Displaying items by tag: sonoco

Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, announced today the commercial availability of its patented radial crush tester, which measures the radial strength of paper cores by simulating the pressures applied during the winding processes of rolled products such as plastic films and textiles.

According to David E. Rhodes, director of Global Industrial Technology, Sonoco's radial crush tester is the result of several decades of engineering development work.

"In response to the needs of our tube and core customers, we have been committed to understanding the properties of radial crush technology for many years," Rhodes said. "We developed radial crush testing so we could help customers prevent failures during the winding process and optimize tube designs. Today it remains an essential test for many of the cores we supply."

Sonoco's radial crush tester has been endorsed by the Composite Can and Tube Institute as an accepted test method (CCTI Standard Testing Procedure T-158). Each tester is manufactured by Sonoco, and order fulfillment requires approximately 12 weeks.

In keeping with Sonoco's commitment to safety, the radial crush tester has been evaluated by an independent safety advisor and subjected to a human factors engineering review. The tester includes an operations manual, which details testing procedures, safety, installation, troubleshooting, warranty and parts.

A price list available for control unit and hydraulics, as well as various chamber sizes, is available at http://www.sonoco.com/UserFiles/sonoco/Documents/RadialCrushTester.pdf. For additional information, or to place an order, please contact Marcia O'Neal at 843-383-7482 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sonoco is the world's largest producer of spiral-wound uncoated recycled paperboard tubes and cores that serve as carriers for numerous products serving the film, paper mill, textiles, tape and labels, metals, construction, shipping and storage markets. The Company operates approximately 90 converting facilities on five continents.

SOURCE Sonoco

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The Company's Winston Salem facility achieves silver-tier award status

Sonoco Recycling, LLC, a unit of Sonoco  and one of the largest packaging recyclers in North America, has announced that Sonoco CorrFlex's Winston Salem,  N.C., facility has received a silver-tier Sonoco Sustainability Star Award for diverting a minimum of 95 percent of its waste to landfill.

In 2008, employees at the North Carolina facility established Team Green, aimed at cutting landfill waste in half and implementing a plant-wide recycling program. All plant waste streams were audited and evaluated for potential opportunities, using reduction, reuse and recycling to determine the best solution for landfill diversion, including changing landfill pick-up to an on-call basis.  Additionally, Team Green focused on controlling utility and water usage through assessment and reduction activities, and began diverting salvageable metal to recycling outlets instead of storing or landfilling it.

Recycling containers were placed in all common areas, and employees were encouraged to bring in their recyclables from home as well. The team even set up an employee recycling fund, paid out once yearly, where all funds collected from recycling of plastic cans, aluminum bottles, office paper and plastic bags are divided evenly between all employees.

"The Winston Salem group has shown a real dedication towards reducing waste to landfill and increasing recycling," said Ray Howard, general manager, Sonoco Recycling. "Currently, they're recycling approximately 98 percent of their materials and we applaud them for their efforts."

Duncan Sullivan, Sustainability and Special Projects, said, "Our facility is the second Sonoco CorrFlex location to win a Star award. While it's been very rewarding for the team to see our facility reach silver-tier status, our York, Pa., facility went landfill-free last year, and we're working to join them by the end of 2012."

As a result of these initiatives, Team Green was invited to partner with one of the facility's largest customers, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay business, in ongoing Resource Conservation activity, and was recognized at its global sustainability summit for creating a best-in-class culture for RECON performance.

Created to recognize customer and Sonoco facilities for achieving significant milestones in landfill diversion and waste stream reduction, the program is composed of three tiers:

  • Gold Star Awards, which recognize facilities that have achieved 99 percent landfill diversion;
  • Silver Star Recognition, which is awarded to facilities achieving 95 percent landfill diversion; and
  • Bronze Awards, which recognize facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements.

Learn more about our Sonoco Sustainability Star Award program at http://www.sonoco.com/productsservices/sonocorecyclinginc/sustainabilitystarawards.aspx.

