Ball to Expand Alumi-Tek Bottle Production in North America

Adding Alumi-Tek manufacturing capability to our Golden plant will help us supply our customers' growing need for this innovative beverage package.

Oct 6 2010 --- Ball Corporation announced it is expanding production of its light weight Alumi-Tek bottle to meet strong customer demand in North America. The company's Golden, Colo., metal beverage packaging plant will begin making Alumi-Tek bottles in the second half of 2011. Ball's Monticello, Ind., plant has been producing the reclosable, recyclable Alumi-Tek bottles for beverage customers since 2006.

"The commercial success of our Alumi-Tek bottle as a value-added package for premium beverages continues to drive volume for Ball," said Michael L. Hranicka, president of Ball's North American metal beverage packaging, Americas, division. "This is a distinctive package that adds the convenience of reclosability and a bottle feel to the long list of aluminum can attributes, such as superior shelf life, the ability to chill quickly, shatter resistance and 100 percent recyclability. Adding Alumi-Tek manufacturing capability to our Golden plant will help us supply our customers' growing need for this innovative beverage package."

Ball leverages its two-piece aluminum beverage can manufacturing expertise to produce the Alumi-Tek bottle because the manufacturing technology for both packages is very similar. The bottles have the same high quality graphics found on cans and are decorated with the same printing process.

The Alumi-Tek expansion in Golden will utilize existing space within the facility. Ball's Golden plant currently produces aluminum beverage cans and ends.

Ball is the largest producer of specialty beverage cans in North America, providing more than 20 sizes to its customers as well as innovative packages such as the Ball Reclosable End, enhanced can graphics and Alumi-Tek. Specialty beverage cans account for about 15 percent of Ball's beverage can business.