Aluminum can change could have costly impact at local breweries
No matter what local brewery you prefer, it could soon cost more to drink local because one of the world's largest aluminum can suppliers says changes are coming.
Ball Corp. announced last week it’s lifting the minimum number of cans certain producers must order and is also raising prices.
Starting on Jan. 1, the company will require contract customers order no fewer than five truckloads of beer -- about 1.2 million cans. The previous minimum was 1 truckload per product.
Les Stewart, the chief brewing officer at Trophy Brewing Company, said the change will impact breweries across the board.
Stewart said that, while Trophy Brewing doesn't buy from Ball Corp. specifically, usually, when one big company makes changes, the rest will follow.
"It really makes me fear for the future for us, but also for our friends in the industry that have relied on Ball in particular," said Stewart.
Stewart said Trophy Brewing has several locations, and five truckloads is still way too much for them.
That means smaller businesses will be looking at a six-figure purchase.
"Going through five truckloads would be an insurmountable amount of cash out the door for any reasonably small-size brewery," he said.
Stewart added that small breweries will have to quickly get creative, since they'll have no choice but to look for third-party suppliers.
"We would be lucky to go through five truckloads a year, so almost everyone smaller than us, you’d be looking at taking on years and years worth of supplies if you had to purchase five truckloads at a time," said Stewart.
Ball Corp. also said it would no longer be able to store excess cans from those non-contract customers in its warehouses.
Brewing companies will also have to keep that in mind as well.
"It’s both a logistical challenge [and] a financial challenge. It's a tough world right now," said Stewart.
Ball Corp. will also be increasing the price per can by nearly 50 percent for some non-contract customers.
According to Stewart, that would be about 25 to 50 cents per can for consumers.
