Anhui Biopin IOT Group

Aluminium beverage canmaker Royal Can Making Company is installing two new lines at the second plant it is building in the city of Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.   With an investment in excess of USD100 million for both lines, the company will be running seven production lines in total across its three plants: two in Sulaymaniyah and one at the company’s Middle East Packaging Materials Company (MEPAC), based in Baghdad.    RCMC’s Sherine Hmaied, world class performance (WCP) and training manager assistant told The Canmaker: “With all seven lines, the total aluminium can production capacity will exceed seven billion cans, while ends production capacity surpasses five billion ends.”    The new lines will run 450ml and 500ml cans, in addition to 250ml, 330ml, and 355ml. The machinery is future-proofed to handle diameters including the 204, as well as 202 and 211, and the slim, sleek and standard cans sizes. The seventh line is being designed to manufacture aluminium bottles.   Hmaied said the company had “cemented its position as a leader in the canmaking industry” in the region with the new plant set to begin production in the third quarter of 2025, and the seventh production line expected to be operational “at the beginning of 2026”.   Company owner Saad Kolak was commended for his leadership of the company during its expansion in just over a decade. She said: “Under his guidance, RCMC has established itself as a leader in aluminium beverage packaging, continuously expanding and innovating to meet the demands of the market.”    US-based can equipment specialist Stolle Machinery is installing all the equipment for the new lines including: Stolle Dach 165 cupping presses, Standun B724 bodymakers and the Concord Decorator. Coil handling, trackwork and associated equipment is from Perfecto. Unist will provide the coil lubricator. Henkel will supply the washer chemical control system and the camera inspection system is supplied by Pressco.   Fleetwood are providing the palletisers, and OMS the strappers and stretch wrappers. Scrap handling and pollution control will be supplied by Delta NEU, and Atlas Copco is providing the compressed air system and air dryer package. The vacuum system will be from Sullair. The control system will be from Rockwell Automation, and Stolle will provide all other equipment and specifications for pipework and electrics.

US President Trump’s 25% tariffs on products imported from Canada, China and Mexico have been met with a raft of retaliatory import taxes, amid fears that the measures may spark a wider trade war.   The three countries targeted by the tariffs are the US’s top trading partners – last year at least USD2.2 trillion in goods was traded between them.   The executive order widened the original 2018 tariffs for steel and aluminium under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The new tariffs end all exemptions, add more downstream steel and aluminium products, and create an exemption for steel “melted and poured” and aluminium “smelted and cast” in the US.   Specifically, all exemptions have been rescinded and, according to legal firm White & Case, which has analysed the orders, “existing exemptions on imports from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the EU countries, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom” on steel no longer apply.   Likewise, aluminium imports from “Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the EU countries, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom” will also face the 25% tax.   Derivative products from steel and aluminium will also be covered by the new tariffs.   US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will issue guidance on how importers should document supply chains of covered steel and aluminium derivative articles that were processed outside the US using inputs that were, respectively, “melted and poured” or “smelted and cast” in the US, according to the firm’s analysis.   Although the administration believes “the producers and the foreign countries as opposed to Americans” will bear the brunt of the tariffs, according to White House adviser Jason Miller, many economists are doubtful.   One US senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, has tweeted: “US tariffs inevitably bring Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese tariffs which means higher prices for lumber, steel, aluminum and more expensive homes and cars.”    Adding that retaliatory tariffs would also lead to less international shipping, he said: “Tariffs are taxes and if you tax trade you’ll get less trade and less prosperity.”   Indeed, Canada has responded with 25% tariffs on CAD155 billion (USD107bn) of goods. China faces 20% tariffs after Trump doubled it, but China’s exports to the US are less than 3% of national income, as following the first round of tariffs during his first presidency, China developed markets elsewhere.   Mexico will respond to the tariffs on Sunday 9 March.   US retailers have already said that the US consumer will be worse off. Chief executives at Target and Best Buy stores have said that prices are likely to rise “in the next few days”.

