BALL CORPORATION STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF THE LARGEST ALUMINUM CONTAINER MANUFACTURING PLANT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The multinational Ball Corporation has already started the construction of what will be the largest aluminum can manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom. With this new commitment, the American company has decided to invest heavily in this new state-of-the-art facility in order to meet the growing demand for infinitely recyclable aluminum beverage cans in the UK and globally.

This new facility, located in Kettering, will be the largest beverage manufacturing plant ever commissioned in the UK. The headquarters, which will have an area of around 56,000 square meters, will have extra space to expand production in the future. In its first year of operation, the facility will produce more than one billion fully recyclable cans and generate 200 local jobs.

Carey Causey, president of Ball Beverage Packaging Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEA) details that “as environmental awareness increases, consumers are insisting on more sustainable beverage packaging. This new facility, in one of the UK’s best-known manufacturing locations, will help us support our customers’ growth by creating fully recyclable cans that can play a role in a truly circular economy and support the local community.”

Aluminum cans are currently the most recycled beverage containers in the world, with a UK recycling rate of 82% and a European average of 76%. Ball, whose climate change plan has been approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative, is building the Kettering plant in accordance with BREEAM’s ‘Excellent’ Environmental and Sustainability Standards. Other features include a rainwater harvesting system and innovative technology to mitigate machinery exhaust emissions.

The Kettering facility will be Ball’s third can plant in the UK, adding to the plants already operating in Milton Keynes and Wakefield and bringing the new total in the EMEA region to 26. The latter plant is expected to be fully operational in early 2023.