Ball in Talks to Close Can Plant in Wallkill, New York

The world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum cans is considering closing another production facility.

Ball Corporation announced today that it has notified employees and union representatives of the potential closure of its plant in Wallkill, New York, as part of its collective bargaining agreement.

“Space, land and equipment limitations make expansion and upgrades to this facility difficult,” the company said in a press release. “To increase production and enable growth of contracted customers, Ball is exploring closure of the Wallkill plant and supplying the unique sizes from other facilities that can produce them.”

If Ball does close the Wallkill facility, it would be the third in less than a year. In August, Ball said it would permanently close production facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, in Q4 2022 and St. Paul, Minnesota, in Q1 2023, while delaying construction of a new plant in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Wallkill facility opened in 1972, and the facility produces several “unique can sizes where Ball is the sole supplier.”

“Contemplating a plant closure is never easy as it impacts our people. Because of our extensive plant network, we have the ability to modify existing lines to produce these unique sizes,” Kathleen Pitre, Ball’s president of beverage packaging for North and Central America, said in the release. “We are exploring the best way to match the growing and changing needs of our contracted customers with our extensive plant footprint.”

Should Ball close the Wallkill facility, the company said it “can leverage its system of 20 metal beverage container plants across the region to serve its multiple customers with the most sustainable packaging solution in the beverage supply chain.”

For the full year 2022, Ball’s overall net earnings were $719 million on sales of $15.35 billion, a decline from $878 million on sales of $13.81 billion in 2021.