When expertise meets determination, results follow. Together, Royal Can and Henkel saved 25 million liters of water through smarter manufacturing.
Royal Can Making Company is a leading producer of aluminum beverage cans in the Middle East, supplying regional and international customers from its manufacturing sites in Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad. With production volumes exceeding six billion cans per year, process stability, consistent quality, and responsible resource use are central to its operations.
Henkel Adhesive Technologies supports manufacturers worldwide with advanced solutions for metal packaging, helping improve efficiency, quality, and sustainability across high‑performance production environments. Through a long‑standing collaboration, Royal Can and Henkel continuously work together to evaluate and enhance production processes—combining local expertise with global technology leadership.
Operating at consistently high output leaves little room for disruptive change. At the Sulaymaniyah site, production data revealed clear potential to reduce water and chemical consumption as well as aluminum scrap but any improvements had to be implemented without unplanned downtime, reduced performance, or quality risks.
The challenge was clear: introduce meaningful sustainability improvements while keeping production running at full speed under demanding operating conditions.
Rather than applying isolated adjustments, Royal Can and Henkel took a holistic, data‑driven approach. A comprehensive audit of production figures laid the foundation for defining realistic benchmarks and identifying high‑impact measures. Drawing on Henkel’s experience from comparable projects, both partners prioritized optimizations that could be smoothly integrated into ongoing operations, delivering fast results while creating a stable basis for long‑term improvement.
As Aziz Mabrouki, Director Metal Packaging EIMEA at Henkel, states: “The sustainability goals and long‑term vision of the Royal Can Making Company align perfectly with ours at Henkel. To support can makers in producing more sustainably, we continuously develop solutions that help manufacturers meet their individual efficiency targets. To achieve measurable improvements in production sustainability, we rely on technology‑driven partnerships, as they provide a strong foundation for the exchange of ideas and expertise.”
The teams jointly reviewed process settings, flow rates, lubricant application, temperature control, and chemical compatibility across the entire production line. Based on this analysis, adjustments were prioritized and introduced step by step during short maintenance windows, then validated under live production conditions. This phased approach ensured that every change delivered a clear, observable effect and could be permanently embedded into daily operations. As Glenn Ladrillo, Head of Sales APP Metal Packaging MEA at Henkel, notes, “Together, we took a very detailed look at the processes and implemented measures step by step. This enabled us to ensure that every adjustment is tangible and becomes firmly anchored in production.”
Key measures included optimizing lubrication performance, stabilizing operating temperatures under extreme climate conditions, and streamlining material flows to eliminate losses. Each change was carefully coordinated to ensure downstream processes benefited as well—maintaining quality while increasing overall efficiency.
The collaboration delivered results that exceeded initial expectations, translating targeted process optimization into measurable environmental and operational benefits. Within one year, Royal Can achieved substantial reductions across all key resource streams, including water, chemicals, and aluminum scrap—while maintaining stable, high‑speed production.
These results reflect not only reduced consumption, but also greater confidence in daily operations. Improved process stability and consistent quality standards enable the production team to sustain the achieved performance levels over time. As Saad Faeq Mohammed Kolak, President of the Royal Can Making Company, explains, “The adjustments have noticeably stabilized our processes and give us security in our daily operations.”
In concrete terms, the optimized processes led to annual savings of 25 million liters of water, a reduction of 78 tonnes in chemical consumption, and the avoidance of 119,000 kilograms of aluminum scrap. The lower material and chemical demand also resulted in significant CO₂ reductions, further strengthening the site’s sustainability performance.
Beyond the immediate results, the project established a repeatable framework for continuous improvement. The successful measures implemented at the Sulaymaniyah site are now being mirrored at Royal Can’s Baghdad plant, ensuring that the benefits of the collaboration extend well beyond a single production line.
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