CAN-PACK S.A. History

DEVELOPMENT OF CAN-PACK GROUP

The history of Can-Pack Group dates back to 1989, when, still before the changes in the Polish economic system, on the basis of an Opakomet Metal Can Factory, a company was created in Brzesko, which was one of the first large private production companies in Poland at that time.

That company produced steel three-piece cans for chemical products and foodstuffs, as well as crown corks for glass bottles. As a result of many years of modernization and investments, as well as the ownership transformations related to it, the company was finally transformed into a joint-stock company called Pol-Am-Pack S.A., whose sole shareholder is Can-Pack S.A. with the seat in Cracow.
Pol-Am-Pack S.A. has taken over the Metal Can Factory in Bydgoszcz and Fomet in Dębica, and it has become the largest producer of metal packaging for foodstuffs and chemical products in Poland, offering the most modern packages of the highest quality. Pol-Am-Pack S.A. has also been the founder or the strategic investor in the following companies:
U-Pack Inc. in Yavoriv, Ukraine, Metaloplastmas in Yavoriv, Ukraine, VOZ in Volokolomsk, Russia, Amep in Tecuci, Romania, Pol-Am-Pack Tool and Die Manufacturing Ltd. in Brzesko, Can-Pack/Pol-Am-Pack Transport Ltd. in Brzesko.

It has also taken over the management of Arab Can Co, in Sharjah, A.E., on the basis of a contract with its owners. Pol-Am-Pack S.A. was the first company in Central and Eastern Europe to replace the production of soldered cans with welding technology, and the first one to apply scroll cutting of plate strip in coils. It was also the first company to introduce thin double-reduced tinplate in its production, and finally it was the first one to start printing and coating very large sheets of tinplate.

The main achievements of the engineers of that company include: the original design of the press-in lids whose construction makes it possible to apply them for water-based lacquers, or the use of tinplate below 0.13 mm thickness in production, or starting the production of steel full-panel easy-open ends of diameters 52, 73, 83, 99 mm, with excellent score protection.

In February 2006, at FOM Brzesko plant, we commissioned a modern End-O-Mat line to produce steel ends.
The annual capacity of the line is 400-800 million ends with diameter 52-99 mm.

Can-Pack S.A. in Cracow was created in 1992 as a subsidiary of Pol-Am-Pack S.A., whose task was to start the production of 330 ml aluminium beverage cans and SOT 206 aluminium easy-open ends. The first production line, which was started in Brzesko in 1994, had an output of about 350 million cans per annum. Due to extensive investments that line has been modernized to upgrade its capacity to about 420 million cans per annum.

Simultaneously, two new 500ml/330ml beverage can lines have been started in the plant in Brzesko with the total output of about 1500 million 500 ml cans.

In 2001, a new beverage can factory was built from green field and started in Bydgoszcz. It is designed for two beverage can lines of 1000 million 500 ml cans per annum each. The first one has been started and operates at full intended speed.

The second can line has been equipped, as the first one in Poland, to produce 250 ml beverage cans (the so-called “slim“), and commissioned in March 2006.

At the same time, we started the production of aluminium SOT 200 ends at our Beverage Can Factory in Brzesko, which shall be used to close the slim cans.

On October 9, 2003, a newly build Beverage Can Factory of Can-Pack Group was officially inaugurated in Vyshgorod near Kiev (Ukraine).

The first beverage can line there has the production capacity of about 650 million cans, and it features the most up-to-the-minute technological solutions in the aluminium industry. The infrastructure of the plant is Vyshgorod is already prepared to start the second can making line there. This will enable the factory in Ukraine to increase its production capacity to 2 billion cans per year.

In June 2005, a new beverage can factory was started in Bucharest (Romania). In the first stage, one line with an output of 1700 cans per minute has been installed there, however, the target is for that factory to operate two lines of similar parameters.

Parallel to the expansion of the production capacity in beverage cans, CAN-PACK S.A. has been expanding its output in the aluminium easy-open ends.

During the past few years, the centre for the production of those ends has been created in Brzesko, where the production capacity of over 4990 million ends per annum has been installed, offering both SOT 200, SOT 202 and SOT 206 ends.

