The American multinational Ball Corporation inaugurated this week a plant specialised in manufacturing aluminium cans. Located in Cabanillas del Campo in central Spain, the new plant attracted more than 100 million euros in investment and complements an existing production facility in Tarragona.
The newly unveiled facility counts two production lines and has the capacity to produce 1.6 billion aluminium specialty cans per year. The company underlines the Cabanillas plant’s green credentials – it will use 15 per cent less energy and 22 per cent less water compared to an average facility. Ball will produce its next-generation STARcan – a beverage can which leverages technology and Ball’s weight optimisation.
With the new plant, Ball plans to expand its beverage can operations in Spain and Southern Europe and demonstrate the company’s commitment to sustainability. Spain is the second largest can market in Europe with a consumption of 7,500 million cans per year.
Colin Gillis, President, Ball Beverage Packaging Europe commented on the plat’s inauguration:
“Throughout the construction process and the training of the plant’s new employees, the Spanish team has drawn on the experience of their Ball colleagues at other plants and offices across Europe. This close cooperation has resulted in the construction of a world-class beverage can manufacturing facility that will deliver quality, speed and increased environmental efficiency, while maintaining focus on the safety of operations at all times.”
Ball is a major global supplier of metal packaging for beverage and aerosol products. Headquartered in Colorado, the American company operates 21 facilities throughout Europe with 16 beverage container facilities and five beverage end facilities.
Aluminium is increasingly used as a top choice metal for beverage cans as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. The latest figures on European aluminium beverage can recycling show that 72 per cent of cans were recycled in 2017 with the number predicted to reach 85 per cent by 2020.