An undisclosed sum has been invested by packaging manufacturer Alpla (Hard, Austria; www.alpla.com) in a new production facility in Lanseria, which lies near Johannesburg, South Africa and was opened at the beginning of October 2022 after a construction period of around two years.

The site also serves as the headquarters for sub-Saharan Africa, and is to bring together the five existing South African locations – Harrismith, Denver, Isando, Kempton Park, and Samrand – under one roof. About 350 employees are already on the job in Lanseria, and more are to follow, the company says. The location itself is also set for expansion in the future with another 12,500 m² of available space.

Across 35,000 m², bottles, closures, and special packaging for food, personal and home care goods, chemicals, detergents, and pharmaceuticals are produced using injection moulding and stretch blow moulding processes for a total of about 3.5 bn units per year.

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In addition to internationally active corporations, Alpla also supplies smaller, local companies with plastic packaging solutions. “The markets in the sub-Saharan Africa region have enormous potential,” Alpla CEO Philipp Lehner said at the opening of the site.

Alpla employs around 22,100 people worldwide and produces packaging systems, bottles, closures, and injection moulded parts at 177 sites in 45 countries. The group also operates recycling plants in Austria, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Italy, and Spain. The Austrian company’s most recent turnover was EUR 4 bn.