Rob Fyfe has invested in a series of start-ups. Photo / Doug Sherring
Rob Fyfe has invested in a series of start-ups. Photo / Doug Sherring
Business leader Rob Fyfe is investing in his biggest start-up yet, a $100 million-plus aluminium can plant he says will fill a gap in a fast-growing market.
The former Air New Zealand boss is leading a group of private investors in Recorp, a beverage can manufacturing company which will raisethe balance of funding in the coming months.
Construction is under way on its South Auckland plant and the company is on track to be in commercial production by early 2024. The plant will initially be capable of producing 500 million cans a year, which is from about a third to more than half of current production capability in this country.
It is estimated the market is growing at about 7 per cent a year, constrained by the lack of supply of cans which are increasingly popular in the beverage industry. The global can market is estimated to be worth more than $70 billion.
Fyfe says the company will produce the most sustainable cans in the country, initially importing aluminium with a higher percentage of recycled material than used by two existing manufacturers. It would then move to smelting down cans itself, meaning they wouldn’t have to be shipped offshore for processing.
He said implementation of a proposed container rebate scheme being investigated by the Ministry for the Environment would help boost recycling at a time when there was a lot of talk about sustainability, but which was not always matched by action.
‘’I have a degree of frustration at times. I see lots of talk about targets, emissions trading schemes and carbon offsets, but what I don’t actually see is enough done or people moving fast enough to make a difference,’’ said Fyfe.
He and his wife Sara have invested in a series of start-ups during the last seven years, ranging from skincare products to new technology nail guns, and he says the nine-figure scale of the Recorp venture is much bigger than previous investments.
He is the chairman of Recorp whose other shareholders want to remain ‘’under the radar’' for now. The company is rebuilding an existing factory in South Auckland where there could be up to 150 jobs created when the plant is in full production.
Fyfe, whose other roles include chairman of Michael Hill and being on the board of Air Canada, said his interest in can-making was piqued after talking to a friend in the beverage sector and seeing the rapid growth in the use of cans overseas, where plastic bottles are facing bans from sports grounds and hotels.
He’s dived deep into the sector as Recorp gears up to raise funds. Some plastic is difficult to recycle, while compared to glass, Fyfe says aluminium can be re-smeltered using half the heat and suffering less waste than glass.
Can manufacturing is estimated as being a more than $70 billion business globally. Photo / 123RF
‘’Ninety one per cent of plastic is never recycled, ending up in our landfills, roads, national parks, waterways and coastal areas,’’ he said.
‘’I’ve got a bunch of people that I know to build this business plan, so we’ve decided to push the button and move forward. We’re relatively advanced.’’
Production equipment had been ordered from the United States and Europe. The 20,000sq m building was having its roof raised to fit it in.
‘’That’s a pretty substantial undertaking.’’
Melting down aluminium for recycling in New Zealand would come after Recorp was producing out of material from other sources.
‘’We would look to align the timing of when we move to that phase of our operation to coincide with the container deposit scheme coming into fruition, which the Government’s targeting for 2025,’’ he said.
‘’My understanding is that idea has support from both sides of the house.”
The company believes there’s room for another can manufacturer, with two others already based in New Zealand.
Fyfe said that in the last year, 200 million cans needed to be imported from Australia.
Steve Lacey, general manager of Recorp, said the company is committed to capturing the best industry innovations that have emerged over the last decade.
“Aluminium cans are the fastest growing beverage category in New Zealand, with demand increasing by in excess of 100 million cans per annum and we believe there is ample opportunity for a New Zealand-owned business to operate alongside the two Australian-owned subsidiaries currently manufacturing all the cans made in New Zealand,” Lacey said.
