South African packaging giant Nampak (Sandton; www.nampak.co.za) has commissioned a new plastic closures facility in Ikeja, Lagos / Nigeria. The facility, which operates two Netstal (Nafels / Switzerland; www.netstal.com) 48 cavity injection moulding machines, runs with a manufacturing license from German plastic closures manufacturer Bericap (Budenheim; www.bericap.com), with whom Nampak has a long-term strategic partnership.

The plant, which can turn out 220m plastic closures per year, will initially cater to the still water market, with output to be expanded to carbonated soft drinks closures at a later stage. Nampak said it expects to ramp up capacity with the installation of more injection moulders and moulds in the future. For the time being, the plant’s more than 300 staff will cater mostly to the Nigerian market, including to local outlets of Coca-Cola, Seven-Up, Nestle and SABMiller. In future, however, the facility is expected to export its output to Ghana and other neighbouring countries as well.