BOULDER, Colo., Jan. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. announced today three leadership appointments and an organizational structure change that will position operating sectors for improved customer efficiency. 

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Effective January 2, Ball's Civil and Operational Space business unit will become two separate business units:  Civil Space and Technology led by Vice President and General Manager Jim Oschmann; and Operational Space led by Vice President and General Manager Cary Ludtke. 

Oschmann will spearhead Ball's science and technology development objectives for civil customers, while Ludtke will continue his leadership of company programs that include the nation's civil weather system, the Joint Polar Satellite System, and the Operational Land Imager. A third change includes the appointment of Rob Freedman as vice president and general manager for Tactical Solutions, the business unit previously led by Oschmann.

Oschmann joined Ball in 2004, and has a long history in the industry's science community, serving on review panels and advisory boards for NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.  In the new position, Oschmann will be responsible for programs that include the James Webb Space Telescope, Green Propellant Infusion Mission and Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution.

Ludtke has held numerous positions of leadership in his nearly 30 years at Ball Aerospace. He will continue to develop strategies to expand the company's commercial and international opportunities while overseeing existing programs including WorldView-3, FalconEye, Sentinel, the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer, and the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager II.

Freedman's aerospace career spans more than three decades. Since joining Ball, he has served in a variety of management roles, most recently as Ball's director for RF applications and strategic initiatives. He has worked as a program manager, capture lead, business area manager and as an advanced systems manager, and his background includes 28 years as a naval aviator.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. For more information visit www.ballaerospace.com.

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 14,500 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.6 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates, " "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in foreign exchange rates or tax rates. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects.

SOURCE Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.