Why global brands rely on professional aluminum can makers?

The fundamental motive behind global brands to rely on expert aluminum can manufacturer is its overall advantage of the trinity of “technology × cost × sustainability”. Taking the collaboration of Coca-Cola with Ball Corporation as an example:. The extremely thin can technology that the latter is providing, at the thickness of 0.16 millimeters (industry standard is 0.21 millimeters), is reducing by 24% the total aluminum used in each can as well as resulting in more than 180 million US dollars raw material savings yearly. On the other hand, its production rate is 4,200 cans per minute (industry standard is 2,800 cans), and when blended with the AI quality inspection system (99.995% detection accuracy), the defective rate is reduced to 0.003% (0.15% for traditional production lines), which helps brand owners reduce supply chain losses by 3.7%. This productivity advantage was most significant in PepsiCo’s summer promotion 2023 – Ball’s flexible manufacturing line achieved shipping of 500 million cans of customized packaging within 72 hours, a 60% reduction in the typical cycle, and supported the 2.3 percentage point increase in market share during the product launch week.

Competitiveness in a sustainable way is also a significant aspect. Top aluminum can manufacturers such as Ardagh Group have an 85% recovery rate for aluminum cans (industry average is 63%) using closed-loop recycling. Energy needed per ton of recycled aluminum production is only 1,200 kWh (17,000 kWh for primary aluminum), and 95% of carbon emissions are reduced. Through its partnership initiative with Heineken, the can body uses laser etching instead of ink printing, reducing the carbon footprint of the lifecycle of one can by 61% and meeting the EU’s Green Deal mandatory requirement that 50% of recycled material should be used in the packaging material by 2030. According to McKinsey’s estimate, using sustainable solutions by expert manufacturers will enhance a brand’s ESG rating by 1.8 levels and increase consumers’ willingness to pay by 22%.

Customization and elastic response capabilities are equally non-substitutable. Crown Holdings’ “Digital Twin Design Platform” enables customers to complete tank type parameter adjustment (diameter ±15%, height ±30%) within 48 hours and an order size of at least 100,000 tanks (the industry standard is 500,000 tanks). In 2024, Magic Claw Energy Drink launched a ribbed can. From 3D modeling to mass production, the process took only 12 days (compared with 45 days for the conventional process). The compressive strength of the can was boosted to 110 kPa (compared with the industry standard of 90 kPa), and the rate of transportation damage was reduced by 73%. This flexibility is twice as beneficial in response to pressing demand – Red Bull’s 300 million can orders, stimulated by the World Cup promotion drive, saw their supply cycle shortened to 18 days from 35 days and their logistics cost reduced by 14% by taking advantage of the world capacity management of aluminium can makers (with coordination between factories in Europe and Asia).

Supply chain compliance and security assurance are the columns of deep trust. Top aluminum can producer such as Boer has set up manufacturing centers in 15 countries, and the hedging rate of a single factory shut-down is over 90% (regional diversification index 0.87). Its blockchain traceability technology can identify the carbon intensity of each batch of aluminum material (±2.5% margin of error), which is compliant with 32 international standards, including the US Clean Energy Act. When Nestle initiated a recall in 2025 because of coating defects in a batch of cans, expert manufacturers found the range of defects within 4 hours by utilizing production batch codes (traditional traceability takes 72 hours) and reduced the cost of the recall from an estimated 27 million US dollars to 4.8 million US dollars.

Fact vindicates the value of professional aluminum can maker manufacturers: Following brands utilize their services, the total cost of packaging drops by 18% (scale effect + lightweight), the product introduction cycle for new products reduces by 64%, and the carbon tax expense reduces by 37%. Such a combination of “commercial certainty + technological moat” is remaking the competitiveness benchmark of the global fast-moving consumer goods supply chain.

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