Soft drinks cans manufacturer raises daily capacity with new Dubai factory

Can-Pack will now be able to manufacture 5 million aluminium cans a day, a daily increase of 1.75 million cans. Pawan Singh / The National

A Polish beverage can manufacturer will expand its operations in Dubai to meet rising demand in the region fuelled by population growth.

Can-Pack will now be able to manufacture 5 million aluminium cans a day, a daily increase of 1.75 million cans, at its new Dh200 million factory in Dubai Investments Park, which it unveiled yesterday.

The company, which produces the cans for Coca-Cola and Pepsi and other beverage makers, will invest Dh70m to expand capacity further this year to add another million cans a day to its output.

Non-oil exports and re-exports by Dubai Chamber and Commerce members touched Dh290 billion last year – the highest levels in five years – up from Dh285bn in the previous year, according to figures released by the chamber on Sunday. It currently has 169,198 companies registered under it, up 10.6 per cent on a year earlier.

With the new factory, Can-Pack is planning to serve countries as far as the Philippines and Papua New Guinea as well as its current markets including the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa.

“There is a saturation in the market in Europe but not in the Middle East because of the population growth and large influx of people,” said Michal Sloniec, the managing director of Can-Pack Middle East.

The Krakow-based company started its Dubai plant in 2007. It closed its steel can manufacturing line in 2010 and produces only aluminium cans now.

“Aluminium is more competitive and environmentally friendly than steel,” said Mariusz Stolarczyk, the general manager of the plant.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Aujan Group are among its clients.

Can-Pack’s Middle East business contributes 10 per cent of its global revenues, and the figure is expected to touch 15 per cent after this year’s expansion. Can-Pack’s Dubai facilities generate US$15m a month in revenues.

The manufacturing sector is Dubai’s fourth largest, contributing 13.4 per cent of total GDP in the first nine months of 2013, according to an Emirates NBD report from May. It also accounts for about 15 per cent of Dubai’s total workforce.

Can-Pack employs 350 people in Dubai and the figure will be close to 400 by the end of the year, the company said.