Canpack announces new Brazilian production plant as metal can demand proliferates
02 Aug 2022 --- Canpack is investing BRL710 million (US$140 million) in a new production facility in Poços de Caldas, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, to increase its manufacturing capacity of aluminum beverage cans.
Officials from Canpack S.A., part of the Canpack Group, along with state and local officials and economic development leaders, jointly announced the new facility following the project’s approval, with economic development incentives provided by both the state and local governments.
“This new investment, together with our other, up-to-date investments in Brazil, will give us a better position to serve our customers’ growing needs for beverage cans and ends not only in Brazil but in the South American region,” says Andre Balbi, group chief operations officer at Canpack.
“We chose to expand in Poços de Caldas because of its strong economy and business-friendly environment,” adds Paulo Dias, general director at Canpack Brazil.
The investment helps Canpack meet rising demand for beverage cans.Meeting aluminum beverage can demand
The new facility represents Canpack’s aim of developing the Brazilian packaging sector. The announcement of this new plant takes place only a few months after the company committed to investing BRL360 million (US$70 million) in an aluminum beverage can ends production facility in Manaus, Brasil. The total value of both investments exceeds BRL1 billion (US$193 million).
Construction of the facility in Poços de Caldas is expected to begin in the last quarter of 2022, and the plant operation is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2024.
The installed initial capacity of the new plant will be approximately 1.3 billion cans per year, and its volumes will be geared toward meeting the demand of Brazilian customers.
The company expects that the new production plant will bring around 140 “high-qualified direct jobs” to the Poços de Caldas region.
“We are dedicated to the Brazilian packaging industry and have been strengthening our presence in this dynamic market since the acquisition of Cia Metalic in December 2016,” says Balbi.
Fernando Passalio, Minas Gerais state secretary of economic development in Brazil, adds: “Packaging is one of the five sectors with the most investments attracted to our state from 2019 to date. This [investment] is because we have also attracted several beverage companies to Minas Gerais. This kind of investment moves the entire production chain and contributes to job generation within the state.”
Companies are shifting to aluminum cans from other packaging formats.Accelerating shift to beverage cans
In March, Canpack utilized its lithography printing technique to decorate five flagship beers for Polish brewery Trzech Kumpli. The global manufacturer notes that the ability to decorate cans in small batches has become a central focus for the craft beer industry.
The company said the shift to aluminum cans from other packaging formats in the craft beer market has accelerated during the past few years.
Last month, Ardagh Metal Packaging invested in expanding its production facility at La Ciotat, France. The new expenditure, supported by Bpifrance and Sud Attractivité, is a response to increased demand for beverage cans from a diverse mix of new and existing customers for long-term partnerships in the regions of Southwestern Europe and the Middle East Africa.
Meanwhile, research commissioned by the International Aluminium Institute into the recycling of three beverage container materials – aluminum, glass and plastic (PET) – found that aluminum cans best support a circular economy.
The study found that aluminum cans have a superior collection rate to glass and plastic bottles, which are more likely to end up in landfills.
By Natalie Schwertheim
