Ball Corporation drives growth with sustainable aluminum focus

Ball Corporation’s acquisition of Alucan, an aluminum packaging company based in both Europe and the U.S., is a big deal for the scrap metal industry, especially as demand rises for sustainability. This move lets Ball double down on environmentally friendly practices by adding two major facilities in Spain and Belgium. These new plants will enable Ball to increase production for customers who want greener packaging, and they bring cutting-edge tech to help lighten their products and up the recycled content. In other words, Ball’s aiming to keep more aluminum in the loop, which is great news for recyclers and scrap processors.

The recycled metals community stands to benefit from this in a couple of ways. With Ball expanding production of high recycled content aluminum cans and bottles, the demand for high quality scrap is only going to go up. In the longer term, this acquisition could mean stronger partnerships between companies like Ball and scrap suppliers to secure consistent, high grade recycled materials, which is becoming more important as more companies lean into circular supply chains.

Ball’s third-quarter report shows they’re staying strong on their path of growth and commitment to sustainable aluminum packaging. With U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share slightly up from last year, and a solid increase in comparable EPS, Ball is focused on consistent returns to shareholders. They’ve already returned $1.25 billion in the first nine months of 2024 and expect to exceed $1.6 billion by the end of the year. As CEO Daniel Fisher put it, Ball’s financial strength and leaner model positions them well to drive greater use of sustainable aluminum packaging, which is a critical focus as consumer demand for sustainable options continues to rise.

This move boosts Ball’s presence in Europe with the new manufacturing sites in Belgium and Spain, setting them up to meet increased demand for aluminum packaging driven by legislation in some countries. With ongoing improvements across their North America, EMEA, and South America regions, Ball is positioned to keep up their solid performance. CFO Howard Yu emphasized that the team is fully focused on delivering strong cash flow and consistent returns to shareholders, which keeps Ball on track for growth in 2024 and beyond.

The acquisition of Alucan also lines up with what we’re seeing from other major players in the industry. For instance, Novelis has been scaling up its aluminum recycling facilities globally, with recent investments in new recycling centers in South Korea and the U.S. Their goal is to get as much recycled content as possible into their products to cut down on carbon emissions. Likewise, Constellium has been ramping up its recycling efforts, particularly at its European facilities, where they’re adding capacity to handle more scrap and supply the automotive and packaging markets. Both Novelis and Constellium, like Ball, are heavily invested in reducing their environmental footprint through recycled aluminum.