Bevcraft Group acquire mobile canning business in UK

Europe’s largest mobile canner will now operate a fleet of 15 lines serving seven countries

Bevcraft Group has today completed the acquisition of the mobile canning business of Them That Can.

Them That Can’s mobile fleet, equipment and associated crews will join Bevcraft’s UK division and the enlarged offering will operate as Craft Canning UK.

There will be continuity of service to all existing Them That Can mobile customers.

The transfer will allow the management of Them That Can to focus on opportunities in the static canning market and to benefit from access to Bevcraft’s supply chain for those retained activities.

Bevcraft

Bevcraft has developed the most extensive integrated craft can supply chain in Europe and has mobile canning, can distribution and decoration facilities in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.

These are complemented by laboratory, technical support and line servicing centres.

Recently Bevcraft commissioned Europe’s first Tonejet Digital Print plant at its Peterborough site. It provides an environmentally sustainable, economic and versatile decoration option for cans, entirely free of minimum order restrictions.

Launched with an initial 330ml capability, it will expand to include 440ml and 500ml next quarter.

Those services will be immediately available to all existing Them That Can customers.

The Bevcraft team will increase to close to 40 people across all divisions and support further investment in client services, engineering, laboratory and digital print divisions.

Comments

Darren Fenton, COO of the Bevcraft Group, said: “The UK craft beer market is one of the most vibrant and exciting in the world and for the last six years Them That Can has worked hard to create the UK’s leading mobile canning service.”

“Mobile canning is a visible activity and one which demands best practice and attention to detail. We have for years been investing in testing protocols, quality operating standards and maximum transparency across our network – values shared by Them That Can which we look forward to continuing and building upon.”

In relation to the market Ciarán Gorman, CFO of the Bevcraft Group, said: “Craft beer has come a long way since the first mobile canners popped up in the US a decade ago. Today there is a greater range of requirements than ever before as breweries try to right-size their packaging capabilities to the market.

“It is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, which is why Bevcraft has focused on creating a complete menu of commitment-free solutions.

“Our job is to make mobile canning as convenient, cost-effective and flexible as possible for breweries as they scale from zero up towards a million units a year, and if the time comes to give in-house a go, we are there to deliver whatever elements they need, from can supply to support and training.”

Ciarán said that one of the most interesting patterns over the last year has been an increase in demand for mobile canning from breweries that experimented with ‘in-house’ canning and have since found it more economic to revert to mobile canning to eliminate the headache of sourcing cans, managing decoration, retaining quality canning crews and to release the capital tied up in equipment.

Transaction details

Bevcraft Group used RBK (Athlone) for corporate finance requirements on the transaction and Royds Withy King (Bath, UK) for legal advice.

Consideration for the transaction is not disclosed. Acquisition management and integration will be led by Henry Reilly and Michael Briody, who are part of Bevcraft’s senior management team.