Beverage producers and customers of canmakers in war-torn Ukraine are expected to steadily increase demand during 2025, according to analysts consulted by The Canmaker.   Despite tough conditions in the country, which has been under bombardment from Russia since 2014, with around 20% of land under occupation, analysts speaking exclusively to The Canmaker believe the can market is regaining momentum.   Oleksandr Sokolov, chief executive at Pro-Consulting, one of Ukraine’s leading research agencies in finance and canmaking, said the aluminium can market is undergoing a period of recovery to 2021 levels, and Harshita Mitra, research analyst at Euromonitor International, said the metal can market in Ukraine is poised for growth in 2025, driven by increasing demand across food, beverages and consumer goods.   Sokolov said: “As of 2024, its capacity is 85% of the 2021 level. In 2021, the market was estimated at USD76.31 million, and sales volumes were approximately 1 billion cans at an average price of an imported can of 7 cents. As a result of the crisis, the market decreased by 43% and reached a minimum of USD43.29 million.   “However, since 2023 and 2024, positive dynamics have been observed, while in 2024 the market reached USD65.21 million, which is 50% more than in 2022.”   Mitra confirmed this trend, adding that the country’s move towards EU norms and standards is pushing the move towards metal packaging and increased recycling initiatives.   Shortages of raw materials and limited production capacity, however, are daily challenges for canmakers.   Sokolov said the share of imported products in the market is approximately equal to the volume of domestic production hindering Ukrainian canmakers from fully meeting demand.   Although Sokolov expects market capacity to grow in 2025, in particular for beer and sweet carbonated drinks. According to forecasts, production for these beverages is expected to grow by 5% and 7%, respectively.   Rising import costs are another challenge for canmakers. He explained that the price of imported cans increased from 7 cents to 9c in 2024. Back in 2021, imports from Russia accounted for a third of total imports, which is now being sourced from other parts of Europe.   Sokolov said the main manufacturer-importer on the Ukrainian market is Canpack, which has about 60% of the total market capacity, followed by Ardagh Metal Packaging, with 15% market share. AMP is currently the leading importer and supplier of cans to Ukrainian manufacturers of low-alcohol beverages.   Crown Bevcam Slovakia has a market share of approximately 8%, supplying products to beverage manufacturers in Ukraine.   Ukrainian manufacturer Technocap UA specialises in the production of aluminium containers for household products and has about 6% of the market, with the support of foreign capital.   Aluminium roller Novelis also supplies products to Ukraine, via one of its customers. An official spokesperson explained: “We’re delivering material to one of our clients based in Ukraine (Kyiv) via the Karpiel terminal in Brzesko, Poland. From there it is then sent to Ukraine by our clients directly.”   Can recycling is also growing in response to the shortages of materials and environmental concerns.   Mitra commented: “In response to rising environmental concerns and consumer demand for eco-friendly solutions, Ukraine has embraced sustainable packaging innovations since 2023. With Europe implementing restrictions on single-use plastics and consumer awareness at an all-time high, many beverage brands are shifting towards environmentally sustainable packaging.”   The presence of global companies is a factor, and Ukrainian companies were also committed to increasing the use of metal packaging, he believed.   Local analysts and media reports cited beverage producer Obolon, which has transitioned to using recycled aluminium cans. In addition to reducing its carbon footprint, the use of recycled cans has also enabled Obolon, which is one of the largest beer and soft drinks’ producers in Ukraine, to significantly reduce its production costs.   Can recycling is easier in the bigger cities, such as Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv, where numerous collection points for aluminium cans have been established.   Mitra noted that, although, not part of the EU, Ukraine is looking to regulations, such as the 2019 Single-Use Plastics Directive, which encourages the use of sustainable alternatives such as metal cans.   This year, some analysts estimate about 15% of plastic packaging in Ukraine will be replaced by sustainable solutions that comply with the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). A significant part of this volume will account for aluminium cans.   Ukrainian brands are also playing a significant role in this transformation. For instance, in 2025, Canpack collaborated with IDS Ukraine, a major producer of mineral water, which is part of IDS Borjomi International Holdings, to produce the Morshynska lemonade range in 330ml aluminium cans.   According to the company, these beverages combine Morshynska’s natural mineral water with real fruit juices and are free from preservatives, artificial colourings, and flavourings. The available flavours include apple, orange-peach, and grapefruit.   In 2024, the Lviv Brewery, which is part of the Carlsberg Group, launched a seasonal beer, Lvivske Rizdvyane, in special edition cans produced by Canpack using their Duomix print technology.   Analysts at Euromonitor International believe that with such initiatives and the broader shift towards eco-friendly packaging across Europe, the demand for metal beverage cans in Ukraine is expected to grow in 2025, despite the uncertainty of the war.