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HARTSVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 10, 2009--
Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging
companies, today announced that it will close its Orrville, Ohio, rigid
paper packaging plant by March 2010.
The Orrville operation, located at 425 Collins Blvd., currently employs
84 employees and manufactures fiber cartridges for adhesives and
sealants. Sonoco acquired the plant in 2007 when it acquired the fiber
containers and industrial plastic carriers assets of Caraustar
Industries, Inc. The first phase of the plant’s shutdown is expected to
begin in late November and result in the reduction of approximately half
the workforce. The plant will remain in partial operation until it is
closed in March 2010. Sonoco will provide severance and outplacement
assistance to employees.
Howard Coker, Sonoco’s vice president, Rigid Paper and Closures, said
the Company has been facing significant reductions in customer orders
over the past year as a result of the nationwide recession’s impact on
the housing market. Coker said that Sonoco will consolidate customer
orders in the Company’s other rigid paper packaging operations in the
Ohio area.
“Closing a plant is always difficult because of the impact on employees
and the community,” Coker said. “But the dramatic downturn in home
construction is impacting the use of adhesives and sealants which have
reduced orders by our customers by about 25 percent. We have implemented
some capacity reductions, but we simply cannot continue to operate the
Orrville plant at such reduced levels.”
About Sonoco
Sonoco, founded in 1899, is a global manufacturer of consumer and
industrial packaging products and provider of packaging services, with
more than 300 operations in 35 countries serving customers in some 85
nations. For more information on Sonoco, visit our Web site at http://www.sonoco.com.
Source: Sonoco
Sonoco
Roger Schrum, 843-339-6018
roger.schrum@sonoco.com
www.sonoco.com