Crown Holdings

Crown Holdings
Public
Traded as NYSE: CCK
Industry Packaging
Founded 1892
Headquarters Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Key people
Timothy J. Donahue, CEO and President, Thomas A. Kelly CFO and SVP, John W. Conway, Chairman of the Board
Products Aerosol Packaging, Beverage Packaging, Food Packaging, Metal Closures, and Speciality Packaging
Revenue IncreaseUS$8.5B (FY 2012)[1]
IncreaseUS$826M (FY 2010)[2]
IncreaseUS$658M (FY 2012)[1]
Total assets US$7.5B (FY 2012)[1]
Total equity US$ 123M (FY 2012)[1]
Number of employees
21,900
Website www.crowncork.com

Crown Holdings Incorporated, formerly Crown Cork & Seal Company, is an American company that makes metal beverage and food cans, metal aerosol containers, metal closures and specialty packing. Founded in 1892, it is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] As of December 2012, Crown employs 21,900 people at 149 plants in 41 countries.[3] It claims to manufacture one out of every five beverage cans used in the world, and one out of every three food cans used in North America and Europe. The company is ranked No. 296 in the Fortune 500 list for 2012 and is number one in the packaging and container industry for the same list.[4]

History

Cork oak tree planted and dedicated by Jimmie H. Davis at the Crown Cork plant in Louisiana.

William Painter, an American of British descent, invented the crown cap for bottled carbonated beverages in 1891, and obtained patents 468,226 and 468,258 for it on February 2, 1892. He founded his own manufacturing business, the Crown Cork and Seal Company, in Baltimore and set out on a campaign to convince bottlers that his cap was the right one to use on their products. By 1898, he had created a foot-powered crowner device to sell to bottlers and retailers so that they could seal the bottles with his caps quickly and easily. This helped gain acceptance of his bottle caps. By 1906, Crown had opened manufacturing plants in Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

In 1927, after a merger with New Process Cork Company, Crown Cork and Seal Company was established in New York City. Crown Cork International Corporation was established in the subsequent year in order to assist subsidiaries engaged in bottle crown and other cork business outside the United States.

By the 1930s Crown was selling half of the world’s supply of bottle caps. Crown entered the tin can business in 1936 with the purchase of the Acme Can Company of Philadelphia, which led to the creation of the Crowntainer, a funnel-shaped beer can, the following year.[5]

To address market changes after World War I and Prohibition, Crown then focused heavily on soft drinks. During World War II, Crown produced war products such as the Kork-N-Seal, the Pour-N-Seal, and the Merit Seal, as well as gas mask canisters. John Connelly took over presidency of the company and moved the headquarters from Baltimore to Philadelphia in the late 1950s. In 2003, Crown restructured as a public holding company. In 2005 and 2006 Crown exited the plastics industry with the sale of its Global Plastic Closure and its cosmetics packaging businesses.[5]

Labor practices

The Toronto branch of Crown Packaging is currently in its 21st month of an ongoing labor dispute with 125 United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9176 workers.[6] The workers have alleged that Crown is bargaining in bad faith by offering a 42%, $9 hourly wage cut, and a 5-year pension freeze, among other concessions. The Toronto plant is highly profitable and has received awards for productivity and safety. USW has filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations, and on 13 March 2015 Ontario labour minister Kevin Flynn announced that mediator Morton Mitchnick had been appointed to conduct an industrial inquiry into the dispute.[7] Crown has been using bused in workers to replace its employees while they strike.[8]

Should the strike be resolved, Crown has stated only 26 of the original workers will continue to have jobs as their positions have since been replaced, a practice known as strikebreaking.[9]

Regions

Businesses

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "For Investors". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  2. Crown Cork & Seal Company (CCK) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest.
  3. 1 2 "About Crown". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. Brett Krasnove (9 May 2014). "Fortune 500 - Fortune". Fortune. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 "History and Timeline - Crown". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. "Steelworkers union targets beer can maker in ongoing labour dispute". 14 October 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  7. http://www.canadianlabour.ca/national/news/clc-joins-national-beer-can-boycott-against-crown-holdings-union-members-urged-buy-the
  8. "Crack a beer, crack a case of labour rights violations". NOW Toronto Magazine - Think Free. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  9. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/media-advisory-steelworkers-rally-one-145300116.html
  10. "Facts and Figures". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. "Facts and Figures". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  12. "Facts and Figures". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  13. "Beverage Packaging". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  14. "Food Cans". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. "Brand-Building Packaging - Crown". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. "Specialty Packaging". Retrieved 23 January 2016.


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