How to Start an Aluminium Can Manufacturing Plant in India: Cost, Process and Licences

The cost of an aluminium can manufacturing plant in India starts in the tens of crores of rupees. In the Niir Project Consultancy Services (NPCS) project report for a plant making 345 million 330 ml beverage cans a year, the cost of the project is ₹77.6 crore. The plants global can makers are now building in Uttar Pradesh cost many times more.

Money is only the first gate. You also need a dependable supply of can-grade aluminium sheet, which India still imports in large part, a licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) before you sell a single can, and a beverage company that will commit to your volume before commissioning. Buy machines last. A finished line with no sheet, no licence or no buyer earns nothing.

What does an aluminium can manufacturing plant cost in India?

The NPCS plant has about one sixth the capacity of Crown's Unnao plant but under 4% of its outlay, so the cost per can of annual capacity differs by more than four times.

In the NPCS report, plant and machinery costs ₹26.05 crore, about a third of the project, with a 28% return and a break-even point of 40%, the share of capacity you must sell before the plant stops losing money. The profile carries no date and hides its cost breakdown, so read ₹77.6 crore as a guide to scale, not a budget, and get fresh quotes for lines, land and power.

The outlay moves mainly with the number of lines, whether you make lids in-house, and how much printing capacity you build.

How are two-piece aluminium beverage cans made?

A two-piece can is a drawn body plus a separately made end, on different lines. The body line runs as follows:

1. Uncoil the sheet, lubricate it, punch discs and draw them into shallow cups.
2. Stretch each cup in the bodymaker to height and wall thickness, and form the domed base.
3. Trim the top edge to a uniform height.
4. Wash and dry in a multi-stage washer. Thai Beverage Can describes seven stages, including a reverse osmosis water rinse.
5. Print the outside in one pass, in up to six colours, add a protective coat and bake.
6. Spray the inside with food-grade lacquer and cure it, so the drink never reacts with the metal.
7. Neck and flange the open end so the end can be seamed on later.
8. Light-test every can for pinholes and leaks, then palletise.

The end line is separate: discs are blanked from a different coil, sealing compound is applied, and the tab is riveted onto a scored panel. The filler seams ends on after filling, so you need no seamer unless you fill.

Which machines does a beverage can line need?

Every step above has its own machine, and the bodymaker sets the output of the whole body line.

Get tooling and spares quoted with each machine.

Which aluminium alloy do beverage cans use, and where do you buy the sheet?

Body and end use different alloys.

You buy finished sheet, not metal. A June 2026 AL Circle report says India's domestic can sheet is limited and a large share comes from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while Hindalco is adding around 50 kilotonnes of can sheet capacity at Sambalpur, Odisha. Aluminium starts as alumina refined from bauxite (see alumina manufacturing), well upstream of a can plant.

Size your own demand: Ball Packaging Europe reported a 330 ml can of just under 9.5 grams in 2012, so 345 million cans need over 3,000 tonnes of sheet a year before scrap.

What approvals does a new can plant need before it can sell?

The BIS licence is the gating approval, and your date depends on enterprise size. Under the 2026 quality control order for beverage cans, cans must meet IS 14407:2023 and carry the BIS Standard Mark under a licence. Cans made only for export are exempt.

The general date has passed. The order replaced the 2025 order for aluminium cans, and The Drinks Business reported in January 2026 that India had postponed the rules after producers warned of summer shortages, with certification of imported cans taking several months. Plan your application alongside construction.

A state pollution control board issues a consent to establish before construction and a consent to operate before production, as the Assam board's guidance explains.

Is there room for a new can maker, and what can go wrong?

Demand is real. AL Circle reported that in summer 2026 some Indian beverage makers cut production or moved to PET and glass because cans ran short, and The Drinks Business reported brewers' warnings of shortages of up to 130 million cans in beer alone. Supply is catching up from the top: Crown's Unnao plant will make about six times the output of a 345 million can plant, and Ball is expanding at Sri City and planning Meerut.

A new entrant cannot win on scale. The workable position is a second source close to regional brewers (see how a beer manufacturing business starts) and soft drink makers (more in beverage manufacturing ideas). Can makers also fit within food processing manufacturing ideas.

Go ahead only when you can show a lender three documents: a sheet supply agreement with a named mill or importer, a written commitment from a beverage company for a large share of first year output, and a dated plan for the BIS licence. Without all three, hold the machine order.

How do you fund a plant of this size?

Expect term loans backed by a detailed project report, plus state investment incentives. Ball was granted incentives under Uttar Pradesh's 2023 policy for large investors, so compare what each state offers before you buy land. Credit linked schemes for micro units are built for far smaller projects. NPCS has prepared project reports since 1994, in the format banks typically ask for.

What should you do first?

1. Fix a target capacity and get quotes from two suppliers for one body line and one end line.
2. Open sheet talks with a mill or importer for 3104 or 3004 body stock and 5182 end stock.
3. Ask two beverage companies what volume they would commit to.
4. Lay the BIS licence and pollution board steps against your build timeline.
5. Shortlist states by incentives, power, water and distance to fillers.

An NPCS project report on beverage cans covers the specification, process flow sheet, market survey, machinery with suppliers, raw materials, plant layout, manpower and the project cost, working capital, cost of production, break-even point and cash flow a lender reads. NPCS has delivered 5,000+ project reports across 40+ sectors.

Frequently asked questions

Which companies make aluminium beverage cans in India?

Reports from 2025 and 2026 name Ball Beverage Packaging India, with a plant at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh and another planned at Meerut, and Crown Holdings, building at Unnao for a start in the second half of 2027. Hindalco makes can sheet, not cans.

How many aluminium cans make 1 kg?

It depends on the can's weight. Ball Packaging Europe reported a 330 ml can of just under 9.5 grams in 2012, which gives about 105 cans to the kilogram. Heavier designs give fewer. Wall thickness and design change the figure, so use your own specification.

Can a small investor start a beverage can business?

Not realistically. Two lines, washing, printing and curing sections, a BIS licence and a sheet inventory put the entry ticket in tens of crores. With a smaller budget, look at packaging manufacturing ideas that need less capital.

Can you make money melting aluminium cans?

Melting scrap is a different business from making cans. A recycler sells ingot to rolling mills and foundries, and the margin depends on scrap prices and furnace yield. Our aluminium recycling business guide covers that route.

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