Can Pak to invest Rs 760 cr in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Can Pak, a maker of aluminium beverage cans from Poland, has decided to invest Rs 760 crore in a manufacturing facility in Maharashtra over next five years.

The company plans to produce 900 million cans in the initial phase. The company would be manufacturing the cans through its fully owned subsidiary Can Pack India Pvt Ltd.

On Monday, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Maharashtra Government for setting up the plant and it would be located in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation industrial area at Waluj, Aurangabad.

Good location

Talking to Business Line, Mr Wieslaw Smulski, Chairman of Can Pack, said that Waluj offered a good location for setting up the facility as it is in close vicinity of aluminium facility of Hindalco as well as major breweries. Depending on the market the can manufacturing capacity could be scaled up to 2 billion cans per year.

South Korea

The aluminium for the up coming plant would be sourced from Novelis, South Korea, he said. Hindalco acquired Novelis for $ 5.95 billion on February 2007.

Cost savings

Mr Smulski said that by setting up the manufacturing plant in India the company would have significant savings in terms of custom duty and other local duties.

On certain types of cans the company could save up to $8 on every 1,000 cans, he said.

In the first phase the plant will employ about 170 highly skilled workers and 300 in the second phase. The plant will also generate indirect employment in areas like can recycling.

Can recycling

Mr Smulski said that the company also planned to supply cans to the Dubai market from the Aurangabad facility. Global beverage majors like Coca Cola, Pepsi and Heineken already have tie-ups with the company for the cans, he said.

Mr Smulski added that the challenge to business was not increased cost of aluminium but to be able to effectively manage the can recycling business, which is a cheaper source of aluminium, he said.