Technology
Ball Technology and Innovation Center (BTIC)
An on-going commitment to quality and innovation
Process innovations developed by Ball’s engineering and manufacturing teams have enriched customers’ abilities to ensure fresh and consistent taste in their product lines, ultimately mitigating and eliminating manufacturing-induced taste factors. Product innovations developed by Ball’s marketing teams have further distinguished customers’ brands by providing innovative, functional, and eye-catching containers for their products.
Ball’s innovation centers – in the United States, Germany and China – are ideally equipped to meet these customer needs by sharpening the focus of innovation efforts, maximizing efficiency and accelerating the pace of package development.
The Edmund F. Ball Technology & Innovation Center (BTIC) in Westminster, Colo., was originally dedicated in 1985, remodeled in 1997 and expanded in 2011 to accommodate the company’s metal packaging research labs and the Graphics Center of Excellence (GCOE). The 73,000-square-foot facility centralizes our metal can product development and metal decorating services, offering the full strength of Ball’s innovation, graphics, engineering and research capabilities in one location. The center allows us to integrate our new product development initiatives as well as support continuing technology advancements in existing processes and products.
With industry-leading platemaking equipment for conventional, computer-to-plate, or laser-engraved DLE (Stork) plates, BAll has doubled its plate shop's capacity and offers customers various printing techniques, including EyerisTM Enhanced Graphics, dry offset, high definition, matte and thermochromic printing.
A pilot line is also unique with continuous flow printing and "vision system," that enables the application of customer-approved standards to automatically detect and reject imperfect cans during pilot production. The facility features a customer lounge with SmartBoard/60" LCD panel, special lighting and paint to see true color.
Additional technology and innovation resources at the center include:
- Package design and rendering capabilities
- Environmental Room for testing products in the varying temperatures and humidities encountered in transport and regional sales
- A Failure Analysis team of forensic packaging experts to investigate consumer issues regarding packaging and product and identify root causes
