with very encouraging results. Summaries of the key papers are presented in an appendix