PACKAGING
Resealable Aluminium Bottles Prove to be a Hit for A-B
Most people associate bottles with either glass or plastic, but recent sales at Anheuser-Busch highlight a growing trend in the popularity of resealable aluminium bottles.
20 May, 2016
Anheuser-Busch is the US arm of A-BinBev, a Belgian company. Last year their sales of aluminium bottles rose by 30% and they are confident this growth will continue, having recently completed a $160 million expansion of their Metal Container Corp. facilities to cope with demand.
The expansion provides a manufacturing area of 480,000 square feet, doubling the capacity of their facility in Arnold to 1 billion aluminium bottles per year. Today, Arnold's production facility already functions on a 24 hour basis with 12-hour shifts running every day – the new demand has also led to the hiring of 70 new staff, bringing the total to 300 workers on site.
The resealable aluminium bottles produced at the new and improved facility will be used to sell their Budweiser and Bud Light products. A-B's Metal Container Corp. subsidiary runs five plants across the USA. Apart from their aluminium bottles they also produce lids and cans for both Monster Beverage and PepsiCo.
Plant manager Cheryl Rogers says Arnold is a strategic location for the factory:
Plant manager Cheryl Rogers says Arnold is a strategic location for the factory:
"It's a great location to be in because of the proximity to the St. Louis brewery and its location in the Midwest"
The resealable aluminium bottle has proven to be a very popular product since it was launched in 2013 and A-B are already at work expanding their facility in Jacksonville, Florida, to boost production further. Jacksonville and Florida both form part of the plans announced by the brewer in 2015 that will see them spend $1.5 billion in investment in their U.S. operations by the end of 2017. Harry Schuhmacher, the publisher of Beer Business Daily, an industry publication, says that resealable aluminum bottles provide A-B with a way to differentiate themselves from the competition.
In an increasingly commoditised light beer industry, A-B has a point of differentiation with their aluminium bottles. They have the resources to ramp up aluminium bottle capacity quickly, whereas competitors must rely on suppliers which inevitably have shortages
Harry Schuhmacher
Publisher of Beer Business Daily
The idea of producing aluminium bottles is not a new one. Back in 2004 the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. tried aluminium bottles for their Iron City Beer. These did not prove successful, largely because they were supplied with the traditional crown caps, and therefore offered no real advantage to drinkers.
The first resealable aluminium bottle was launched in 2008 by MillerCoors. They have since been slowly increasing the number of aluminium bottles throughout their range and 2016 will see them add a third aluminum bottle line to their facilities in Fort Worth, Texas. MillerCoors' senior director of revenue management Kevin Nitz says that one of the benefits they find with aluminium is that they can use more than just the label for design purposes. The bottle itself can be customized as needed.
The first resealable aluminium bottle was launched in 2008 by MillerCoors. They have since been slowly increasing the number of aluminium bottles throughout their range and 2016 will see them add a third aluminum bottle line to their facilities in Fort Worth, Texas. MillerCoors' senior director of revenue management Kevin Nitz says that one of the benefits they find with aluminium is that they can use more than just the label for design purposes. The bottle itself can be customized as needed.
"It provides a canvas to speak through design about our brands in a unique way"