Sonoco Company was first established in 1899 under the business name Southern Novelty Company. It is a company which specializes in original packaging of commercial and consumer products. The companys main office is located in Hartsville, South Carolina in USA. In NYSE, it trades with the symbol SON. As of 2006, the sale of the company is approximately $3.7 billion. The company started by producing pulp and paper from Pine trees. After several attempts, they changed their products to paper cones for winding yarns in the textile industry. For production of more output, the company bought a Fourdrinier paper machine. After a year, the company started to increase in sales, receiving high demands for their products. In 1923, the company changed its name from Southern Novelty to Sonoco Company. !920s, the company started to merge with other companies, making it the beginning of wider expansion including international affiliations. 1930s and 1940s, the years that the company really expanded, buying more machines and purchasing more paper tube companies. During these times, new technology was introduced and Sonoco tried to keep up with the technology. Moreover, the 1950s mark the expansion and further growth of the company. It tried to acquire companies in the south. It was also during these years that the company tried to produce another product, the corrugated material. On the other hand, in the 1960, spiral tube operation and composite cans were manufactured in the company. After several acquisition of other companies in different parts of the world, Sonoco tried wastepaper packing business in 1972. In 1973, they tried producing folding carton and fiber partitions in Georgia. In 1974, the company has grown into 36 US branch plants and 11 countries have its operations. 1981, the company was included among the Top 500 public manufacturing companies in the US. It entered in 457th position. The peak of the companys financial status was marked in 1989 when it had sales worth $1.7 billion and income of $103 million. 10 years after, in 1991 the sales slowed down because of economic recession. The company decreases their employees and started a restructuring program. 1992 marks Sonocos expansion in Asia, launching a new site in Malaysia. As of 2006, Sonoco has approximately 17,700 employees all over 35 countries with more than 300 operations in 85 nations. Among the most famous products of Sonoco is the t-shirt grocery bag found in most supermarkets and retail stores. It also includes the Ultra seal which was made for covering cans providing an easy open style.
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