Sonoco to Offer Corrugating Medium in the Marketplace

The Company Has an Annual Capacity of 170,000 Tons Through Its Hartsville, S.C., Complex

HARTSVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sonoco (NYSE: SON), a global packaging leader and a top producer of uncoated recycled paperboard, will begin offering semi-chemical corrugating medium to the marketplace from its Hartsville, S.C., mill beginning January 1, 2010.

“Our mills and our skilled paper makers have an excellent reputation for quality and service, and we are well positioned to serve much of the United States as well as select export markets.”

Sonoco has been manufacturing high-quality, low-cost medium paperboard through its #10 machine in Hartsville since 1957, according to Jim Bowen, senior vice president, Primary Materials Group. “Our mills and our skilled paper makers have an excellent reputation for quality and service, and we are well positioned to serve much of the United States as well as select export markets.

“The Hartsville #10 machine has 170,000 tons of annual capacity and, for the past 52 years, we have offered that capacity exclusively through contract relationships. We believe the market is now ready for a proven, independent and financially sound producer in the Southeast, and we’re excited about our opportunity to take on that role.”

About Sonoco

Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a $4.1 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company, visit our Web site at http://www.sonoco.com/.