Crown Cork & Seal Launches New Beverage Can End, First Major Innovation In Decades

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Paris Bourse: CCK) today announced the commercial availability of the SuperEnd™ beverage can end. SuperEnd™ is the first significant innovation in beverage can ends in decades. It utilizes advanced technology to improve can quality and performance for both beverage fillers and consumers. The initial production volume is committed to an undisclosed major North American beverage bottler. Additional commercialization is expected in the near term, as most of the Company's major North American customers have already participated in successful large-scale trials.

SuperEnd™ utilizes less metal while improving the quality of the end, through improved seams and increased strength. Moreover, consumer market trials have consistently demonstrated a preference for SuperEnd™ over existing can ends, due to end-user improvements such as easier opening with better finger access to the pull-tab, enhanced mouth-fit and pouring, and a modern, cleaner appearance. The new end also enables sufficient area for incising recycling text to permit multi-region usage.

Dan Abramowicz, Crown Cork & Seal's Executive Vice President - Corporate Technologies stated, "SuperEnd™ requires only minimal changes to filling equipment and is very easy to implement, offering manufacturers significant cost savings for modest capital investment. As a result of strong customer demand, Crown expects to license the technology, positioning SuperEnd™ to become the new global standard in beverage can ends."

With the Company's recently completed conversion of its end manufacturing line in Dayton, Ohio, capacity currently totals an annualized 1.8 billion SuperEnd™ units. Crown has now accelerated its implementation schedule in response to customer demand for the new end. By the fourth quarter of 2001, Crown will upgrade capacity to 7 billion annualized units in the U.S. The patented technology was originally developed by Crown's CarnaudMetalBox subsidiary in Europe.

Crown Cork & Seal is the leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SOURCE Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.crowncork.com
CONTACT: Daniel Abramowicz, Executive Vice President -- Corporate Technologies, Crown Cork & Seal, 215-698-5143, or Edward Bisno of Edelman Financial, 212-704-8212