BROOMFIELD, Colo., Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation
[NYSE:BLL], the leading supplier of metal beverage cans and bottles
in the world, today opened an expansion of the company's Graphics
Center of Excellence (GCOE) in Westminster, Colo.
Ball's GCOE delivers high-quality can graphics, customer
convenience and among the fastest pilot turnaround in the beverage
metal packaging industry to Ball's local, national and global
customers.
"As more global consumers make recyclable cans their package of
choice, advanced graphics capabilities have become vital for brands
seeking to stand out on retail shelves and capture
sustainability-conscious consumers," said Jim Peterson, Ball's vice president, marketing
and corporate affairs. "Beverage cans offer a 360-degree billboard
for brands to reach consumers. Our expanded GCOE, along with
smaller sister facilities in Europe and Asia, leverage the advantages of the can and
provide industry-leading graphics that help build brands."
Ball's Colorado GCOE combines the company's extensive metal
packaging experience, brand-building creativity and
state-of-the-art technology to deliver inclusive one-stop
design-to-printed-can service to customers. It features a pilot
line for both graphic testing and color standards and offers a
variety of printing capabilities, including:
- Eyeris™ Enhanced Graphics printing that brings improved
definition and fine detail to beverage can graphics, creating
premium, on-shelf differentiation.
- Dry offset printing, which uses a digital print head that
prints top quality design with a resolution of 600dpi directly on
to the can surface, lessening dry time of the can and improving
graphics quality.
- High definition printing that brilliantly holds fine detail of
a can's artwork, greatly improving consumer appeal.
- Matte printing that adds dimension and differentiates cans with
a distinctive, premium look.
- Thermochromic inks that use temperature sensitive external inks
to indicate to consumers when a beverage is at its optimal
temperature to enjoy.
"Customers can fly to Colorado
to approve their can standards, and if they require changes to the
graphics -- and we prepared them -- we can make the changes and get
back on press the same day," said Janelle
Harris, director, North American graphic services for Ball.
"Typically it would take 2-3 weeks for the changes and possibly
another 4-6 weeks before the presses roll again. But with
everything under one roof at Ball, ideas get to market faster."
Ball Corporation is a supplier of high quality packaging for
beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace
and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S.
government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than
14,500 people worldwide and reported 2010 sales of more than
$7.6 billion. For the latest Ball
news and for other company information, please visit
http://www.ball.com.
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 on our website 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; 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; mandatory
deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major
customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or
supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in
foreign exchange rates or tax rates. 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
recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk,
asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful
acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax,
environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and
other actions affecting products filled in our containers, or
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; uncertainties
surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; reduced cash
flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited
results due to statutory audits or other effects.
SOURCE Ball Corporation