Ball Corp

Ball Corp. will close its Huntington Beach microelectronics plant by Sept. 1, idling about 100 workers, a company official said Wednesday. The Bolsa Avenue plant, a unit of Ball Corp.'s aerospace systems group, manufactures custom or "hybrid" microelectronic circuitry for military, medical and commercial customers. "It has not been a real profitable operation for us," said Alexander Bracken, a spokesman at the aerospace group's headquarters in Colorado.

Ball Corp. to Close Santa Ana Factory: Citing tough air-pollution regulations, the Indiana-based manufacturer said it will close a major glass-making factory Oct. 1, idling 300 workers. The company said it is too costly to renovate its furnaces to meet Southern California's restrictive air quality regulations. The plant, which opened in the 1930s to make window glass, also is no longer cost-competitive with the company's other factories, Ball said.

Datum Inc., a manufacturer of frequency products and timing instrumentation, said Friday that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Efratom Division of Ball Corp. for $26.5 million in cash and stock. Efratom, based in Irvine, is a supplier of rubidium atomic frequency source, an important component used in cellular telecommunications. Efratom's sales for 1993 were $32.9 million. Last year, Datum posted sales of $24.6 million.

Ball Corp. has acquired an option to buy a Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corp. plant in Orange County as part of a $70-million purchase of four glass container plants. In an expansion of its glass making business, Ball, a Muncie, Ind.-based packaging company, said it agreed to purchase two of Kerr's commercial glass manufacturing plants in Plainfield, Ill., and Sand Springs, Okla. The deal is subject to approval by each company's shareholders and by the federal government's antitrust regulators.

Datum Inc., a maker of telecommunications products, said Monday that it has acquired a competitor in a deal that will double its revenue. Datum paid about $26 million in cash and stock for the Irvine-based Efratom division of Ball Corp. in Muncie, Ind. The purchase price consisted of $15 million in cash and 1.3 million in Datum stock, about a third of its shares outstanding.

Datum Inc., a manufacturer of frequency products and timing instrumentation, said Friday that it has signed an agreement to acquire the Efratom Division of Ball Corp. for $26.5 million in cash and stock. Efratom, based in Irvine, is a supplier of rubidium atomic frequency source, an important component used in cellular telecommunications. Efratom's sales for 1993 were $32.9 million. Last year, Datum posted sales of $24.6 million.

Ball Is Canning Its Trademark Jar Business: Ball Corp. said it is getting out of its trademark home-canning jar business to concentrate on other products. The Muncie, Ind.-based company announced that it will spin off the jar division and six other units to stockholders as a separate company. Ball has made its glass jars--with two-piece metal lids and its name written in script on the side--for generations.

Ball Corp. has acquired an option to buy a Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corp. plant here as part of a $70-million purchase of four glass container plants. In an expansion of its glass-making business, Ball, a Muncie, Ind.-based packaging company, has agreed to purchase two of Kerr's commercial glass manufacturing plants in Plainfield, Ill., and Sand Springs, Okla., the company said. The deal is subject to approval by each company's shareholders and by federal antitrust regulators.

Ball Corp. has acquired an option to buy a Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corp. plant in Orange County as part of a $70-million purchase of four glass container plants. In an expansion of its glass making business, Ball, a Muncie, Ind.-based packaging company, said it agreed to purchase two of Kerr's commercial glass manufacturing plants in Plainfield, Ill., and Sand Springs, Okla. The deal is subject to approval by each company's shareholders and by the federal government's antitrust regulators.