Sonoco told shareholders at its annual meeting yesterday that the company is making substantial investments to expand its consumer packaging business.
President and CEO Jack Sanders said Sonoco is spending $20 million on a new laminator for its Franklin, Ohio, plant to boost growth in the hot-fill pouch market and sophisticated lamination structures. He also said the company’s patented easy-open and re-close technology will benefit from a new 11-color rotogravure press at Sonoco’s Waco, Texas, plant.
Both the triplex laminator and rotogravure press are scheduled for startup in the second quarter of 2016.
Sonoco is also investing nearly $12 million in a research and development studio that will use consumer feedback to develop new packing products. The center is scheduled to open on the company’s Hartsville, South Carolina, campus.
Sonoco recently acquired a majority interest in Graffo Paranaense de Embalagens S/A (Graffo), a closely held flexible packaging business in Pinhais, Curitiba, Brazil, with sales of $35 million (USD) last year. Graffo serves the confectionery, dairy, pharmaceutical and industrial markets in Brazil, and Sonoco expects to add to the operation’s lamination capacity in 2016.