A recycling leader with 50 locations and expertise worldwide, Sonoco Recycling annually collects approximately 3 million tons of old corrugated containers, various grades of paper, metals and plastics. In addition, the Company has experts who provide secure, reliable and innovative recycling solutions to residential and commercial customers. Currently, Sonoco Recycling operates six material recovery facilities (MRFs) and serves nearly 150 communities in which curbside-collected residential and commercial materials are processed. The Company also provides recycling programs which identify waste reduction opportunities that reduce operating expenses for many of the largest consumer product companies in the U.S.

SOURCE Sonoco

Published in North American News

The Board of Directors of Sonoco has declared a $.30 per share quarterly common stock dividend, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $.29 per share. The dividend will be paid on June 8, 2012, to shareholders of record as of May 18, 2012.

According to Harris E. DeLoach Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, this is the 30th consecutive year that Sonoco has increased common stock dividends and 348th consecutive quarter, dating back to 1925, that the Company has paid dividends to shareholders. If annualized, Sonoco's new dividend is projected to increase from $1.16 to $1.20 per share, an increase of 3.4 percent.

Sonoco's projected annualized dividend of $1.20 per share provides a yield of approximately 3.7 percent, based on the Company's closing stock price of $32.80 as of April 17, 2012. Sonoco's dividend yield is one of the highest provided by U.S. packaging companies and is approximately 75 percent higher than the yield provided by the S&P 500.

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Sonoco is increasing the price of its plywood reels by nine (9) percent as a result of its decision to roll the surcharge for reels into base prices. The increase, which is the direct result of escalating market costs for plywood, is effective immediately.

"Plant closings in late 2011 by a key plywood producer, along with an increase in overall demand for plywood, have significantly driven up prices," said James Harrell, vice president of Sonoco's Industrial Converting Division. "We are seeing plywood costs at levels we haven't seen since the last economic rebound in 2004 and 2005.

"Since implementing the plywood surcharge a year ago, we have worked diligently to maintain stable pricing to our customers. We've now reached a point where base prices must be adjusted to reflect this fundamental shift in plywood input costs."

Sonoco Reels is the most comprehensive provider of reels produced from nailed wood, plywood, polyfiber, molded plastic and steel materials. Reels produced by Sonoco are used by the wire and cable industry to serve the power transmission and distribution; telecommunications; commercial and industrial building; oil and gas; mining and marine industries.

For more information about Sonoco's complete line of reels or to learn more about current pricing, please visit the Company's Web site at http://www.sonoco.com/productsservices/reelsspools.aspx or contact Sonoco Reels at +800/633-3962.

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Monday, 27 February 2012 12:00

ThermoSafe Brands Expands Certis® Packaging Line

ThermoSafe Brands, a business of Sonoco (NYSE: SON), is pleased to introduce Certis Silver, the latest offering in the Certis line of off-the-shelf packaging solutions for temperature-sensitive products. Designed to the ISCsilver™ Ambient Temperature Profile, Certis Silver packaging solutions offer reliable temperature assurance for moderate distribution environments.

The addition of Certis Silver effectively expands the Certis footprint to encompass a broad range of 2 C – 8 C applications. Certis Gold solutions, which are based on the rigorous ISCgold™ Ambient Temperature Profile, were developed to maintain the same strict temperature control seen with Certis Silver, but under more volatile shipping and storing conditions.

“ThermoSafe Brands has leveraged the elegant Certis design platform, expanding the product line to meet the global needs of customers with less stringent temperature profile requirements,” said D’Arcy Ryan, director of Marketing for ThermoSafe Brands. “Certis Silver offers quick-to-market and cost-effective solutions in the refrigerated temperature range,” Ryan added.

The patent-pending modular platform design common to all Certis Shippers provides plenty of flexibility for adjusting to specific needs. Standard Certis Shippers can be modified to meet customer requirements for temperature control, shipping durations and payload sizes. “A few simple modifications to the phase change materials or shipper system components is usually all it takes,” said Ken Maltas, vice president of Engineering for ThermoSafe Brands.

