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Small acorns
2/28/2006 8:00:00 AM
Two-piece DWI manufacturing lines are great for making huge volumes of cans at
the lowest cost, but they are highly capital intensive. The slowest of the
processes has to run at around 2,000 cans per minute, and every other item of
equipment must run at this speed for the best economies of scale. That means a
new plant for manufacturing 650-750 million food or beverage cans a year will
cost at least $40 million. So when it’s announced that technology will
imminently be available that will enable a capacity of between 150 to 250
million cans a year at a capital cost “roughly comparable with larger-scaled
beverage and food can systems”, we should sit up and take notice. It’s a
business model that makes entry into new markets less costly, and reduces the
risk. As a rule, growth in demand for cans in new markets needs to approach 500
million before a D&I plant becomes viable. With a lower capital cost it would be
possible to respond to growth in markets more quickly, and perhaps beat other
packaging types such as plastics bottles. But that’s what is being offered by a
leading US-based project management company and one of Asia’s leading canmakers.
Omnitech International, based in Golden, Colorado, and Malaysia’s Kian Joo Can
Factory, heave formed a partnership that will promote what they call the
MicroFlex System. Omnitech International has been managing the construction of
food and beverage plants around the world for many years with projects for
canmakers such as Can-Pack in Poland, Skoda in the Czech Republic, Rostar in
Russia and most recently Heibei Bao Steel Canmaking North in China. Kian Joo is
one of the biggest canmakers in south east Asia and produces food cans,
decorative cans, plastics bottles, cartons and, retortable drink cans.
Development of the MicroFlex System is well advanced, according to Omnitech
International’s managing director Chris Olson, with the first line for food cans
being installed in Malaysia. “The first line will ship in the first quarter and
be started up during the second,” he said. “The next two to three lines will be
ordered during the first quarter of 2006 and will be delivered during the year.
We believe that with the approach we have taken, there will be a significant
impact on all Canmaking sectors, especially those which cannot utilize D&I today
because of the huge volume and investment requirements.” The new system could be
used for almost every type of Canmaking activity, said Olson. “The MicroFlex
System features a standardized platform of components that can be configured to
produce food, beverage, aerosol and bottle cans, and it will be easily adaptable
for the utilization of aluminum or steel sheet. More importantly, the systems
and components in the line are unique, and have been specifically developed with
flexibility in mind. “The initial line configuration is scaled for annual
production of 150 million to 250 million cans or bottles, depending upon product
size, and specification, and capital cost to output is roughly comparable with
the larger scaled beverage and food can systems. “MicroFlex utilizes standard
components like CMB bodymakers and trimmers, which are scaleable, and in other
areas like washers, ovens and other equipment, Omnitech has developed scalable
and flexible components on its own or in partnership with world-class
manufacturing companies around the world.”
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