Ball Corp to shut down metal coating and sheeting operations at Hamilton, ON facility

Ball Corp. (Broomfield, CO, U.S.A.) has decided to shut down its two-piece aluminum beverage can manufacturing line at its Richmond, B.C., Canada plant as well as its metal coating and sheeting operations at its Hamilton, ON, Canada facility.

The Hamilton facility, which is located within 15 minutes of Dofasco, a major steel mill, is a feeder facility for the company's plants in Richmond, B.C. and Baie d'Urfe, Quebec, Canada. It also provides sheeting and coating assistance for Ball's Burlington, ON, three-piece welded food can and food can end manufacturing plant, and for many U.S.-based food can plants. They have also provided their sheeting and coating services to external customers as well.

Ball plans to consolidate Hamilton's sheeting and coating requirements into other Ball facilities. In addition, the company will slowly reduce coating and sheeting operations until shut down, scheduled for March, 2001. However, the facility will continue to manufacture metal food cans for salmon and vegetable packaging and will house the company's Canadian administrative offices. A warehouse for Ball's packaging products will also remain on-site. One hundred of the 120 employees at the Hamilton plant will be affected.

The Richmond plant, which supplies all of Canada's salmon can needs as well as 20% of the Alaskan market, also manufactures drawn and ironed beer and beverage cans, single-draw/redraw salmon cans, and other welded cans. Eighty of its 150 employees will be affected when the manufacturing line is closed down by the end of the year.

Ball, a packaging leader for many years, currently manufactures metal beverage cans, metal food cans and PET plastic bottles. Well-known for its Ball-brand home canning jars (which they no-longer manufacture), Ball has also decided to shut down its can manufacturing in Salisbury, NC, U.S.A. and other locations in an effort to keep operating costs low and to operate efficiently.