[OBJECT OMITTED] Alltrista Corporation News
5875 CASTLE CREEK PARKWAY, NORTH DRIVE, SUITE 440, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46250-4330
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Exhibit 99.1
ALLTRISTA CORPORATION ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT REORGANIZATION
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., -- September 25, 2001 - Alltrista Corporation (NYSE: ALC)
announced today that Thomas B. Clark, Chairman, President and Chief Executive
Officer and Kevin Bower, Chief Financial Office had left the company to pursue
other interests. The Board recognized the contributions and efforts that Mr.
Clark and Mr. Bower had made to the Company since its spin off from Ball
Corporation in 1993.
The Board appointed Martin E. Franklin as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer and Ian G.H. Ashken as Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and
Company Secretary.
Mr. Franklin, appointed to the Board of Alltrista in June 2001, has
considerable experience operating public companies. Mr. Franklin served as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Benson Eyecare Corporation, an
integrated optical products company, from 1992 until its sale in 1996. From 1996
he served as executive Chairman of the Benson Eyecare spin off companies, Lumen
Technologies, Inc. and Bolle, Inc. until their respective sales in 1998 and
2000. In addition to various private company directorships, Mr. Franklin served
on the board of directors of Corporate Express, Inc. prior to its sale in 1999
and currently serves on the board of directors of Specialty Catalog Corp.
(Nasdaq: CTLG).
Mr. Ashken has worked with Mr. Franklin for over eleven years, serving as
Chief Financial Officer and a Director of Benson Eyecare Corporation, Lumen
Technologies, Inc. and Bolle, Inc. Mr. Ashken also has considerable experience
as a board member and operating manager of a number of private companies. Mr.
Ashken was appointed to the Board of Alltrista in June 2001.
Martin E. Franklin commented: "The challenges facing Alltrista in the short
term are considerable, particularly in the thermoformed products division, which
has been hardest hit by the current economic slowdown. However, we believe that
the Consumer Products and Zinc businesses have significant unrealized potential,
and we will focus our efforts on growing these businesses as well as completing
the turnaround of the plastics division. We intend to concentrate on reducing
costs, improving margins and working with the Board to build shareholder value."
Alltrista is a materials-based company. Its plastics group serves numerous
fields, including healthcare, consumer, appliance, motor vehicle and industrial
markets. Through its metals group, Alltrista is the leading supplier of home
food preservation products, under the Ball(R), Kerr(R) and Bernardin(R) brands,
and is the country's largest producer of zinc strip and fabricated products,
including coin blanks for the U.S. and foreign mints. Please visit the company's
Web site at www.alltrista.com for further information.
Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements intended to qualify
for the Safe Harbor from liability established by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the outlook for
Alltrista's markets and the demand for its products. These projections and
statements are based on management's estimates and assumptions with respect to
future events and financial performance and are believed to be reasonable,
though are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Actual results could
differ materially from those projected as a result of certain factors. A
discussion of factors that could cause results to vary are included in the
Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000, and its
Form 10-Q for the three months ended July 1, 2001.