Morris Packaging to Build $61M Packaging Operation in Kentucky

Sonoco ThermoSafe and LATAM Cargo, an international cargo airline with headquarters in Santiago de Chile, are pleased to announce a global lease agreement for the new Pegasus ULD® temperature-controlled bulk shipping container. The agreement enables pharmaceutical freight forwarders access to Pegasus ULD® containers directly from LATAM Cargo. Sonoco ThermoSafe’s Pegasus ULD® is the world’s first FAA and EASA-approved passive bulk temperature-controlled ULD container for pharmaceutical use, which enables it to speed through international air freight handling and customs processes at the lowest possible cost. With a focus on sustainability, the Pegasus ULD® is engineered with composite materials, offering a lighter solution that is also substantially more damage-resistant than traditional metal containers. Additionally, the Pegasus ULD® contains a fully integrated, FAA-approved telemetry system providing real-time, cloud-based data on payload and ambient temperature and key environmental factors, precisely synchronized with GPS location.

Packaging Corporation of America reported fourth quarter 2024 net income of $221 million, or $2.45 per share, and net income of $222 million, or $2.47 per share, excluding special items. Fourth quarter net sales were $2.1 billion in 2024 and $1.9 billion in 2023. Full year 2024 net income was $805 million, or $8.93 per share, and net income of $814 million, or $9.04 per share, excluding special items. Full year net sales were $8.4 billion in 2024 and $7.8 billion in 2023. Commenting on reported results, Mark W. Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO, said, “As we have seen throughout the year, demand in our Packaging segment during the quarter remained very strong. Our corrugated products plants delivered record fourth quarter total shipments and an all-time record shipments per day. The plants also set new annual records for total shipments and shipments per day. Excellent operations throughout our mill containerboard system set new quarterly and annual production records as well. This allowed us to meet our customer’s demand needs in a timely manner as well as achieve year-end inventory targets ahead of the mill outages scheduled for the first half of 2025. Although seasonally slower, volume and price/mix in the Paper segment were above last year’s levels. Throughout the Company, our employees together with the benefits of our capital spending program continued to do a great job to lessen the inflationary impact across most of our cost structure.”

Metsä Board will present its range of lightweight premium paperboards and its 360 Services at FachPack, hall 4A, stand 116. As a leading European supplier of fresh fibre paperboards Metsä Board focuses on circularity in packaging, efficient use of materials, and solutions for reducing the carbon footprint of packaging. Visitors to FachPack can look forward to learning about a wide range of packaging applications for Metsä Board’s recyclable and compostable dispersion barrier board. This board can reduce plastic use – for example, in sensitive applications such as dry food, takeaway food, bakery products and frozen food. Metsä Board’s premium quality folding boxboards and white kraftliners will also be on view. Thanks to their light weight and strength they enhance resource efficiency and material reduction. Metsä Board invites FachPack visitors to its stand to discuss solutions to their own packaging challenges and the environmental impact of material and packaging choices.