Sonoco Names Kraus, Christensen and O'Neal to Lead Protective Solutions Divisions

HARTSVILLE, S.C., Jan. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Sonoco (NYSE:SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has named Carl Kraus division vice president and general manager for its Protective Solutions' Industrial business segment, Jeff Christensen division vice president and general manager for Sonoco Alloyd, a retail packaging business, and Ron O'Neal division vice president of manufacturing, Protective Solutions.

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Kraus is responsible for commercial sales, business development, marketing, customer service and product engineering, covering Sonoco's transportation, HVAC and industrial components and protective packaging business. Christensen is responsible for all aspects of Sonoco Alloyd's operations, including sales, packaging design, thermoforming of blisters, trays and displays, printing, tooling and machinery, including the Company's industry leading Alloyd sealing machines. O'Neal will be responsible for all aspects of operations, including direct manufacturing, process engineering, field engineering and employee safety.

"Carl, Jeff and Ron have significant leadership experience in business development, operations and process improvement, which is vitally important as Sonoco focuses on expanding its global Protective Solutions footprint," said Vicki Arthur, vice president, Global Protective Solutions. "Carl is uniquely qualified for this new leadership role, having spent the last two years managing operations for all three business segments under Protective Solutions. Jeff brings more than 20 years of experience in the industry with a proven record of consistent revenue growth. Ron also has more than 20 years of global operations experience in several of Sonoco's businesses."

During his 27 years with Sonoco, Kraus has held many important roles in manufacturing at the division and global levels including, division vice president manufacturing North America Paper Converting, as well as division vice president Global Industrial Manufacturing. Kraus holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial operations management from Auburn University.

Christensen came to Sonoco with the acquisition of Tegrant where he served as vice president of sales for the Protexic business unit. He has more than 20 years of sales, marketing and engineering experience in the industrial, automation, electrical products and controls industries. Prior to joining Tegrant, he was vice president, sales and general manager of the industrial, automotive and medical markets of Microstaq, Inc., a manufacturer of silicon-based electronic control valves. He has also held leadership positions in sales, business development and general management with increasing levels of responsibility at Danaher and General Electric. Christensen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Baylor University.

O'Neal has held numerous important roles during his 23 years with Sonoco, including director of operations, Protective Packaging; division vice president of manufacturing, Tubes and Core NA; European operations division vice president, Paper converting. Prior to joining Sonoco, O'Neal held various manufacturing roles with Republic Packaging Corp., a national supplier of design and fabricated cushion packaging materials sold primarily to the electronics industry. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $4.8 billion, the Company has more than 19,900 employees working in 347 operations in 34 countries, serving many of the world's best-known brands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2013/2014 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.

SOURCE: Sonoco

Roger Schrum, [phone], [email protected]

http://www.sonoco.com

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