, earlier '''Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co.''' is an American company famous for producing glass
Canning jars. Founded in
1880 , it is currently headquartered in
Broomfield, Colorado . The company has expanded into avionics, computer monitors, space systems, metal beverage containers and plastic containers.
In 1880, two
Ball Brothers , Frank and Edmund, borrowed $200 from their Uncle George, a minister, to go into business selling wood-jacketed tin containers to hold paint, varnishes and kerosene. This loan enabled them to purchase the Wooden Jacket Can Company and its patents from A.W. Aldrich.
In 1884, three more brothers, George, Lucius and William, joined the company and it was renamed to Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company and they started making their famous Home Canning Jar. In 1887, they moved their business to Muncie, Indiana to take advantage of a natural gas boom in the Midwest as natural gas is a critical component in the making of glass jars. There they would stay until moving to Broomfield, Colorado in 1998.
After 92 years as a family-owned business, Ball went public on
July 13 ,
1972 , and its stock was traded
Over The Counter . On
December 17 ,
1973 , when the stock was admitted for trading on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLL and began trading at $26 a share.
In 1909, the first Ball Blue Book was printed featuring home canning recipes and techniques.
In 1956, Ball formed Ball Brothers Research Corporation to produce goods and services for the aerospace sector. This was converted to a wholly owned subsidiary,
Ball Aerospace And Technology Corporation , in 1995.
In 1993, Ball spun off part of its glass business to
Alltrista Co .
In 1994, Ball began manufacturing PET plastic containers. In 1996, Ball spun off its glass container business to Ball-Foster Glass Container Co. and exited the glass business.
In 2002, Ball acquired Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, the German-based metal beverage company, and created Ball Packaging Europe.
