Berry Plastics Corp.'s hold on the market for disposable drinking cups has strong ties in Lawrence.
PackerWare Corp., a Berry subsidiary, makes 380 million cups a year at its 500,000-square-foot plant on 31 acres north of the Kansas Turnpike.
The cups molded in Lawrence turn up in convenience stores, Applebee's restaurants and, increasingly, sports venues across the country -- including Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas University, and Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums in Kansas City, Mo.
"We do all the major league baseball teams and football teams, and NASCAR is real big right now," said Kevin Woods, human resources manager for PackerWare. "It's a great feeling, and Berry's had a lot to do with increasing our presence."
And with PackerWare's help, Berry has increased its stake in the $100 million-a-year domestic market for injection-molded cups. Berry had $40 million in domestic cup sales last year, up from $7.5 million in 1995.
Berry bought PackerWare in January 1997.
PackerWare, with 350 employees, does more than make cups. It also is the lone Berry plant that produces housewares, including plastic plates, paper plate holders, tumblers, flower pots and pitchers with molded plastic lids.
"If you go into Wal-Mart right now you'll see a lot of our stuff," Woods said, including trick-or-treat buckets and Halloween chip-and-dip bowls.
In all, PackerWare is on track for $50 million in sales this year, Woods said, and is looking to do $70 million next year as new business comes on line.
"We're gearing up for our busy season," he said. "We're adding to the staff right now."
-- Mark Fagan's phone message number is 832-7188. His e-mail address is mfagan@ljworld.com.
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