Industry Comes Together to Support Flooded Mill After Florence

Historic Flooding

Sonoco Products Company, a global provider of consumer and industrial packaging, recently experienced historic flooding due to Hurricane Florence at their Hartsville, SC facility, shutting down all paper operations. The flood waters resulted in 60 inches of standing water in some parts of the mill; leaving behind 425 wet motors and 7 inoperable paper machines, once the water receded.

Industry Comes Together to Help

Paper companies in the surrounding area immediately stepped up to offer their support to the crippled complex – offering motors, spare parts, labor, and many other resources to aid Sonoco’s recovery efforts.  Domtar, WestRock, Cascades, Pratt Industries and DS Smith were among the companies who reached out to lend a hand. Thanks in part to industry support, Sonoco was able to resume paper production at their Hartsville complex after working around the clock for 2 full weeks to overcome the damage. It took 10 days to get the first machine operating and 14 days to return to full operation.

Thanks Neighbor!

Everyone in Sonoco is very appreciative of their neighbors in the industry, stepping up to help in this time of need. This example really shows the level of peer support, family atmosphere, and general goodwill toward others that is alive and well in this paper industry that we call family.

By guest student blogger: Sarah Pumphrey