Although ThermoSafe can design a custom shipper to precisely match a product’s requirements, off-the-shelf Certis Shippers are ideal because they reduce freight costs, accelerate speed-to-market and increase operational efficiencies.

All Certis Silver solutions feature Thermophase™ powered by PureTemp™, a patented proprietary formulation of natural vegetable-based phase change materials for strict temperature control, easy pack outs, greater efficiency and smaller, lighter packages. ThermoPhase materials are non-hazardous, environmentally friendly and available to meet a wide range of temperature requirements.

For more information about Certis products or ThermoSafe Brands’ complete line of packaging solutions, please visit the Company website at http://www.thermosafe.com or contact customer service at 1-800-505-1886.

Published in North American News
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Palmetto Distribution Center achieves gold-tier award status by going landfill free

1372199 fruitoftheloomSonoco Recycling, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco and one of the largest packaging recyclers in North America, today announced that Fruit of the Loom’s Palmetto Distribution Center, located in Summerville, S.C., has received a gold-tier Sonoco Sustainability Star Award for going landfill free.

“This is something we are very proud of,” said Jay Medlin, plant manager, Palmetto Distribution Center, Fruit of the Loom. “I challenged my team with the goal of going landfill free, and every employee in our facility has worked to help us hit our goal. From the early environmental education to the impact on daily operations, we could not have accomplished this without them.”

In announcing Fruit of the Loom’s achievement, Ray Howard, general manager, Sonoco Recycling, said, “Fruit of the Loom has demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving our planet’s natural resources, focusing on sustainability as an effort vital to the success of their business and their communities. We are honored to present them with a gold-tier sustainability award for this impressive achievement.”

To achieve landfill-free status, the Palmetto Distribution Center created a Green Team and began working on what they called their “Green on Green” initiative. The Green Team focused on making sure all recyclable logo blumaterials, such as cardboard, baled stretch wrap, miscellaneous plastics, cores and office paper were collected by Sonoco Recycling. Fluorescent lights were crushed in a secure manner and sent off for recycling, while batteries were sent for recycling through an approved vendor. The Palmetto Distribution Center also works with vendors to ensure that their pallets are reused internally. The small amount of waste remaining is sent to a local compost facility and garden, or used by a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility.

The team’s biggest challenge was food and miscellaneous waste, but it successfully managed to find uses for all waste materials. As of January 2012, the Palmetto Distribution Center has successfully gone from 70 percent landfill diversion in 2010 and 95 percent in 2011 to 100 percent landfill diversion.

Created to recognize customer and Sonoco facilities for achieving significant milestones in landfill diversion and waste stream reduction, the program is composed of three tiers:

  • Gold Star Awards, which recognize facilities that have achieved 99 percent landfill diversion;
  • Silver Star Recognition, which is awarded to facilities achieving 95 percent landfill diversion; and
  • Bronze Awards, which recognize facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements.

Learn more about our Sonoco Sustainability Star Award program at http://www.sonoco.com/productsservices/sonocorecyclinginc/sustainabilitystarawards.aspx.

A recycling leader with locations and expertise worldwide, Sonoco Recycling annually collects more than 3 million tons of old corrugated containers, various grades of paper, metals and plastics. In addition, the Company has experts who provide secure, reliable and innovative recycling solutions to residential and commercial customers.

Currently, Sonoco Recycling operates six material recovery facilities (MRFs) and serves nearly 150 communities in which curbside-collected residential and commercial materials are processed. The Company also provides recycling programs which identify waste reduction opportunities that reduce operating expenses for many of the largest consumer product companies in the U.S.

Source: Sonoco

Published in North American News
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Tuesday, 14 February 2012 09:40

Sonoco Announces Executive Officer Appointments

Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, today announced three executive officer appointments, according to Sonoco Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerHarris E. DeLoach, Jr., and M. Jack Sanders, president and chief operating officer.

John M. Colyer, Jr. has been promoted to vice president, Global Paper and Industrial Converted Products. In this new role, Colyer has responsibility for Sonoco’s largest business segment, including global tubes and cores, paper, recycling, wire and cable reels, and internal supply businesses, including adhesives and forest products. In total, this segment has 198 global plant locations in North America, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia. Colyer is a member of the Company’s executive committee, reporting to Sanders.

