Top 20 can manufacturers in Africa & Middle East

Africa’s can manufacturing sector is expanding alongside wider packaging demand. According to Mordor Intelligence, the Middle East and Africa metal cans market is projected to grow from US$4.75 billion in 2026 to US$5.89 billion by 2031, representing a 4.41% CAGR. Aluminium accounted for 70.76% of the regional market in 2025, highlighting its growing importance in beverage and other applications.

Based on manufacturing footprint, capacity, geographic reach, product diversity and strategic importance, Sustainable Packaging Middle East & Africa highlights 20 companies playing a significant role in shaping the continent’s metal packaging industry.

1. Nampak – South Africa

Footprint: South Africa and Angola, with a wider historical presence across sub-Saharan Africa.

Nampak takes the top position because of the scale and breadth of its African metal-packaging operations. The company describes itself as the largest beverage-can manufacturer in both South Africa and Angola and produces aluminium beverage cans alongside tinplate food and general metal packaging.

Its Springs and other South African facilities serve a broad beverage market, while the Luanda operation gives Nampak a strategically important manufacturing base in Angola. In 2026, Nampak is also relocating an additional can-making line from Angola to its Springs operation, increasing flexibility and capacity in South Africa.

Why #1: The combination of beverage-can scale, food-can manufacturing, technical capabilities and long-established African infrastructure gives Nampak the continent’s broadest overall metal-can footprint.

2. GZ Industries (GZI) – Nigeria, South Africa & Kenya

Footprint: Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

GZI is arguably Africa’s leading specialist beverage-can manufacturer. The company operates aluminium beverage-can facilities in Nigeria and South Africa and has expanded into East Africa with its Sultan Hamud operation in Kenya, which began in January 2026.

GZI says its combined operations can manufacture more than three billion cans annually, supplying major carbonated soft-drink and alcoholic-beverage producers. It also describes itself as the number-one pure-play beverage-can manufacturer in Africa.

Why #2: Its highly focused beverage-can model, three-country manufacturing footprint and more than three-billion-can annual capacity make GZI one of the most strategically important can producers in sub-Saharan Africa.

3. Ball Corporation – Egypt

Footprint: Cairo, Egypt, within Ball’s wider EMEA beverage-packaging network.

Ball brings enormous global scale to Africa’s beverage-can industry. Its Cairo facility is integrated into Ball’s EMEA beverage-packaging business, which Ball describes as the largest producer in the markets in which it operates.

The Cairo plant has also been recognised within Ball’s global manufacturing network for operational and sustainability performance and has participated in research into used-can collection in Egypt.

Why #3: A major global aluminium-can manufacturer with an established Egyptian production base and access to Ball’s extensive technology, customer and sustainability infrastructure.

4. CANPACK – Morocco

Footprint: Casablanca, Morocco.

CANPACK has established itself as one of the continent’s major aluminium beverage-can producers through its Casablanca operation. The plant forms part of CANPACK’s global beverage-can network, which has more than 30 billion units of annual capacity.

The Moroccan facility is also highly export-oriented. Industry information has previously put its annual capacity at approximately 1.02 billion cans, with a substantial proportion destined for export markets.

Why #4: Morocco gives CANPACK an important North African manufacturing and export platform, linking African beverage markets with Europe and other regions.

5. Crown Holdings – North Africa/MEA

Footprint: Strong Middle East and North Africa market presence within Crown’s global network.

Crown is one of the world’s largest metal-packaging companies, with 179 plants across 39 countries. Aluminium beverage cans account for more than 60% of its business, while its wider portfolio includes food and specialty metal packaging.

Its importance to Africa is particularly pronounced through the North African and Middle Eastern markets, where beverage-can demand continues to grow.

Why #5: Crown’s global manufacturing scale, technology base and established MENA network make it an important supplier to the African metal-packaging ecosystem.

6. Massilly Group – South Africa & Morocco

Footprint: South Africa and Morocco, within a global metal-packaging network.

