Sonoco Plastics Wins Inaugural Award for Planters® Peanuts Blow Molded Package

HARTSVILLE, S.C., Oct. 30, 2013 /CNW/ - Sonoco Plastics, a division of Sonoco (NYSE: SON) offering a diverse line of blow molded, thermoformed, injection molded and extruded plastics packaging, won first place for its PET blow molded package for Planters^® peanuts in the advanced food packaging applications category of the first annual Parts Competition at the Society of Plastics Engineers' 29^th Annual Blow Molding Conference.

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"We are honored to win this inaugural award for our blow molded plastic bottle for Planters Peanuts," said Steve Gendreau, division vice president and general manager, Blow Molding. "This award clearly demonstrates Sonoco Plastics' commitment to satisfy our customers with innovative and sustainable solutions that meet their needs."

The award-winning package is a blow molded plastic jar for Planters peanuts, which replaced the brand's 16oz. and 20oz. glass jars. The durable, lightweight plastic option met all of Planters' performance targets for capacity, clarity and shelf life – but weighed 84 percent less than the original packaging. Additionally, the Planters plastic peanut packaging is 100 percent recyclable and non-BPA.

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is home to nearly 20,000 plastics professionals in more than 70 countries around the world. SPE is the go-to resource for plastics technical information. Learn more about SPE at www.4spe.org.

About Planters
Planters, America's favorite brand of nuts for over 100 years, has a long history of pioneering industry firsts, including Dry Roasted Peanuts nearly fifty years ago. This inventiveness is delivered through a diverse portfolio of nutritious and delicious plant-based snacks such as peanuts, cashews, almonds, pistachios and other nuts. Planters NUTrition offers a distinctive line of nut mixes that focus on specific nutritional needs. For more information, please visit www.planters.com.

About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumer packaging, industrial products, protective solutions, and displays and packaging supply chain services. With annualized net sales of approximately $4.8 billion, the Company has 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 2012/2013 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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