Prior to this new assignment, Colyer, 51, served as vice president, Global Industrial Converting, and was responsible for leading the effort to complete the recent acquisition of Tegrant Corporation, a leading North American supplier of protective, temperature-assured and retail security packaging. Colyer has more than 28 years of experience with Sonoco and has held numerous leadership and manufacturing management positions in businesses serving industrial and consumer markets. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

Ronald G. Leach has been named vice president of Sonoco’s recently expanded Global Protective Packaging segment, elected an officer of the Company and appointed to the executive committee, reporting to Sanders.

Leach, 54, was president and chief executive officer of Tegrant Corporation, prior to the acquisition in November 2011. He also has served as president of SCA Packaging N.A. and president and chief executive officer of Alloyd Company, Inc. Before becoming Alloyd’s president and chief executive officer, he was the company’s vice president of Operations. Leach holds a Bachelor of Science degree in packaging engineering from Michigan State University.

R. Howard Coker, 49, has been named to the Company’s executive committee and remains vice president, Global Rigid Paper and Closures, reporting to Sanders. In this position, Coker has global responsibility for the Company’s composite can, and metal and peelable membrane ends and closures businesses.

Prior to this appointment, Coker was vice president, Rigid Paper and Closures – North America. He has held several leadership positions within the Company, including division vice president and general manager, Sonoco Phoenix; director of sales and marketing, Rigid Paper and Plastics – North America; and general manager, Rigid Paper and Plastics – Asia/Pacific. Coker is a graduate of Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration. He also received a Master of Arts in business administration from Wake Forest University.

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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 10:00

ThermoSafe® Brands Announces Price Increase

hermoSafe Brands®, a business unit of Sonoco, has announced a price increase of 4 -7 percent across most of its product portfolio, effective March 5, 2012. This price increase will affect all expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyurethane (PUR), including custom and cataloged shipper solutions and components globally.

The price increase is necessary to cover rising costs in raw materials, labor, energy and transportation. “At ThermoSafe, we continually invest in our operations, technology, people and infrastructure to ensure we offer industry leading solutions, products and services at competitive prices,” stated Mary Kate Phillips, director of North American Sales. “Despite our efforts to offset cost increases through Lean initiatives, we reached a point where we must raise prices to offset the ongoing inflation in our costs.”

ThermoSafe’s customers will be contacted individually regarding the specifics of the price increases.

“ThermoSafe continues to offer highly innovative solutions using state-of-the-art technologies and equipment to take care of our customers in their mission-critical shipments of pharmaceuticals, clinical trials samples, blood, investigational drugs, food or chemicals that are temperature sensitive. We continually strive to provide our customers with the best value at the best possible prices,” said Prakash Mahesh, vice president of Marketing and Business Development.

ThermoSafe Brands is the largest manufacturer of temperature-assurance packaging and the leading provider of thermal testing solutions for life sciences customers.

For more information about ThermoSafe Brands’ complete line of products, please visit the Company’s website athttp://www.thermosafe.com or contact our customer service at (800) 505-1886.

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Sonoco Recycling, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco and one of the largest packaging recyclers in North America, today helped kick off the “South Carolina Welcomes You to Recycle” program at the York, S.C., welcome center.

The program is a public-private partnership between Sonoco Recycling, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC); the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT); the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT); and PalmettoPride. An extension of the “Recycling at the Parks” partnership, begun in 2010, the “South Carolina Welcomes You to Recycle” program encourages South Carolina motorists and visitors to the state to recycle their road-trip waste instead of trashing it.

“The ‘South Carolina Welcomes You to Recycle’ program is a natural addition to the ‘Recycling at the Parks’ partnership,” said Lee Tsiantis, maintenance contracts manager, SCDOT. “We are beginning with the York County site in November, and hope to continue to add more until we are able to have all nine welcome centers recycling.”