Massilly specialises in metal packaging, including food cans, closures, decorated tins, industrial packaging and aerosols. Its African footprint includes South Africa and Morocco.

Unlike beverage-can specialists, Massilly’s strength lies in the breadth of metal formats it can support across food and industrial applications.

Why #6: Its combination of food-can expertise, closures and specialist metal packaging gives it an important position beyond the beverage sector.

7. CairoPac – Egypt

Footprint: Egypt.

CairoPac is one of Egypt’s established steel food-can manufacturers, supplying cans for the country’s food industry. The company reports more than 25 years of experience and states that its production capability can reach up to 1.2 million cans per day, with annual production listed at 350 million cans.

Its focus on food-grade steel packaging makes it particularly relevant to Egypt’s large processed-food and agricultural sector.

Why #7: Strong domestic food-can positioning, established manufacturing expertise and substantial reported production capacity.

8. Centre Packaging – South Africa

Footprint: South Africa.

Centre Packaging has a broad metal-can portfolio covering food, paint, chemical and industrial applications. Its production capabilities include tinplate and aluminium formats, with food cans available in two- and three-piece constructions. ([Centre Packaging][10])

The company reports production lines capable of running at hundreds of cans per minute, underlining its industrial-scale manufacturing capability.

Why #8: A diversified South African metal-can producer with exposure to food as well as industrial applications.

9. Europack – Egypt

Footprint: Egypt.

Egyptian Italian for Advanced Packaging, better known as Europack, is an established Egyptian can manufacturer producing cylindrical, conical, square and rectangular metal containers.

Its products serve food, edible oils, paints, chemicals and lubricants, while the company also provides tinplate printing services to other can makers.

Why #9: Its broad product portfolio and ability to serve both food and industrial markets give Europack a strong position in Egypt’s diverse metal-packaging industry.

10. Al-Ikhlas Tin Can Manufacturing – Egypt

Footprint: Mit Ghamr, Egypt.

Al-Ikhlas has built a specialist position in Egypt’s tin-can manufacturing industry, producing cans across a wide range of diameters and capacities. The company has operated for around 15 years and serves customers across the Egyptian market.

Its portfolio includes conventional cans and easy-open ends for food, beverage and other applications.

Why #10: Its established domestic manufacturing base and extensive range of can sizes make it an important regional food and industrial packaging supplier.

11. Can It – South Africa

Footprint: Johannesburg, South Africa, with international customers.

Can It is an independent South African tin-can manufacturer with more than 25 years of manufacturing experience. Its portfolio includes food cans, decorative tins, promotional packaging and customised metal containers.

The company says it has supplied customers in more than 10 countries.

Why #11: A long-established independent producer with a strong niche in customised and speciality tin packaging.

12. Metal Cans – South Africa

Footprint: Durban, South Africa.

Metal Cans specialises in industrial tinplate packaging for paint, ink, adhesive and petrochemical manufacturers. The company has operated since 2005 and produces both standard and specialised cans.

Its ability to manufacture customised cans and tooling gives it a role in smaller-volume and technically specialised applications.

Why #12: Its specialist industrial focus complements the much larger food and beverage can producers in South Africa.

13. Coleus Packaging – South Africa

Footprint: South Africa.

Coleus represents the country’s established metal-packaging manufacturing base and has historically operated in the wider beverage packaging ecosystem.

Its position is particularly relevant when considering the development of South Africa’s highly concentrated beverage-packaging market, where major producers have historically supplied the country’s large brewing and soft-drink industries. ([SAFLII][16])

Why #13: An established participant in South Africa’s sophisticated metal-packaging industry, although smaller in current visibility than the leading beverage-can producers.

14. Steelpack – South Africa

Footprint: South Africa.

Steelpack belongs among the country’s established metal-packaging specialists, with capabilities serving industrial and consumer applications.

