Arnest Packaging Solutions, a division of Russia’s Arnest Group, has signed an agreement with the Uzbek government to build an aluminum beverage can plant in Uzbekistan. The investment, totaling approximately $100 million, will support the creation of over 200 jobs. The plant, expected to begin production by next fall, will have an annual capacity of over 1.5 billion cans.
According to Arnest CEO Alexander Isayev, “Localizing production in Uzbekistan will significantly strengthen the company’s presence on export markets in EAEU countries, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. It will also free up export volumes from Russia to meet the demand of the Russian market.” Around 30% of the plant’s output is expected to be exported.
Arnest Packaging Solutions, the leading manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans in Russia, currently operates four aluminum can plants and one lid plant across the Moscow, Leningrad, Chelyabinsk, and Ulyanovsk regions. Since acquiring the Russian aluminum can business from U.S.-based Ball Corporation in late 2022, Arnest has expanded its footprint. In August 2023, the company also purchased Heineken’s Russian operations, including seven breweries, for 1 euro, though Arnest Group president Alexei Sagal later clarified that the cost amounted to 11.5 billion-12 billion rubles, accounting for the Russian division’s debts to Heineken.
This move marks another step in Arnest’s strategy to expand its regional influence and capacity in the beverage packaging sector.