Sep 24 2010
Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown), a leading supplier of packaging products worldwide, announced today that it will build three new beverage can plants in China - one in Putian (Fujian Province), one in Foshan (Guangdong Province) and one in Ziyang (Sichuan Province).
The new plants will have initial combined annual production capacity of 2.1 billion aluminum beverage cans. Each of the plants will be designed to accommodate the installation of additional production lines as market demand grows and to produce 25cl, 33cl and 50cl cans. Commencement of commercial production is expected during the fourth quarter of 2011 in Putian, during the first quarter of 2012 in Ziyang and during the third quarter of 2012 in Foshan.
"The demand for beverage cans continues to grow in China and we are pleased to expand our capacity with new state-of-the-art equipment to meet our customers' requirements," said Jozef Salaerts, President of Crown's Asia-Pacific Division. "The aluminum beverage can is recyclable, shipped easily and, most importantly, preserves the quality of the beverage product for the consumer. These investments are supporting the growth plans of major local and international corporations, and we are excited about our strategy and future in China."
Putian is situated in the central part of the coastal area of the Fujian Province. It borders Fuzhou City to the north, Quanzhou City to the south and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Ziyang is a prefectural city in the center of Sichuan Province, 50 miles from the provincial capital of Chengdu and 125 miles northwest of the vast municipality of Chongqing. Foshan is a city located in central Guangdong Province in southern China. Following Shenzhen and Guangzhou, this prefectural city is the third largest manufacturing base in the Pearl River Delta, with a population of approximately 5.5 million.
"Our Asian can businesses in China and Southeast Asia are currently, taken together, the largest metal packaging enterprise in Asia (excluding Japan)," said John Conway, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The expansion we are announcing today will significantly enhance our position in China with highly efficient modern factories, a broad product range in beverage cans and comprehensive geographic coverage to support this dynamic and growing market."