18.09.2008

Enduring eye-catcher thanks to all-round styling:

Ball Packaging Europe at the BRAU Beviale 2008

Ratingen, 18th September 2008. New solutions for beverage can ends and technological innovation for stylish design: At the BRAU Beviale 2008 from 12th to 14th November - Hall 4 / Stand 109 - Ball Packaging Europe, one of the leading beverage can makers in Europe, is presenting containers which not only score with retailers and consumers for their stylish, fascinating design but also set new benchmarks for convenience and sustainability. Alongside the resealable beverage can, there is the innovative "Pure Brand End", a completely printable can end which opens up new options for can and brand design.

Apart from its high degree of convenience, the beverage can scores with brilliant printability, excellent cooling attributes, long shelf-life and good recyclability.  In terms of environmental friendliness, the can performs far better than its reputation. Proof of this is provided in the first sustainability report published by Ball in June 2008: It demonstrates amongst other things how continuous product and process innovation in particular significantly reduce the amount of material required for Ball Packaging Europe products and how this reduces the impact on the environment. 

Less material, more environment

One example of these endeavours is the production start-up of so-called "CDL+" can ends in Europe.  Their advantage over conventional standard can ends is the saving in feedstock: The circular aluminium disk, the so-called blank, is smaller in size. The can end is also thinner. Consequently less material is required to make a "CDL+" can end than a standard can end and this benefits the environment. Ball in the USA has been successfully producing "CDL+“ can ends since 2005. In September this can end will go into production on one line at the British Deeside plant - initially using one end press for a production volume of 750 million can ends annually. This output is set to double to 1.5 billion units in the first quarter 2009 when a second can end press will be installed. 

Resealable can takes off

Similarly promising is the probably most spectacular innovation in sealing technology over the past years: In March 2008, Ball Packaging Europe for the first time launched the resealable can on the market - an innovation which its designers are convinced has what it takes to permanently revolutionise the beverage can market. This innovative can end made of plastic and aluminium - the "Ball Resealable End“ – enables cans made of both steel and aluminium to be resealed after being first opened. For such containers which already score highly with brilliant printability, excellent cooling attributes, longer shelf-life and good recyclability, this is a decisive advantage.

Coca-Cola, the first customer for the resealable can, has been selling its energy drink "Burn" on the French market in such cans since the spring - causing quite a sensation and generating growing enthusiasm amongst retail partners. 

From Pure Brand End to Embossing: products with all-round styling

When it comes to design, Ball Packaging Europe fills a gap in the market with this new can end: Together with the Swedish inventor, Magnus Rönnberg, the company has developed a completely printable can end, opening up new options for can and brand design with this "Pure Brand End“: Graphics and images of persons now enhance the entire container, no longer omitting the end and drinking opening. A full-size foil which can be printed in up to 10 colours covers the entire can end - including seal and drinking opening. Despite this, opening the can is still mere child's play: The foil is pre-perforated at the end and drinking opening and therefore adheres firmly to the metal.  The Can is 100 percent recyclable. What is more important, however, the printed can end is an eye-catcher at the point of sale, making the can a lifestyle product with all-round styling.

Premium design with a high degree of convenience is offered by the embossing technique which Ball Packaging Europe uses in particular for premium types of beer. Since March, Heineken beer brands Pelforth Blonde and Brune have been sold on the French market in three-dimensionally embossed, matt varnished half-litre cans supplied by Ball Packaging Europe. Using the special embossing technique, certain details of the design are raised three-dimensionally by pressing the surrounding sections inwards. In this way, the technology haptically enhances the design of the beverage cans and at the same time underlines the premium quality of the beer. Ball Packaging Europe is the leading supplier of embossed beverage cans throughout Europe based on sales volume and technology. The beer mix drink "Desperados" is another Heineken product which finds its way on to retail shelves in this specially embossed type of can.

Ball Packaging Europe

Ball Packaging Europe is one of the leading beverage can producers in Europe with 2,700 employees and twelve production sites in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland and Serbia. The company is a subsidiary of Ball Corporation which produces high quality metal and plastic packaging for customers in the beverage, food and household goods industries. In addition Ball Corporation supplies aerospace technology as well as other technologies predominantly to the US-American government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 15,500 staff worldwide and reported a turnover of some 7.4 billion US $ for 2007. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available at our Web site and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials, including recent significant increases in resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass such increases on to customers; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the current global credit squeeze; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

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