Novelis, one of the world's leading aluminium flat-rolled producers and recyclers, has signed a new long-term supply contract with Coca-Cola Bottlers' Sales & Services Company (CCBSS), the contractual agent for Coca-Cola Co.'s authorised North American bottlers. 

 

Under this agreement, Novelis will provide the bottlers unit with aluminium can sheet for The Coke's family of famous brands.

 

This includes supplies from Novelis' factory in Bay Minette, Alabama, which is now under development and is set to open in 2025. 

 

Through the CCBSS and Novelis arrangement, Atlanta-based Coca-Cola North American Bottlers have agreed to purchase undisclosed aluminium can sheets over a multiyear period. 

 

According to Novelis, demand for aluminium beverage can sheet is expected to grow at a 3% compounded annual growth rate from 2022 to 2031, driven by consumer preference for more sustainable products and size variety.

 

"This new long-term contract builds on a decades-long relationship between Novelis and the Coca-Cola system, and further strengthens Novelis' position as the leading provider of aluminum for beverage cans," remarked Novelis President and CEO Steve Fisher.

 

"This contract validates our investment in expanding rolling and recycling capacity in North America and solidifies a strong future for sustainable aluminum as the beverage packaging material of choice," he stated.

 

Novelis pointed out that the arrangement included a closed-loop recycling agreement, emphasising both firms' commitment to sustainability. 

 

Under this, Novelis will immediately take back the manufacturing scrap created during the can-producing process, recycle it, and turn it into a fresh can sheet.

 

This, the company said, will be subsequently converted into new beverage cans via closed-loop recycling programmes.

 

Novelis claims that in addition to this continuous loop, it recycles more than 80 billion discarded beverage cans each year into new aluminium for beverage packaging. 

 

"The evolving role on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company and our bottlers is to build a resilient domestic supply chain, thus enabling sustainable long-term growth," remarked Coca-Cola Chief Procurement Officer Dan Coe.

 

"We recognise Novelis as a leader in sustainability, committed to supporting our 2030 World Without Waste Targets," he stated.

 

Coe said the bulk of the Bay Minette factory's capacity for beverage can sheets have already been contracted and the facility will be the first fully integrated aluminium production and recycling operation constructed in the US in almost 40 years. 

 

The factory, powered by renewable energy, utilising recycled water, and being a zero-waste facility, would generate up to 1,000 new employees and have an initial capacity of 600,000 tonnes of finished products for the North American can and automobile industries, he added.