Sonoco Announces Leadership Changes in North American Paper Mill Operations
October 15, 2012
Pignone named vice president, Paper North America; Grups to retire
HARTSVILLE, SC – October 15, 2012 – Sonoco (NYSE: SON), oneof the largest diversified global packaging companies, announcedthat Marty F. Pignone has been named vice president, Paper NorthAmerica, effective December 1, 2012. Pignone will replace John M. Grups,61, division vice president and general manager, who will be retiringfrom Sonoco following a 36-year career.
In this position, Pignone, 55, will have responsibility for Sonoco’s 12uncoated recycled paperboard mills in the United States, Canada andMexico and related support functions. He reports to John Colyer, vicepresident, Paper and Industrial Converted Products.
Following John’s decision to retire after nearly four decades withSonoco, it was important that we installed a seasoned papermanufacturing veteran to head this manufacturing-intensive operation,said Colyer. Marty previously led our North American paper mills foreight years and implemented several key safety and operating excellenceinitiatives that improved performance during his tenure. In this newrole, we’re asking him to improve operating performance and safetynear-term, while further developing our paper manufacturing managementteam.
Pignone joined the Company in 1997 and was elevated to division vicepresident and general manager of Paper, North America in 2000. He becamevice president, Global Manufacturing in 2009 and later vice president,Operating Excellence, where he has led the Company’s globalmanufacturing improvement initiatives as well as supply management andproduct quality improvement. Pignone graduated in 1978 from theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a Bachelor of Science inmechanical engineering and received a Master of Science in businessadministration from Stanford University in 1991. Prior to joining Sonocohe worked for General Electric and Kodak.
Grups’ retirement is effective March 31, 2013. During the transition, hewill work with Pignone on several manufacturing initiatives. Grups tookover the Company’s Primary Materials Group in September 2011 afterserving as staff vice president, Operating Excellence for eight years.Grups is a 1974 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelorof Science in mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. He alsoholds a master’s degree from Purdue University in industrial management.
About Sonoco
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of a variety of consumerpackaging, industrial products, protective packaging and packagingsupply chain services. With net sales of approximately $4.5 billion in2011, the Company has more than 19,600 employees working in over 340operations in 34 countries, serving many of the world’s best knownbrands in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a proud member of the 2012/2013 DowJones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the Company,visit our website at http://www.sonoco.com/.
