Smurfit emerges from Chapter 11

Smurfit-Stone, one of America’s biggest producers and recyclers of corrugated and other fiber-based packaging, has emerged from its latest round of bankruptcy proceedings with agreements in place for all creditors.

Smurfit-Stone filed for Chapter 11 protection in January 2009. While continuing most operations, it did shut down a number of manufacturing operations, including paper mills in Missoula, Mont., and Ontonagon, Mich.

The company’s initial restructuring plan left shareholders with nothing. Under the latest version, approved in late June by a federal bankruptcy judge, shareholders get 4.5% of the company’s new stock. The remainder is in the hands of Smurfit-Stone’s unsecured creditors.

“Upon consummation of the restructuring plan, we will have successfully reduced our debt and realigned our capital structure in a way that dramatically improves the Company’s prospects for long-term growth and profitability,” says CEO Patrick Moore. 

DayGlo brightens up its sales strategy

DayGlo Color Corp. plans to gain a more vivid presence with its packaging customers by launching a new brand action team that plans to bring specialty color into the early development discussion.

The Cleveland-based company has created a new branding group, featuring a cross-section of DayGlo professionals from different departments, that will offer a stronger and more direct presence with package designers, brand managers, and converters during all stages from package iteration to production.

The company also has revamped its Web site, www.DayGlo.com, to offer an interactive design center to engage package designers. Relaunched in June, the site features multiple iterations of its color palette, showcasing such options as fluorescents or phosphorescent, glow-in-the-dark effects. The site includes the manipulation of colors against a three-dimensional object and allows manual rotation and views against either a white or black background. 

BRIEFS

Troy Snader, a 25-year veteran in packaging management and sales, has been named vice president of sales for Brenton, a division of Pro Mach. Snader will lead sales efforts of Brenton’s extensive end-of-line product portfolio, which includes stand alone case packers, palletizers, and shrink wrappers, as well as robotic solutions and multi-component integrated systems.

Closure manufacturer Weatherchem Corp. has appointed Kevin Stevens vice president of sales. Stevens will lead Weatherchem’s commercial operations as an integral member of the company’s senior leadership group.

CDF Corp., a leading manufacturer of drum, pail and intermediate bulk container liners and flexible packaging, has expanded its manufacturing presence with the purchase of a 109,000-square foot facility in Plymouth, Mass. The company also announced that it has entered into a partnership with the Guala Group and Hosokawa Yoko Co. to create Cheer Pack North America to develop and support spouted packaging technology in North America.

Labeling Systems, a division of Pro Mach, has named Erik Bronander vice president of sales.

Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI) has signed an agreement with Centro de Tecnologia de Embalagem (CETEA), a packaging technology research institution in São Paulo, Brazil. The agreement, PTI’s first venture in Brazil, will involve PTI providing local packaging and plastics companies with in-depth instruction on production issues for polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Associated Packaging Technologies, a supplier of plastic food trays for the North American frozen food industry, has selected FirstCarbon Solutions, an environmental management consulting firm, to report on supply-chain greenhouse gas emissions.

Plastic and flexible packaging supplier Expoack has bought facilities in Menasha, Wis., and Catoosa (Tulsa), Okla., from Bemis Co. The plants manufacture plastic packaging for natural cheese and fresh red meat. The sale was in partial fulfillment of regulatory requirements for Bemis’s purchase of Alcan Packaging Food Americas.

Menasha Packaging has named Aaron Pontow as ProPlus program manager. The ProPlus program helps customers manage their entire merchandising life cycle using strategic insight and merchandising retail data.