Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP), the New York-listed beverage cans group chaired by Irish financier Paul Coulson, has bought a Canadian provider of digital printing services that allows drinks companies to put colourful artwork on aluminium cans.
Quebec-based Hart Print, founded in 2018, is the first company to offer digital printed cans in the north American market, said AMP on Wednesday. It did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
More than 75 per cent of new product launches today in the north American beverage market are in cans, as consumer appeal is enhanced by the convenience and sustainability of metal packaging, the company said. For brand owners, cans offer “unlimited design and brand building opportunities”.
The deal will help AMP to respond flexibly to larger customers’ shorter-run requirements, including for new product introductions and targeted promotions, it said.
"This initiative complements our $2 billion-plus (€1.77 billion-plus) growth investment programme across 2021-2024 and further enhances our ability to serve these customers, as well as to work with our larger customers on special launches, promotions and tactical marketing," said AMP chief executive Oliver Graham. "We look forward to integrating Hart Print into our offering and supporting its growth across our business in the years ahead."
Floated
AMP is 75 per cent owned by the Coulson-led metal and glass packaging giant Ardagh Group, after the unit was floated in New York over the summer by way of a reverse merger into a listed cash shell, or special purpose acquisition company, called Gores Holdings V Ardagh Group, which floated in the US in 2017, was delisted from the stock market last month.
AMP’s customers include a wide variety of leading beverage players in the markets for beer, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, hard seltzers, juices, pre-mixed cocktails, teas, sparkling waters and wine.