Can-Pack S.A. was the first company in the world to start the production of the material-saving end design CAT-91, and it was the first company in Europe to start the production of the LPO (large pour opening) ends.
Can-Pack S.A. is also offering laser printing on end tabs, embossing of cans, thermo-sensitive ink printing and waterless offset printing.

Can-Pack S.A. holds certificates of conformity of its quality assurance system with ISO 9001, ISO 22000 and HACCP standards, and it is currently introducing World Class Manufacturing System procedures.

The high quality of production has found its reward in the positive results of audits performed by Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Heineken, Carlsberg, SAB-Miller, InBev, and many other worldwide consumers of packages.

In 2003 the procedure of restructuring Can-Pack Group was implemented in order to reduce the costs of its operation and increase the efficiency of management. Consequently, the operation and commercial activities in Poland have been concentrated in Can-Pac S.A. which has become the dominating entity of the Group.
The remaining units perform ancillary and service functions.

In the subsequent years, a variety of projects and investments have been implemented, which brought about dynamic increase in the sales volume.

In 2005, we witnessed the acquisition of Glass Works “Orzesze” in Orzesze where we established a Glass Cullet Processing & Treatment Plant. Can-Pack extended its offer of products by introducing glass packaging (jars, bottles) which was accompanied by the development of the corresponding glass recycling activities.

From the beginning of 2007, beverage cans with 250 ml/330 ml volume are manufactured in a new factory in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which was launched together with a production centre of the following beverage ends: SOT 200, SOT 202, RPT 200 & RPT 206.

Establishment of Can-Pack Metal Closures in Brzesko and acquisition of the following companies: TIK Slovakia in Kosice, Kamoko and TIK in Modrice and Tapon France in Sain Marcel contributed to the development of a production holding specialising in the production of crown bottle corks.

In the 1st quarter of 2008, a new beverage can line started production at our factory in Brzesko. The capacity of the newly commissioned line is 1 billion cans per annum, and it will produce 50 cl aluminium beverage cans. Through its subsidiary Can-Pack UK Ltd., Can-Pack group is building a modern beverage can plant in England. The start of production is planned in December 2008. Ends for the cans produced in England will be supplied by the end making plant in Bydgoszcz. The plant will start production in the 4th quarter of 2008.

In consideration of the growing demand of the Asiatic market, the Managing Board of Can-Pack SA has decided to start a new factory of beverage cans in India. The factory will have the capacity of 900 million 33cl and 50cl beverage cans per year. The production is planned to commence in 1st quarter quarter 2009.

At the beginning of 2009, Can-Pack Metal Closures, a subsidiary of Can-Pack S.A., established a joint venture company with the seat in Cairo (Egypt), with the participation of Linco Joint Stock Company, a crown cork producer on the Egyptian market. In the same time, first consignments of 44 cl beverage cans for the British market were produced at the newly built Can-Pack UK factory in Scunthorpe.

The new line at the factory of Can-Pack India Private Limited in Aurangabad, India¸ started to produce beverage cans in the third decade of May 2009. The line has the capacity of 650 million cans per year and it is prepared to be expanded to 1 billion cans per year.

On March 30th, 2010, Tapon Spain S.L., a subsidiary of Can-Pack Group whose shares are held by CAN-PACK Metal Closures LLC, took over the activities of Tapon Corona Iberica in Madrid in Spain, including its customers, suppliers, and workers. As a result of the transaction, the reach of operation of the crown holding has been significantly expanded by increasing its access to the markets of Northern Africa, and its production capacity has been raised to almost 30 billion crowns per annum.

In April 2010 a new beverage can factory was started in Volokolamsk, Russia, which gave an extra annual production capacity of ca. 950 million of cans pieces per year. The factory is adjusted to installation of a second line of beverage cans with similar production capacity.

As of May 28th 2010 Can-Pack S.A. has become a shareholder of Morocco Beverage Can Company (MBCC) in Rabat, Morocco. The company is in process of building its first beverage can production facility in Casablanca, which shall start its commercial production in Q1 2011. The plant will be equipped with the modern can production line with annual capacity of 650 million cans. This line is expandable to 950 million of aluminum cans. The new project will extend Can Pack Group activity on the Northern African markets.