by roeslein roeslein

Published and written by The Canmaker

Poland-based canmaker Can-Pack SA is building its second beverage can plant in India.

The two-piece D&I canmaking plant is located in the northern state of Haryana, near New Delhi and close to a number of key brewers.

News of this latest project, which will become India’s fourth beverage can plant, comes soon after Ball recently started production at its facility near Chennai in the east.

Can-Pack’s operations director Stanislaw Wasko told The Canmaker: “Can-Pack is in the process of building of its second beverage can plant in Haryana state. This project is our answer for growing demand from our customers located in northern India states.”

The location of the project, estimated to cost around US$100 million and which will be engineered by US-Based Roeslein & Associates, has not been revealed. Neither has the expected capacity, but if previous projects are a guide it will be about 1.2 billion cans a year.

“The plant should start deliveries of commercial cans by the end of the second quarter in 2018,” said Wasko.

Can-Pack’s first plant in India was opened at Waluj in Aurangabad in 2009, with capacity of more than a billion cans a year.

Ball also operates a beverage can plant near Mumbai, a former Rexam facility.

Demand for beverage cans in the sub-continent appears to have been increasing more quickly after a slow start about a decade ago. Plants have also been started up recently in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Can-Pack SA operates beverage can plants in Europe, the Middle East, India and the Philippines. Its first plant in India was opened at Waluj in Aurangabad in 2009, with capacity of more than a billion cans a year.

The canmaker, part of the Giorgi Group and which also makes food cans, crown caps and bottles, has been investing heavily in acquisitions and new capacity. A new plant was opened this year in The Netherlands at Helmond, the Metalic Nordeste plant at Forteleza in Brazil acquired from steelmaker CSN, and plans announced for a new plant in Brazil at Itumbiara in the state of Goiás.