05.07.2005

70 years beverage can: Prelude to Germany-wide anniversary programme

This year the beverage can is celebrating its 70th birthday - and in Germany it is also on the point of making a comeback.  Reason enough for the beverage can producer, Ball Packaging Europe, to launch an anniversary programme throughout Germany, backed by tinplate producer, Rasselstein GmbH.  Beverage cans are made of tinplate. 

Ratingen, 5 July 2005.

As a prelude to the programme, Ball Packaging Europe and Rasselstein today jointly extended an invitation to make a journey in time to the future: In Düsseldorf, a journey in a historic tram will mark the opening of an "exhibition for the public" - many of the Litfass advertising pillars around the city have been decorated with historic and exotic pictures of bevcans.  Over the coming weeks, the exhibition will also be on show in Bremen and Munich.  The Litfass advertising pillar is also celebrating a "round" birthday this year: It is 150 years old.

As part of the opening event, Ball Packaging Europe and Rasselstein GmbH will be handing over a donation to Magdalena Brzeska, German champion in rhythmic gymnastics 26 times over.  The donation is intended for the Deutscher Turner-Bund (German Gymnastics Association) which Magdalena Brzeska represents.  Sport promotion is an essential part of the anniversary programme.  Ball Packaging Europe is supporting the initiative "Deutschland bewegt sich!", backed by Barmer, Germany's largest health insurer, BILD am SONNTAG newspaper and the ZDF television channel.  As part of the sport initiative, the beverage can producer is travelling to Rostock, Erfurt and Dresden with the largest goal-shooting wall in the world.  The motto of this "Can Cup 2005" is: "Cool Can. Cool Tour." 

The third element of the anniversary programme is the "Comeback of the Year" campaign:  All grammar schools and universities throughout Germany can participate in the competition being run in collaboration with the student newspaper UNICUM.  Participants are asked to name the "coolest comeback of the year" in ten categories (food, drink, music, sport, film, fashion, moral values, home, leisure and job).  By indicating their respective favourites, they have a chance to win a Can Party which Ball Packaging Europe will supply. 

In 1935, the American Krueger brewery in Virginia filled beer into cans for the very first time.  Ball Packaging Europe (at the time still Schmalbach) launched the first can on the German market in 1951.  Following the introduction of the deposit on one-way containers in Germany in 2003, the beverage can disappeared almost completely from supermarket shelves for a short time.  Since the start of this summer, several retail chains have re-listed cans once again.  A uniform nation-wide redemption system for one-way containers is expected to be in place in 2006 which will ensure the return of the can. 

Ball Packaging Europe with its headquarters in Ratingen, near Düsseldorf, is one of the leading beverage can producers in Europe.

Can Cup 2005 Tour Dates

Rostock ,  Neuer Markt: 1.7.-3.7. , 

Erfurt , Domplatz: 8.7.-10.7.,

Dresden , Altmarkt: 5.8.-7.8.

Litfass Pillar Advertising:

Düsseldorf: 28.06. - 07.07.
Munich:    19.07. - 28.07.
Bremen:      02.08. - 11.08.

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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