New bottle attracts attention

Exal says it is the largest ready-to-drink aluminum bottle in North America and a market first.

STAFF AND WIRE reports

YOUNGSTOWN — Exal Corp. has won an exclusive contract to make 22-ounce aluminum beer bottles for the 16 Mile Brewing Co., a regional brewer located in Georgetown, Del.

Exal Corp. of Youngstown developed the bottle, which it says is the largest ready-to-drink aluminum bottle in North America and a market first.

“An aluminum bottle’s lighter weight means lower shipping costs, and its manufacturing process provides a more consistent, uniform size,” says 16 Mile owner Brett McCrea, citing the advantages of the container over glass.

McCrea and his partner, Chad Campbell, discovered in their research that the single largest reason for downtime in the bottling process was bottle breakage on the production line. “We wanted to eliminate the traditional problems associated with glass right from the start,” Campbell said.

Also, separate labels are no longer necessary, reducing total package cost and line downtime. Exal’s manufacturing process allows for vibrant, dynamic design options over the full surface of the container. The owners agree that the product’s colorful graphics and large size have been opening doors with retailers.

“It really jumps out at customers in the beer aisle,” said McCrea.

16 Mile will sell in individual bottles and cases.

According to Delfin Gibert, Exal president and chief executive officer, his company has seen an increase in aluminum bottle sales to the beverage industry over the last 24 months.

Exal has created aluminum bottles for many of the country’s major brewers, but 16 Mile is the first brewery to package product exclusively in aluminum bottles from day one of operations, Gibert said.

Until now, aluminum bottles were available in sizes up to about 18 ounces, providing marketers with a new option for use in occasions where larger sizes are desirable, officials said.

Exal’s manufacturing facilities are located in Youngstown, where it has about 389 employees, and in Argentina, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Poland and Mexico. The firm employs about 1,300 worldwide.

The company does not expect to add equipment or employees at the Youngstown plant, located at One Performance Place, because of the new product line.

“The 16 Mile 22-ounce bottle is really our first step, with a small marketer, using a new, larger bottle size. While we see good opportunity for the new size, we are not at a point where this product will have an impact on our overall business at this time,” said Edward B. Martin, company spokesman.

Exal Corp. is a manufacturer of extruded aluminum packaging and coil-based metal packaging container products in North America and Europe and is the leading independent contract manufacturer of aerosol products and liquids in Latin America.

alcorn@vindy.com