Crown Holdings Incorporated , formerly Crown Cork & Seal Company, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 company producing packaging. Founded in 1892, it is currently headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. From a modest beginning in 1892, the company had emerged as the world’s leading packaging company, and as of 2008, was operating 154 plants in 42 countries, employing over 24,000 people. It claims to manufacture one out of every five beverage can

Beverage can

A beverage can is a tin can designed to hold a specific portion of a beverage. Beverage cans are made of tin-plated steel or aluminium.- History :...

s used in the world, and one out of every three food cans

Canning

Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...

 used in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Company history

William Painter

William Painter (inventor)

William Painter was the inventor of the crown cork and the founder of Crown Holdings, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. He was born in Tridelphia, Maryland and moved to the United States at the age of 20...

, 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

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

and set out on a campaign to convince bottlers that his cap was the right cap for them 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 to drive acceptance of his bottle caps rather quickly around the world.

Historic milestones

• In 1906, Early Expansion. Crown opens manufacturing plants in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Brazil.
• In 1927, New Impetus. Charles McManus, who had patented Nepro Cork, an economical substitute for natural cork, merges the New Process Cork Company into Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. He consolidates Crown's operations, bolsters net sales which reach $11 million, and establishes the Crown Holdings, Inc. International Corporation.
• In 1937, The Crowntainer. Charles McManus perfects the electrolytic tin-plating process and introduces the Crowntainer. This 2-piece drawn, necked-in steel can sealed with a crown is introduced as a quart beer can.
• In 1952, Spra-tainer. Crown strengthens its position in the aerosol can business and introduces the Spra-tainer, a lightweight, two-piece no side seam, no top seam aerosol can for the food, personal care, household and insecticide markets.
• In 1958, New Headquarters. Crown Cork & Seal moves its corporate headquarters to Philadelphia from Baltimore.
• In 1960, From Beer to Soft Drinks. Recognizing the enormous potential of the soft drink business, Crown Cork & Seal starts designing its equipment specifically to meet the needs of soft drink producers. The company gains considerable market share in the US soft drink market and becomes one of the world's largest producers of steel aerosol cans.
• In 1969. Crown introduces the Drawn-N-Ironed, a two-piece steel beverage can alternative to the aluminum can, which rapidly becomes a hit product.
• In 1977, Foreign Expansion. Crown Holdings, Inc. becomes one of the world's leading producers of cans and crowns overseas, operating 60 foreign plants. Net sales reach $1 billion.
• In 1989. The Company begins a series of acquisitions increasing its sales from $1.9 billion in 1989 to over $8 billion by 1997. The Company enters new markets, new product areas and develops the leading research and development activities in the industries.
• In 1990, Consolidation Begins. Crown acquires major portions of former industry leader Continental Can Company and becomes the North American packaging leader.
• In 1992, Getting into Plastics. Crown Cork & Seal acquires CONSTAR International, a world leader in PET plastic containers for the beverage, food and household markets.
• In 1996. Crown Cork & Seal acquires CarnaudMetalbox, Europe's leading manufacturer of metal and plastic packaging, and becomes the world's packaging leader.
• In 1996. New global headquarters opens in Philadelphia.
• In 2000. Crown introduces the SuperEnd® beverage ends.

External links

• Crown Holdings, Inc.
• William Painter, the great inventor of the Crown Cap