The production of aluminium aerosol cans worldwide remained stable at a high level in 2015. The member companies of AEROBAL (International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers) reported total production of 5.4 billion aluminium cans and thus a repeat of the previous year’s record result.
AEROBAL’s secretary general Gregor Spengler is very pleased with the result: “Repeating 2014’s record is a rather good achievement considering the very difficult conditions in 2015; with economic turmoil in China, Russia and some emerging countries, the enduring problems in Greece, Ukraine and above all the Middle East, the global uncertainty resulting from the development of the oil price, and some considerable fluctuations in exchange rates. It demonstrates the strong capabilities of our member companies and the aluminium aerosol can’s excellent position in the fiercely competitive global packaging market.”
Production in Europe and the USA, the dominant markets in terms of volume, was more or less at the previous year’s level. Australia also remained stable, whereas volumes in Africa declined slightly. Slight overall gains were reported in Asia and Central and South America, although some Asian and South American markets fell short of expectations.
The body care products market accounted for the lion’s share of all cans produced, being unchanged at almost 80 per cent. The household products sector is now responsible for over 10 per cent of total production thanks to pleasing growth figures.
There are also other developments that definitely give cause for taking a positive view of the future. AEROBAL president Eric Frantz (CCL) points to new applications and improved production processes: “For example, innovative valve systems now enable aerosol cans to be filled with hair dyes. The aerosol principle offers outstanding opportunities to expand markets anyway; together with aluminium’s outstanding barrier and hygiene properties this will doubtlessly bear further fruit in the pharma market, too.”
The producers of aluminium aerosol cans also believe they are well placed with regards competition with other materials. “Besides the wealth of unique functional properties that aluminium offers compared with competitive materials, the light metal’s high actual recycling rates offer additional benefits,” adds Eric Frantz. “Further weight reductions thanks to new aluminium alloys and optimised production processes also ensure that the environmental performance of the can is improved still further.”
It is therefore no surprise that overall the AEROBAL member companies report very good utilisation of their production capacities. It also explains why further expansions of capacity are due to take place in the near future in order to create capacity for new applications and reduce delivery times to the benefit of customers.
This willingness to invest is an indication of the generally positive expectations at AEROBAL, which is cautiously optimistic for 2016. It believes moderate market growth is conceivable if the business trend worldwide is more or less normal.