Why #14: Its importance comes from the depth of South Africa’s domestic metal-packaging manufacturing ecosystem and the company’s contribution to non-beverage applications.

15. MPact – South Africa

Footprint: South Africa.

MPact is one of South Africa’s major packaging groups, with capabilities spanning rigid and flexible packaging and a significant position in the country’s broader packaging value chain.

Why #15: Its scale, manufacturing infrastructure and exposure to food and consumer packaging make it strategically relevant, even though cans are not the company’s sole focus.

16. Eviosys – Africa/MEA

Footprint: Regional MEA supply network.

Eviosys is a major global metal-packaging specialist focused heavily on food, aerosol and specialty packaging. Its importance to Africa stems from the company’s broader regional supply and technical network.

Why #16: A significant international metal-packaging player with capabilities relevant to Africa’s food and consumer-goods industries, although its African manufacturing footprint is less extensive than the companies ranked above.

17. Silgan Holdings – Africa/MEA

Footprint: International supply into African and MEA markets.

Silgan is a major global producer of metal containers, particularly for food and specialty applications.

Why #17: Its technology and global customer base give it relevance to African packaged-food supply chains, but its direct African manufacturing footprint is more limited than the leading locally established producers.

18. Envases Universales – Africa/MEA

Footprint: International and regional metal-packaging operations.

Envases Universales has grown into a major international metal-packaging producer with expertise in beverage and other metal containers.

Why #18: Its global manufacturing capabilities and international expansion make it an important company to watch as Africa’s beverage-can market develops.

19. Metal Can Manufacturers in Egypt’s Industrial Cluster

Footprint: Egypt.

Egypt’s can-manufacturing sector is unusually diverse, with several domestic producers serving food, edible oils, chemicals, paints and other industrial markets. Companies such as CairoPac, Europack and Al-Ikhlas illustrate the depth of this manufacturing base.

Why #19: Rather than treating Egypt purely as a market for multinational can makers, its domestic manufacturers demonstrate the country’s growing capacity to produce metal packaging locally.

20. Specialist South African Metal-Can Producers

Footprint: South Africa.

South Africa has one of the continent’s most mature metal-packaging ecosystems, supported by producers serving food, beverage, industrial, chemical and speciality applications. The country’s manufacturing base includes both large-scale producers and smaller independent converters.

Why #20: The strength of the South African ecosystem means smaller specialist manufacturers remain important to the overall can supply chain, particularly where customised formats and smaller production runs are required.

A market moving towards local production

The rankings highlight an important shift taking place across Africa: can manufacturing is becoming increasingly regional.

For beverage producers, proximity to filling plants can reduce import lead times, inventory requirements and exposure to shipping costs. Nampak’s Angolan investment, for example, was originally designed to replace imported cans and shorten customer lead times, while its current investment programme continues to optimise production between Angola and South Africa.

GZI’s expansion into Kenya is another illustration of this trend. Its four-site footprint now stretches from West Africa through Southern Africa into East Africa, positioning the company closer to some of the continent’s fastest-growing beverage markets.

At the same time, North Africa is emerging as an important manufacturing and export platform. CANPACK’s Casablanca facility and Ball’s Cairo operation demonstrate how global producers are using the region to serve both domestic and international beverage markets.

The sustainability argument is also strengthening the position of metal cans. Aluminium beverage cans are lightweight, highly recyclable and can be recycled repeatedly, making them increasingly attractive as African beverage companies face greater pressure to reduce packaging waste and improve circularity.

Yet the industry’s next challenge will be building stronger collection, sorting and recycling systems alongside manufacturing capacity. Production growth without sufficient recovery infrastructure risks limiting the environmental gains associated with metal packaging.

For Africa’s can manufacturers, therefore, the next phase is unlikely to be defined by capacity alone. The companies best positioned for the future will be those able to combine high-volume manufacturing, lightweighting, reliable regional supply, recycled-content strategies and stronger links with Africa’s emerging circular economy.