Ball closes PET bottle plants

Ball Corporation announced that it will permanently cease manufacturing operations at polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle plants in Baldwinsville, New York, and Watertown, Wisconsin and supply customers of those plants from larger Ball facilities.

“Baldwinsville and Watertown are the smallest PET bottle manufacturing plants in our system,” said John A. Hayes, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “With the industry slowdown of demand for monolayer PET containers, it is important that we continue to focus on ensuring our cost base is competitive.”

The Baldwinsville plant opened in 1996 and operates seven production lines capable of making approximately 1 billion bottles annually. It employs 113. The plant is scheduled to cease manufacturing by July 7.

The Watertown plant operates four production lines with an annual capacity of approximately 250 million bottles and employs 52. It is scheduled to cease manufacturing by June 7.

As a result, an after-tax charge of approximately $14 million will be recorded in the company’s second quarter results. Cost savings associated with these actions are expected to be approximately $12 million annually beginning in 2010.