Last summer, Crown bought the plant in the Dong Nai province, northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, from Interfood Shareholding.
At the time, Crown said the factory could be expanded to accommodate more lines but it has waited until now to reveal its expansion plans for the site.
Double capacity
Crown is building a second production line that will double annual capacity from 600m two-piece 33cl drinks cans to 1.2bn cans. The new line is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Crown said it was investing in Vietnam because it is a “vibrant and growing market” for the company. As a result of this latest investment, Crown will have five beverage can lines in three facilities in Vietnam, with a total production capacity of more than 3bn aluminum two-piece cans.
Crown made its initial entrance into the Vietnamese market in 1996 when it acquired Carnaud Metalbox and took over its facilities in the country. Spokesperson Michael Dunleavy told BeverageDaily.com that since then the company has continued to invest.
Dunleavy said demand for soft drink and beer packaged in cans has risen over the years driven by economic development and increases in disposable income.
Emerging markets
Emerging markets such as Vietnam have been highlighted as crucial to the future for Crown.
“We expect our emerging markets businesses in China, Southeast Asia, Brazil, Eastern Europe and the Middle East will continue to grow,” said CEO John Conway in the latest Crown trading update. Crown plans to increase the share of company revenues from these regions from 25 per cent to 30 per cent.
For the year ending December 31, Crown reported net sales of $7,938m, compared to $8,305m in 2008. Crown said unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations put a $407m drag on net sales.