Ball Corp. announces closure of beverage can plant on St. Paul’s West Side

Frederick Melo, Pioneer Press
·1 min read

Citing inflation-related expenses and reduced customer demand regionally, the Ball Corp., an international manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans, announced Thursday it will shutter its plant on St. Paul’s West Side.

The announcement did not list the number of impacted employees, but Minnesota Public Radio reported that the plant, which is located on Eva Street, just north of Plato Boulevard, employs some 110 workers.

In a written release, Ball officials said manufacturing costs have gone up, and retailers passing on inflationary expenses to customers had resulted in “the deceleration in customer demand late in the second quarter.” As a result, Ball will delay construction of a new beverage can manufacturing facility in North Las Vegas, Nev., and stop production at its Phoenix and St. Paul locations “to address localized supply/demand imbalances.”

In September 2018, the St. Paul Port Authority noted on social media that the St. Paul location produces “5.5 million cans each day for just our region.”

Elsewhere, the Colorado-based company is expanding its physical footprint in some markets. Ball announced that the planned construction of new beverage can manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Peru remain on track.

In addition, Ball’s aerospace division plans to proceed with the production and testing of a space weather monitoring satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, SWFO-L1, which is expected to launch in 2025.

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