Sealed Air Corporation, operating through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells
a wide range of food, protective and specialty packaging products.
The Company conducts substantially all of its business through two direct wholly-owned
subsidiaries, Cryovac,'Inc. and Sealed Air Corporation (US). These two subsidiaries
directly and indirectly own substantially all of the assets of the business
and conduct operations themselves and through subsidiaries around the globe.
References herein to the Company include, collectively, the Company and its
subsidiaries, except where the context indicates otherwise.
The Company operates in two reportable business segments: (1)'Food Packaging
and (2)'Protective and Specialty Packaging.
The Company operates in the United States and in 49 other countries, and its
products are distributed in those countries as well as in other parts of the
world. In maintaining its foreign operations, the Company faces risks inherent
in these operations, such as those of currency fluctuations.
To support its food packaging customers, the Company operates food science
laboratories that assist customers in identifying the appropriate food packaging
materials and systems to meet their needs. The Company also offers customized
graphic design services to its food packaging and mailer customers.
To assist its marketing efforts for its protective and specialty packaging
products and to provide specialized customer services, the Company operates
packaging laboratories in many of its United States and foreign facilities.
These laboratories are staffed by professional packaging engineers and equipped
with drop-testing and other equipment used to develop and test cost-effective
package designs to meet the particular protective and specialty packaging requirements
of each customer.
Raw Materials
The raw materials for the Companys products generally have been readily available
on the open market and in most cases are available from several suppliers. Some
materials used in the Companys protective packaging products are reprocessed
from scrap generated in the Companys manufacturing operations or obtained through
participation in recycling programs. The principal raw materials used in both
of the Companys reportable business segments are polyolefin and other petrochemical-based
resins and films, paper and wood pulp products, and blowing agents used in foam
packaging products. In addition, the Company offers a wide variety of specialized
packaging equipment, some of which it manufactures or has manufactured to its
specifications, some of which it assembles and some of which it purchases from
other suppliers.
Competition
Competition for most of the Companys packaging products is based primarily
on packaging performance characteristics, service and price. Since competition
is also based upon innovations in packaging technology, the Company maintains
ongoing research and development programs to enable it to maintain technological
leadership. There are other companies producing competing products that are
well established and may have greater financial resources than the Company.
There are other manufacturers of food packaging products, some of which are
companies offering similar products that operate on a global basis and others
that operate in a region or single country. Competing manufacturers produce
a wide variety of food packaging based on plastic, paper, metals and other materials.
The Company believes that it is one of the leading suppliers of flexible food
packaging materials and related systems in the principal geographic areas in
which it offers those products and one of the leading suppliers of absorbent
pads for food products to supermarkets and poultry processors in the United
States.
The Companys protective and specialty packaging products compete with similar
products made by other manufacturers and with a number of other packaging materials
that customers use to provide protection against damage to their products during
shipment and storage. Among the competitive materials are various forms of paper
packaging products, expanded plastics, corrugated die cuts, loosefill packaging
materials, strapping, envelopes, reinforced bags, boxes and other containers,
and various corrugated materials. The Companys Instapak' packaging and its
plank and laminated foam products also compete with various types of molded
foam plastics, fabricated foam plastics and mechanical shock mounts and with
wood blocking and bracing systems. The Company believes that it is one of the
leading suppliers of air cellular cushioning materials containing a barrier
layer, shrink films for industrial and commercial applications, protective mailers,
polyethylene foam and polyurethane foam packaging systems in the principal geographic
areas in which it sells these products.