Ball, investor partner on new plant in effort to relieve can supply chain woes

WESTMINSTER — Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) and private equity investment firm Manna Capital Partners are joining forces to build an aluminum can sheet rolling mill and recycling center in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

The hope is the facility, in which Ball will hold a minority stake, will help create a “more robust and sustainable domestic supply chain for the growing beverage packaging market,” Ball said in a news release. 

Can users — craft beer brewers, for example — have been heavily impacted by supply-chain disruptions since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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“We look forward to partnering with Ball, a leader in the beverage packaging industry, to improve supply chain efficiencies through domestic production of more sustainable aluminum,” Manna managing partner Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman said in the release.

Ball’s focus on increasing the domestic supply of cans comes as the company is backing away from certain foriegn markets, namely Russia. 

The company decided in March to sell off its Russian assets as a result of that country’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

“Further increasing recycled content in our products is key to boosting our sustainability and securing domestic supply of our key raw material,” Ball CEO Dan Fisher said in the release. “This alliance complements the significant manufacturing investments Ball has made across the Southwest U.S. since 2020 to meet growing demand for sustainable beverage packaging, and we look forward to teaming up with Manna and its management team to help create a truly circular economy for aluminum can sheet, bring skilled jobs to the region, and help our customers meet their sustainability commitments.”