The key requirement of choosing good-quality aluminum can maker is production precision and quality consistency. For example, the tank wall thickness mistake of Ball Corporation in the production process is adjusted to ±0.02mm (±0.05mm in ISO 9001 standard), and its leakage rate of tanks is as low as 0.003% (industry average: 0.015%). And the compressive strength of the 330ml can was achieved at 310N (industry standard ≥280N) by the ASTM D642 test. The sealing test of the rolled edge of the can mouth shows that the chance of leakage is ≤0.0005% (PepsiCo’s 2023 quality inspection report), and the residual amount of bisphenol A in the coating is ≤0.001ppm (the EU standard is 0.05ppm).
Supply chain resilience is a key competitiveness. In the 2020 pandemic, Crown Holdings decreased the delivery cycle from 21 days to 14 days using 43 manufacturing bases globally and recorded a 99.8% raw material traceability coverage rate using a blockchain tracking system (data delay ≤0.5 seconds). Its Mexican plant has excellent dynamic capacity adjustment capability. It earlier increased the monthly production capacity from 200 million cans to 340 million cans (+70%) for an emergency order of Red Bull with a on-time delivery rate of 98.7%.
Sustainable production indicators need to be measured and validated. Industry leaders such as Ball’s Infinity line utilize 100% recycled aluminum, with a savings of 45% of carbon emissions over traditional practices (SBTi certified) and a recycling rate of 94% in water usage (industry average of 78%). The Toyo Seikan’s Japanese facility reduced the release of carbon per tonne of aluminium by 1.8 tons to 0.4 tons through hydrogen smelting (80% contribution of hydrogen). It scored A CDP water safety A+ grade (industry average is B grade). There has to be an examination of certainties like ASI performance standards, ISO 14001 and carbon trust standards.
Cost-effectiveness should be estimated through a full cycle. Take the example of the 500ml can. Ball’s thin weight (9.5g compared with the industry average of 11.2g) saves on transport cost 0.002 per can, which equals 2 million yuan for an output of 1 billion cans every year. It is necessary to analyze the cost of mold development ($500,000 – $800,000 per model), minimum order quantity (if MOQ ≥5 million cans, unit price can be reduced by 15%-20%), and payment term (good manufacturers provide 60-90 days). CanPack’s regionalized production model in Thailand (raw materials – manufacturing – filling within 5 kilometers) has reduced logistics costs by 37%.
Customer word-of-mouth and digitalization manage risk. Crown Holdings’ AI visual inspection system (200ms/can vs. manual 2 seconds/can) achieved a defect detection accuracy rate of 99.98% and reduced customer complaints by 63% in 2023. Ball’s German factory reduced the new product development cycle from 90 days to 45 days and reduced the trial production loss rate from 5% to 0.8% with digital twin technology. The OEE verification requirements are ≥85% OEE for the MES system, energy consumption of ≤0.9kWh for each thousand cans, and customer example – Coca-Cola’s continued purchase of 60% of Ball’s orders of aluminum cans for 15 years, customer complaint response time of ≤4 hours (24 hours in industry) and accuracy of new product samples ±0.05mm.