Sonoco Alcore - Demolli Showcases New Technological Innovations at IPACK IMA 2009

MILAN--(Business Wire)--
Sonoco Alcore - Demolli S.R.L., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonoco (NYSE: SON),
one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, is launching a number
of new products at the IPACK IMA Processing, Packaging and Material Handling
trade show, 24-28 March, 2009.

Technology Leader

The new products Sonoco Alcore - Demolli is featuring include Intellicore radio
frequency identification (RFID) enabled paper cores for roll tracking in the
paper industry; Dricore rain-resistant paperboard cores for the agricultural
industry; printed cores for the textile industry; and LoadRight environmentally
friendly paperboard pallets for transporting bulk bags.

Sonoco Alcore - Demolli will conduct live demonstrations of the Intellicore
RFID-enabled core technology throughout the show using an antenna and reader.
Demonstrations will show the capabilities of the Intellicore technology, which
was originally developed for and is now being used in the paper industry and is
well suited for applications in the film and textile industries.

Dricore rain-resistant paperboard cores provide agricultural film producers with
cost savings versus plastic cores and increased productivity through reduced
machine vibration during the winding process due to improved properties of the
paperboard core. The rain-resistant properties of the Dricore core also meet the
demanding requirements of end users in the silage industry. Made from
paperboard, the more environmentally friendly Dricore core is also much easier
to dispose of than plastic cores. The Dricore core will be exhibited in a "rain
simulation chamber" to show its rain-resistant properties.

Sonoco Alcore - Demolli is also exhibiting the breakthrough printed core for the
textile industry, the Loadright paper pallet for transporting FIBC bags, the
M-Core high-performance paper mill cores for the printing industry,
high-performance film cores for the film industry and a range of other cores for
all of its served industries.

"As an industry leader in the European market, it is our responsibility to
continue finding new ways to provide value to our customers. We listen to our
customers` needs and we put action plans in place for our sales, marketing,
technology and manufacturing organizations to meet those needs. Over the last 24
months, we have made new product development a prime focus. As a result, we have
developed solutions with new products that solve real-world problems for our
customers and IPACK IMA is the ideal platform to launch them in the marketplace.
Ultimately, we are bringing value to our customers by adding value to our
products. This is critical in today`s difficult operating environment," said
Eddie Smith, vice president, Sonoco Alcore, Europe.

About Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l.

Sonoco-Alcore S.a.r.l. operates 30 tube and core plants and six paper mills on
the European continent and in the United Kingdom. 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. For more information on the Company, visit
our Web site at http://www.sonoco.com/.

Sonoco
Gary Morgan, Mobile: +32 (0) 476 49 05 91
gary.morgan@sonoco.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009