Sonoco is investing US$20 million in Malaysia to build a state-of-the-art, high-speed composite can production facility for the production of packaging for snacks.
The global packaging group will add three high-speed composite can lines along with two metal end presses at the site near Kuala Lampur, and an extrusion laminator is also expected to be installed at Sonoco’s flexible packaging facility in Kajang, Malaysia, to produce can liners.
Jack Sanders, Sonoco president and CEO, said: “Continued growth for packaged snacks in Southeast Asia requires that we build our third composite can plant in Malaysia.
“The new facility will be located on our customer’s new manufacturing complex and will more than triple our current can production capacity in Malaysia.”
The first can line is expected to be installed in the third quarter of 2014 and begin commercial production in the first quarter of 2015.
All three lines, along with the metal end presses and the extrusion laminator are expected to be operational by the end of 2015.
The company will also provide and run sophisticated depalletising equipment at its customer's production facility: “The first time that we have provided an extended supply chain solution for a composite can customer,” according to Sanders.
In the US, Sonoco is also investing more than $5 million to create the Sonoco Innovative Packaging Solutions (IPS) Studio at its Hartsville, South Carolina manufacturing and headquarters complex.
www.sonoco.com
