TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2010

Sonoco names vp and GM of global plastics and vp and GM of North America Industrial Carriers div.
Sonoco has named Robert Puechl, vp and GM of global plastics, and James Harrell, vp and GM of North America industrial carriers division, have been elected corporate officers.
Puechl is responsible for Sonoco's 20 rigid plastic manufacturing operations, which includes thermoforming, injection stretch and extruded blow molded containers and molded and extruded plastics in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands. Harrell is responsible for Sonoco's North American tubes and cores, wire and cable reels and transport packaging operations, including 31 manufacturing operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

TAPPI announces its new board of directors
TAPPI, a worldwide association for pulp, paper, packaging and converting industries, has announced its board of directors election results. The new board members are Robert J. Gallo, Jeff Hamilton and Chris Luettgen. Elected to begin their three year terms in March 2010, they will join Jeffrey J. Siegel from Mica Corp. and Norman F. Marsolan from Institute of Paper Science & Technology-IPST at Georgia Tech, who continue to serve as TAPPI chair, and TAPPI vice-chair, respectively.
Gallo is president of Voith Paper North America based in both Appleton, WI, and Wilson, NC; Hamilton is Sappi's corporate director of manufacturing services; and Luettgen currently serves as senior R&E manager, business support for Kimberly-Clark's professional business.

MLP USA announces new director of sheetfed and web offset sales
MLP (Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses ) USA Inc. has promoted Mike stock to the position of director sheetfed and web offset sales. Stock joined MLP in 1991, helping guide its U.S.-based engineering for its Mitsubishi line of web offset presses, working with customers and MHI engineering and R&D to expand the company's line of high performance heat set web presses for US markets. In his new position, Stock will oversee MLP's sales force and cultivate current and prospective customer relationships through the company's highly respected press equipment.

UPM Raflatac labelstock manufacturing facility achieves ISO 14001:2004 certification
UPM Raflatac has received ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System certification for its state-of-the-art labelstock factory in Dixon, IL. UPM Raflatac says that the certification represents a significant step toward achieving one of the company's major goals for its labelstock and RFID facilities worldwide: Developing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) that operate in accordance with an internationally recognized standard. With a fully developed EMS, the Illinois factory joins the ranks of other UPM Raflatac facilities in the United States, Europe and China in setting the standard for excellence in environmental performance within the label industry.

Pinnacle Foods signs procurement outsourcing agreement
Pinnacle Foods Group, which is known for its foods brands such as Vlasic, Mrs. Butterworth's and Duncan Hines, has signed a three-year contract with ICG Commerce, a procurement outsourcing specialist. ICG Commerce will support Pinnacle with spend management across a range of categories, the largest of which include advertising, logistics, capital equipment, and plant-related supplies and services.

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