Exhibit 99.1

Contacts:                 Ball Corporation        Group Saint-Gobain
                          Harold Sohn             Nicole Grisoni-Bachelier
                          317/747-6483            (Paris, France)
                                                  47-62-30-52


                       New Glass Container Company Formed

          MUNCIE,  Ind.,  Sept.  18, 1995 --  Ball-Foster  Glass  Container Co.,
L.L.C.,  a joint venture of Ball Corporation and Paris-based  Saint-Gobain,  has
officially begun operations.  The company  manufactures glass containers for the
food and beverage industry for customers throughout the United States.

          The new  company  is now  the  second  largest  U.S.  glass  container
manufacturer.  It is owned 58 percent by Saint-Gobain and 42 percent by Ball and
combines the assets of Ball Glass Container Corporation (a Ball subsidiary) with
the assets of American National Can's Foster-Forbes glass container business.

          Headquartered  in  Muncie,  Ind.,  Ball-Foster  Glass  Container  Co.,
L.L.C., has 22 manufacturing facilities in 15 states and has approximately 8,500
employees.  It is estimated that the company's 1995 sales will be  approximately
$1.5 billion.

          Herbert H.  Thompson,  previously a senior vice  president of American
National Can, is president and chief executive officer of the new venture.  Says
Thompson, "I'm extremely enthusiastic about being part of this operation.  Ball,
Foster-Forbes  and Saint-Gobain  each have special  strengths,  and Ball -Foster
will benefit from all three."

          George A. Sissel,  Ball's  president and CEO,  says,  "The new company
will have considerable resources and an enhanced ability to focus on meeting the
needs  of  the  glass  customers.  The  creation  of  Ball-Foster  presents  the
marketplace with a new, strong supplier, whose background includes many years of
providing quality glass containers and top-notch customer service."

          According  to Claude  Picot,  president of  Saint-Gobain's  Containers
Division,  "Creation of the new Ball-Foster  company is a major  opportunity for
Saint-Gobain  in North America and represents a milestone in our overall goal to
grow in this very important market."

          Ball  Corporation is a manufacturer of rigid packaging  products,  and
supplies aerospace and other technology  products and services to government and
commercial customers. The company had sales of nearly $2.6 billion in 1994.

          Saint-Gobain, one of the top 100 industrial corporations in the world,
is  a  leading  producer  of  flat  glass,  containers,   fiber  reinforcements,
insulation,  building materials, piping, abrasives and industrial ceramics. With
its  investment in  Ball-Foster  and  completion of its first  American  perfume
bottle plant in Georgia next year,  Saint-Gobain will become the world's leading
glass container company. The company's 1994 sales totaled $13.6 billion.



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