The global beverage cans market size is expected to reach US$60.92 billion by 2024, according to Grand View Research, Inc. This is due to increasing demand for carbonated soft drinks and other flavored soda drinks in North America and for energy drinks and canned cold coffee and iced tea in Europe and Latin America.
Three aluminum can manufacturers — Crown Holdings, Showa Denko, and Ball Corporation — have recently announced plans to construct new manufacturing facilities at locations around the world.
Crown Holdings
Crown Holdings, Inc. plans to build a new aluminum beverage can production plant in Parc Sagunt, in the Valencia region of Spain. The location of the facility was selected based on its close proximity to key customers, as well as the excellent local infrastructure and transportation links.
The plant will have an initial annual capacity of approximately 900 million cans in multiple sizes and will be designed to accommodate further expansion. Initially, the capacity will be utilized to facilitate customers’ transitions from steel to aluminum beverage cans and subsequently to support the growing demand for both beer and non-alcoholic beverage cans in the region.
“We are excited about the aluminum beverage can market growth in the Iberian region, and our new plant will be ideally located to supply the increasing requirements of a number of key customers and support our other facilities during the conversion from steel to aluminum,” said Ziya Ozay, senior vice president, Crown Bevcan Europe and Middle East.
The plant is expected to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2018.
Showa Denko
Showa Aluminum Can Corporation (SAC), which is a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko, and Carabao Group Public Company Limited (CBG), a leading beverage maker headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, held a foundation laying ceremony for a newly established joint corporation that will manufacture and sell aluminum cans. The new joint company will be named Asia Pacific Can Company Limited (APC).
After the start-up of operations, APC will mainly manufacture aluminum cans for CBG’s beverages for export from Thailand. CBG aims to expand its overseas sales, centering on Southeast Asian countries, China, and the United Kingdom. APC will provide support through stable supply of high-quality aluminum cans manufactured by the leading-edge technologies and quality management system built up by SAC over many years.
The Showa Denko Group positions its aluminum can business as a growth-accelerating business in its ongoing medium-term business plan “Project 2020+,” and has been promoting business expansion strategy targeted at Southeast Asia. APC will be the Showa Denko Group’s second overseas can production base following Hanacans Joint Stock Company in Vietnam.
Start up of operations at APC is scheduled for October 2018.
Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation has begun construction on a new, state-of-the-art beverage packaging facility in Goodyear, Arizona, in order to serve growing consumer demand for specialty cans in the southwestern U.S. The facility is expected to begin production in the second quarter of 2018.
However, Ball also announced plans to cease production at its Birmingham, Alabama; Chatsworth, California; and Longview, Texas, beverage packaging plants in 2018. Existing customers will be supplied by other Ball facilities.
“These transformational actions will optimize our plant network, realign our standard 12-ounce beverage can and end capacity, increase our manufacturing flexibility and drive efficiencies so we can better compete with other packaging substrates,” said Carlos Medeiros, president, Beverage Packaging North & Central America.