Forbes - USA (2019-06-30)

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FORBES.COM JUNE 30, 20 19

A Man, a Can, a Plan

John Hayes, the chief executive of venerable jar maker Ball, has abandoned

glass and plastic. Is he crazy—or just ahead of his time?

By Kristin Stoller Photography by Tim Pannell for Forbes

Arizona iced tea, Truly spiked seltzer and Stem

rosé cider. Here, 6 million can bottoms a day are

forged and shipped off with tops to beverage pro-

ducers. Every one is aluminum.

Ball Corporation made its name in the 1880s

with glass mason jars and, in time, got into all

manner of glass and plastic containers. But John

Hayes, Ball’s chief executive, has sworn off those

two materials. Apart from some aerospace work

for the government, Ball gets all its $11.6 billion

In an 11-acre factory in

Golden, Colorado, stacks of multicolored empty

cans loom 50 feet overhead. Every few minutes,

a forklift zooms by to pluck future containers of

I

Metal Head

Ball CEO John Hayes

in a warehouse in

Golden, Colorado.

He’s got a big menu:

this twist-off and

39 other kinds of

aluminum drink cans.

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