HERENTALS – ALUVIN, producer of aluminium packaging, is running at full speed these days. Since the beginning of the corona crisis, the demand for aluminium containers for the food industry has grown enormously.
ALUVIN currently processes more than 70 tonnes of aluminium per month, producing 570,000 aluminium containers per day. That is about 20% more than normal. And this extra production is necessary, because as a result of the corona crisis demand has risen enormously.
“The fact that sales have risen so rapidly in recent weeks is a direct consequence of the exponential demand for ready meals”, says Maarten Bynens, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALUVIN N.V. “Some restaurants have switched to a takeaway formula and manufacturers of ready meals have also increased production. Aluminium packaging therefore has a number of important characteristics: it is recyclable, a perfect barrier against bacteria and can be heated from the fridge or freezer directly to the oven or microwave. “
ALUVIN can follow the increased production for at least another 3-4 weeks. “Even in these times of crisis, ALUVIN has sufficient stocks of both raw materials and finished products,” says Maarten Bynens. “The sourcing is deliberately purely European, so that ALUVIN is not dependent on long supply lines or the closure of European borders.”
On the shop floor, of course, the current strict corona guidelines are taken into account. “We have taken extra measures on top of the already strict rules that we are used to with regard to food safety. Employees take account of social distancing and lunch is taken in different shifts, so that no one sits too close to each other.”
ALUVIN was founded in 1948 and makes various aluminium packaging for food. In 2001, the company moved from Berlaar to its current location in Welvaartstraat in Herentals. About 20 employees work at ALUVIN.