The prestigious award recognizes companies that have significantly contributed to the success of the Goddard Space Flight Center's mission. Ball Aerospace was commended in the large product category, for its program performance, process and safety, quality improvements, customer satisfaction, commitment to diversity, and continuous improvement for the three-year period from 2005 to 2007.
In making the award, Goddard Associate Division Chief, Robert S. Lebair, Jr., said, "In promoting quality to the Goddard mission, Ball Aerospace provided a wealth of technical evidence and excellent customer satisfaction documentation."
"It's an honor to receive this significant award for our contributions and commitment to Goddard," said David L. Taylor, president and CEO of Ball Aerospace. "We have been supporting NASA GSFC for nearly five decades, and strive continuously to improve program, cost, and schedule performance to further Goddard's mission and that of all our customers."
Ball Aerospace's collaboration with GSFC has resulted in a successful partnership on a wide range of programs including the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, the Operational Land Imager, the NPOESS Preparatory Project, QuickSCAT and ICESat, the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, and the Cosmic Background Explorer.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions of important national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. Over the past 50 years, Ball Aerospace has been responsible for numerous technological and scientific 'firsts' and acts as a technology innovator for the aerospace market.
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) is a supplier of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products for beverage, food and household customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 15,500 people worldwide and reported 2007 sales of $7.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available at our Web site and at http://www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials, including recent significant increases in resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass such increases on to customers; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions, including our beverage can end project; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; and changes in foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; integration of recently acquired businesses; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including in respect of chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.
Web site: http://www.ballaerospace.com/