10.11.2004

New Compound for Can End

Ball Packaging Europe sole supplier of innovative can end solution

Nuremberg, November 10, 2004. This month, cans with ends incorporating a new type of compound are being launched on the market for the first time. 
To date, Ball Packaging Europe is the sole supplier of this end solution for beverage cans.  The Spanish compound producer, La Artistica, a subsidiary of ALTANA Chemie AG, developed the can end compound jointly with Ball Packaging Europe.

A specific feature of the can end with the new compound is excellent flavour neutrality, making it particularly suitable for sensitive products such as carbonated mineral water.  The compound used for the can end is made of natural raw materials.  The can still offers the same sealing properties as previous can solutions.

 "We are the only producer able to offer our customers these excellent performance features, thanks to this innovation", explains Rob Miles, Vice President Marketing at Ball Packaging Europe. 

The new compound has completed a thorough test phase and has been certified by the authoritative European food institutes for the European and American markets.  All brand beverage producers have also positively approved the compound.  Extensive test panels have confirmed in particular the excellent results in respect of flavour neutrality, even with carbonated mineral water.  The initial introduction on trial markets proved successful.

Since November 2004, the can ends have been produced on a commercial scale at the Ball Packaging Europe plant in Braunschweig and will be progressively offered to all customers during 2005.  This production facility supplies fillers throughout Europe.  

Printable photographic material relating to this press release can be found in our Image Database. (www.ball-europe.com, section “Press”. Please input picture number 080194 in the full text search.)

You can visit Ball Packaging Europe at the Brau Beviale 2004, Nuremberg, Hall 4, Stand 109

Forward-Looking Statements
The information in this news release contains "forward-looking" statements. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those expressed or implied. As time passes, the relevance and accuracy of forward-looking statements contained in this release may change. The company currently does not intend to update any particular forward-looking statement except as it deems necessary at quarterly or annual release of earnings. Please refer to the Form 10-Q filed by Ball Corporation on November 10, 2003, for a summary of key risk factors that could affect actual results or outcomes. Factors that might affect the packaging segments of the company are: fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; competitive packaging material availability, pricing and substitution; the weather; fruit, vegetable and fishing yields; company and industry productive capacity and competitive activity; lack of productivity improvement or production cost reductions; regulatory action or laws, including the German mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws and environmental and workplace safety regulations; availability and cost of raw materials, energy and transportation; the ability or inability to pass on to customers changes in these costs, particularly resin, steel and aluminium; pricing and ability or inability to sell scrap; international business risks (including foreign exchange rates and tax rates) particularly in the United States, Europe and in developing countries such as China and Brazil; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors that may affect the aerospace segment are: funding, authorisation and availability of government contracts and the nature and continuation of those contracts; and technical uncertainty associated with aerospace segment contracts. Factors that could affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: successful and unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures and the integration activities associated therewith including the integration and operation of the business of Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, now known as Ball Packaging Europe; the inability to purchase the company's common stock; insufficient or reduced cash flow; regulatory action or laws including those related to corporate governance and financial reporting, regulations and standards; actual and estimated business consolidation and investment costs and the net realisable value of assets associated with these activities; goodwill impairment; changes in generally accepted accounting principles or their interpretation; litigation; antitrust, intellectual property, consumer and other issues; strikes; boycotts; increases in various employee benefits and labour costs, specifically pension, medical and health care costs incurred in the countries in which Ball has operations; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; interest rates and level of company debt, including floating rate debt; terrorist activities, war or catastrophic events that disrupt or impact production, supply or pricing of the company's goods and services, including raw materials and energy costs, or disrupt or impact the credit and financing of the company's businesses; and U.S. and foreign economic conditions.

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