Ball to Close Tampa Beverage Can Plant

Ball Corp. said yesterday that it will close one of the two beverage can manufacturing plants it currently operates in Tampa, FL. The closure is expected to occur later this year. Ball will continue to operate its other Tampa plant.

The plant to be closed was part of Ball's acquisition in August 1998 of the North American beverage can manufacturing assets of Reynolds Metals Co. The closure will not result in a charge to Ball's earnings.

George Matsik, president of Ball Corp. and COO, packaging, said the closure was being announced yesterday in order to give affected employees as much notice as possible in advance of such actions.

The 34-year-old plant, located on Malcolm McKinley Drive in Tampa, employs approximately 170 people. It features two production lines that produce approximately 1.5 billion aluminum beverage cans annually. Matsik said the plant's capacity will be absorbed by other Ball plants.