Solo Cup Company is a manufacturer of consumer packaging products: disposable beverage cups, disposable plates and bowls. Solo Cup Company is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and in 2006 had sales of $2.4 billion.
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Leo Hulseman, a former employee of the Dixie Co. in the 1930s, created the "Solo Cup," a paper cone he made at his home and sold to bottled-water companies. He founded the Solo Cup Company in 1936, and came up with other products like wax-coated cups and the plastic Cozy Cup.
On 1 March 2004, Solo acquired Sweetheart Cup Co. for $917.2 million, in part with public debt. Sweetheart was founded by Joseph Shapiro and his four brothers, emigrants from Russia. It became the largest consumer packaging company in the world, and was sold several times before being acquired by Solo Cup.
Solo Cup Company closed its longstanding facility in Highland Park, Illinois in December 2009 and relocated to Lake Forest.
The founder and owner for many years of Solo Cup was Leo Hulseman (1898–1989), whose wife was a singer known by her stage name Dora Hall (whose records were all given away free of charge through Solo promotions).
Leo Hulseman was an active polo player. Hulseman was also the founder and owner of Premore Inc. Premore was a TV Production company on the Culver Studios lot for many years in the 1970s-1980s and later moved to North Hollywood. Premore produced children's TV shows including Tony the Pony (like the later Barney & Friends) and The Clifford Avenue Kids (like Our Gang). Other programs produced at the Premore facilities included Greystone's The Real West and Candid Camera hosted by Bill Cosby. Premore's Television studio stage, remote truck and post production was used for Dora Hall's shows and rented for TV specials and sports. Premore Inc was closed in 1993, 4 years after the death of Leo Hulseman.
Dora Hall's most notable TV show was Rose On Broadway (1979) with Frank Sinatra, Jr., Donald O'Connor and Scatman Crothers. She also had a TV special called Once Upon a Tour. Her songs were used in the "Tony the Pony" TV show. She recorded songs on the Premore and Cozy Records labels.
Robert L. Hulseman, son of the founder Leo Hulseman, became CEO in 1998.
Current CEO Robert M. Korzenski took over from Robert Hulseman in Aug 2006. Korzenski had worked for Sweetheart Cups for over 10 years.
Solo Cup customers include Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Così, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, as well as many universities.
The iconic red plastic cups are notably used in American college and university games such as beer pong and flip cup.[2][3] This usage is referenced in Toby Keith's song "Red Solo Cup".[4]