“The County will be collecting the material from the welcome center and transporting it to Sonoco Recycling,” said Arthur Ligon, supervisor, Collection and Recycling with York County. “With approximately 500,000 annual visitors to the York site and the potential of reaching 1.3 million total visitors by next year, we are eager to see how this program grows recycling in South Carolina.”

Jim Brown, vice president, Sonoco Recycling, agrees, “The effort to increase recycling by visitors and tourists goes hand in hand with our growing focus on recycling education in South Carolina schools, and demonstrates our Company’s commitment to changing the recycling culture in South Carolina.”

Sonoco Recycling is buying containers and program stickers to be placed at each welcome center. The Company will also be processing the materials collected at the York County site.

A recycling leader with locations and expertise worldwide, Sonoco Recycling annually collects more than 3 million tons of old corrugated containers, various grades of paper, metals and plastics. In addition, the Company has experts who provide secure, reliable and innovative recycling solutions to residential and commercial customers.

Currently, Sonoco Recycling operates six material recovery facilities (MRFs) and serves more than 125 communities in which curbside-collected residential and commercial materials are processed. The Company also provides recycling programs which identify waste reduction opportunities that reduce operating expenses for many of the largest consumer product companies in the U.S.

Source: Sonoco

Published in North American News
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Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has been named to the 2011 list of North American Top Companies for Leaders, announced Allan McLeland, vice president, Human Resources. Sonoco was ranked number 16 on this year's list of North American Top Companies for Leaders.

Conducted by Aon Hewitt, the global human resource consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON), in partnership with The RBL Group, a strategic HR and leadership systems advisory firm, and Fortune magazine, the Top Companies for Leaders list is the most comprehensive study of organizational leadership in the world. An expert panel of independent judges selected and ranked winners based on criteria including strength of leadership practices and culture, examples of leader development on a global scale, impact of leadership in communities in which they operate, business performance and company reputation.

"Sonoco is very proud to be recognized as a Top Company for Leaders for a fourth consecutive time and to be the only packaging company on this year's list," said McLeland. "The belief that 'People Build Businesses' has always been an integral part of our culture, which is why our managers, not HR, take the lead in selecting, developing and retaining Sonoco's leaders. Managers give their people ongoing coaching, focused training and exposure to new areas through special projects. They also make sure their people know they're valued, regularly communicate where they stand in terms of career growth and reward them based on performance."

When comparing its Top Companies with more than 470 other companies worldwide, Aon Hewitt identified a common characteristic that sets them apart from their peers--Top Companies are committed to building leadership capability within their organizations.

"Aon Hewitt would like to congratulate Sonoco on being named one of the North American Top Companies," said Pete Sanborn, global leader of the Talent and Organization Practice with Aon Hewitt. "Through our research, it's clear that Top Companies such as Sonoco understand the connection between investing in leaders and financial success. Leaders at these organizations are passionate and committed. They have a focus on talent and developing leaders in a manner that is aligned with business goals."

Other companies making the 2011 list are IBM; General Mills; Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive; McDonald's; Whirlpool; PepsiCo; General Electric; Deere & Company; Target; 3M; Eli Lilly; McKinsey & Company; Intel; Capital One; V.F. Corporation; Raytheon; Fluor; United Health Group; Honeywell; AT&T, Accenture; American Express Bank; and Kiewit Corporation.

About the Top Companies for Leaders Study

With more than 1,200 data points and 900 executive interviews, the Aon Hewitt 2011 Top Companies for Leaders Study is the most comprehensive global research on leadership in the market, examining the link between leadership practices and financial results. This study explores how organizations assess, select, develop and reward leaders, and examines the execution of leadership practices, as well as the strategy that guides it. To learn more or to download a copy of this study, please visit http://www.aon.com/topcompanies.

Aon Hewitt, The RBL Group and Fortune utilized a three-step screening process to identify the finalist companies. This included assessing survey responses, conducting in-depth interviews and analyzing financial performance in relation to industry. Aon Hewitt provided this information to a panel of independent judges in each region to select and rank a 2011 Top Companies for Leaders list in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America.

SOURCE: Sonoco

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