Ball to Showcase PET Plastic Wine Bottles at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium
January 19 2006 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Innovative
packaging is playing an increasingly important role in the growing
wine category as consumers seek greater convenience, variety or an
easy way to try something new. Building on this need, Ball
Corporation (NYSE:BLL) will present both its stock and custom PET
wine bottles at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in
Sacramento, Calif., January 24-26. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060119/LATHV002-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060119/LATHV002-b ) Designed
using input from consumers, wineries, distributors and venue
operators, Ball's PET wine bottles combine the premium look and
feel of glass with the modern convenience of plastic. They are an
ideal vehicle for brand owners who want to target usage occasions
like travel and outdoor venues where glass is not allowed. Because
the plastic bottles weigh less than glass bottles, there also is an
opportunity for cost savings on freight and distribution. "Sales of
single-serve, 187 ml wine bottles grew nearly 20 percent last
year," says Jerry Rosenow, national wine category manager for Ball.
"The size is just right for today's growing portion of smaller
households and consumers for whom a 750ml bottle is just too much
for the occasion." In addition to its stock containers, Ball
designed a custom 187 ml PET wine bottle for Sutter Home Winery
which preserves the look of the existing Sutter Home glass
container. The winery launched four varieties in the PET 187 ml
bottles into select markets last fall and continues to expand
distribution. "We already had a single serve size in our 187 ml
glass bottles and believed that adding PET would only increase the
level of convenience for consumers and expand our package mix in
line with market demands," says Wendy Nyberg, senior director of
marketing for Sutter Home. "We are very pleased with consumer
acceptance so far. We see this as an opportunity to capitalize on
our existing brand awareness and grow our market share as well."
Ball designed the Sutter Home bottles to run on the winery's
existing glass lines in order to minimize the need for change parts
and simplify filling. "The transition into PET has been very smooth
overall," says Nyberg. "We have had great support from Ball
throughout the development, testing and production process." Ball
will exhibit with PackagingARTS at the Unified Wine and Grape
Symposium in booth #842 and will display its PET and aluminum wine
packaging. Ball Corporation is a supplier of metal and plastic
packaging products, primarily for the beverage and food industries.
The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.,
which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for
government and commercial markets. Ball Corporation employs more
than 13,500 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains
"forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial
performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates,"
and variations of same 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 in Exhibit
99.2 in our Form 10-K. These filings are available at our Web site
and at http://www.sec.gov/. Factors that might affect our packaging
segments include fluctuation in consumer and customer 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; fruit, vegetable and fishing
yields; industry productive capacity and competitive activity;
failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or
production cost reductions, including those associated with our
beverage can end project; the German mandatory deposit or other
restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier
contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; changes in
foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign
subsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO accounting. Factors that might
affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization,
availability and returns of government contracts; and delays,
extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts.
Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those
listed plus: acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures;
regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental and
workplace safety; 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; reduced cash flow; interest rates
affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to
statutory audits or other effects.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060119/LATHV002-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060119/LATHV002-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Ball Corporation CONTACT:
Investors, Ann. T. Scott, +1-303-460-3537, , or Media, Jennifer
Hoover, +1-303-460-5541, , both of Ball Corporation Web site:
http://www.ball.com/
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