From Mason jars to Mars: How a canning company conquered the aerospace industry
In short: The Ball Corporation is synonymous with home canning, yet the company spent decades building satellites for NASA and complex aerospace systems. After pivoting from glass jars to aluminum packaging, the firm eventually exited the space race entirely to focus on its global dominance in sustainable metal beverage containers.
Founded in 1880 as the Wooden Jacket Can Company, the business began by manufacturing tin cans for kerosene. When acid caused the tin to corrode, the Ball brothers turned to glass, eventually becoming the dominant force in home canning. By 1939, they produced 54% of all canning jars in the United States. However, shifting market demands and antitrust restrictions in 1947 forced the company to diversify beyond its traditional glass-making roots.
The company's pivot into aerospace began in the 1950s, leading to the creation of the Ball Brothers Research Corporation. This division achieved significant milestones, including the 1962 launch of the OSO-1 satellite for NASA and the 2009 launch of the Kepler space telescope. Despite these successes, the company's core identity shifted back toward its industrial roots in metal packaging, bolstered by major acquisitions like the 2016 purchase of Rexam plc, which made Ball the world's largest producer of aluminum beverage cans.
Today, the Ball brand on mason jars is merely a licensed trademark owned by Newell Brands, as Ball exited the home-canning market in 1996. The company’s evolution culminated in 2024 with the $5.6 billion sale of Ball Aerospace to BAE Systems Inc. This strategic divestment allows the corporation to concentrate exclusively on low-carbon aluminum packaging, marking the end of its long, unconventional journey from a small-town glass manufacturer to a global aerospace player and back to a specialized packaging giant.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Ball Corporation
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