Sonoco acquires Can Packaging

Sonoco, a global diversified packaging company based in Hartsville, South Carolina, has acquired Can Packaging, a privately owned designer and manufacturer of sustainable paper packaging and related manufacturing equipment based in Habsheim, France, for 41.7 million euros or approximately $49 million.

According to a news release from Sonoco regarding the acquisition, Can Packaging was founded in 1989 and today operates two paper can manufacturing facilities in France along with a research and development center where it designs and builds patented packaging machines and sealing equipment. Can Packaging is projected to produce sales of approximately 23 million euros or $27 million in 2020 and provides sustainable paperboard packaging to a number of large consumer food brands distributed across Europe. The business employs 60 people.

“We are extremely pleased to have Can Packaging joining Sonoco’s growing portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions,” says Howard Coker, president and CEO of Sonoco. “This strategic acquisition provides us many new innovations, including patented technology to produce a recyclable, high performance all-paper package, that can be made round, square, rectangular, oval, oblong or triangular. These innovations will complement our global Rigid Paperboard Container franchise and add to our EnviroSense sustainable packaging portfolio.”

“Adding Can Packaging’s innovation center, intellectual property and proprietary manufacturing capabilities will allow Sonoco to leverage and enhance our strong material science and engineering capabilities to develop more recyclable, monomaterial paper packaging solutions that will have a wide range of food barrier properties for our customers in Europe,” says Sean Cairns, division president and general manager of Sonoco’s European Consumer Products Division. “We also see using Can Packaging’s unique, low-cost machine technology to expand our consumer products offering into growth markets.”

Can Packaging Founder George Sireix will serve as a consultant to Sonoco as a result of the acquisition. Sireix’s son, Guillaume, who leads technology and engineering for Can Packaging, will remain as an innovation leader of the company’s European Consumer Products Division. Sonoco reports that there will be no changes to operations or customer relationships.