Three to Four Million Lids Made Per Day in Muncie!

Recently, I spent a pleasant lunch hour talking about the Ball family and the history of the company with approximately forty Jarden Home Brand employees. Jarden, of course, holds the license to make Ball jars. The company also manufactures the lids and bands for all canning jars at a facility located on the former site of Ball Brothers Company at Memorial Drive and Macedonia Avenue.

We began with the Ball brothers trying several businesses in Buffalo, and then we traveled with the Ball brothers to Muncie and talked about the gas boom, making glass, and the descendants of the brothers. Several of Jarden’s employees had worked for Ball while others were new to the company. They shared great stories and asked great questions.

Near the end of the lunch hour and after I answered questions, I asked two of my own. The first was “how many lids does Jarden produce a day?” The answer was amazing. On each of two shifts per day, Jarden produces between one million and 1.8 million lids. Wow! There’s a whole lot of canning going on.

My next question—where is the closest place to Muncie that Ball jars are made? The answer was gratifying. Ball jars are still being made at Anchor Glass Container Corporation (now part of the Ardagh Group) in Winchester.

Even though Ball Corporation is no longer headquartered in Muncie and no longer makes home canning products, it’s good to know that the industry hasn’t entirely left the area. Your lids are still made right here in Muncie, and many of your Ball jars are made just down the road in Winchester.