Ball Corporation has grown from a small producer of wooden-jacketed tin cans at its founding in 1880 to an international packaging and aerospace company. Ball is the largest maker of recyclable aluminum beverage cans in North America and one of the larger beverage and food can and PET bottle companies in the world. The company also operates Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which provides cutting edge scientific products and services to commercial and government customers.

Based in Broomfield, Colorado, near Denver, Ball entered the aluminum beverage can business in 1969 when it acquired Jeffco Manufacturing Company. In August 1998, Ball acquired the domestic beverage can business assets of Reynolds Metals Company, and in 2002 acquired Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, the second largest beverage can manufacturer in Europe. Today, Ball operates 20 beverage can and end manufacturing plants in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and 11 in Europe. The factories have an annual production capacity in excess of 45 billion cans. Ball also is the largest beverage can manufacturer in the People's Republic of China and has other beverage can manufacturing interests internationally.

Ball entered the metal food container business in the 1980s. In 1993, the company acquired Heekin Can, Inc., and became the third largest producer of metal food cans in the North American market. Ball manufactures more than 6 billion two- and three-piece food cans annually. Ball entered the PET plastic container business in 1994 and today operates five PET bottle plants that produce more than 6 billion bottles each year.

Ball Corporation's stock is sold on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BLL. The company's Web site can be found at www.ball.com.