Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

(January 2007) posted on Wed Sep 09, 2009

By Deborah Toth

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Think of the vast amount of different packaging solutions being sold here in the United States. Then triple or quadruple that number for a worldwide perspective on packaging design. Leading this immense market is Sonoco, a $3.5 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging products and provider of packaging services with more than 300 locations in 35 countries, and serving customers in 85 nations. Headquartered in Hartsville, SC, Sonoco has grown from its roots in 1899 to be an inventive and award-winning packaging manufacturer offering full-service capabilities under one roof.

"As a global manufacturer of packaging products, we work directly with our customers to learn what they are going to need in the next two to five years," says Russell Grissett, director of global market consumer packaging. "Our design, marketing, technology, and sales teams seek to identify new trends in the market and find solutions to be able to react quickly to those changes. We feel that Sonoco is in a perfect position to capitalize on these trends because we offer a total one-stop solution to our customers."

Tracking the trends

To keep abreast of the new packaging designs necessary for its customers, Sonoco operates nine technical centers around the world, with three outside the U.S. in Singapore, Finland, and Germany. "Most of our new product development and design is performed in Hartsville," says Rodger Fuller, vice president and general manager of Sonoco's Rigid Paper and Plastics division, North America. "There's no doubt that our research and development is paying off with great innovations in packaging products. Last year we posted $75 million in new product sales; this year, we're already 15% above that figure. All of this can be directly tied to research and development and our technical centers. We attribute about one-third of our new product sales directly to research and development."