Crown Cork & Seal Begins Construction of $6.8 Million, 112,000-Square-Foot Expansion of Zeller Plastik Facility

138% Space Increase to Expand Warehousing and Production

PHILADELPHIA, May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) today announced the groundbreaking of a 112,000-square-foot expansion to Zeller Plastik, its plastic closures division, in Libertyville, IL. Scheduled to open in February 2003, the new $6.8 million facility will provide customers with a highly efficient resource for sales, service and support. Zeller's expansion will significantly increase warehousing capabilities, reduce order-processing times and improve shipping efficiencies.

"The expansion will more than double the size of Zeller's existing headquarters, with 70 percent of the new building dedicated to warehousing," says Tom Macuk, Director of Manufacturing for Zeller Plastik. "Our customers will benefit directly from the expanded facility, as all orders will be fulfilled on the premises, increasing capacity for rapid deployments."

To meet high customer demand, and to accommodate an influx of new business, 30 percent of Zeller's new facility will house additional manufacturing equipments to produce dispensing closures. The expansion's unique design allows room for future growth, as Zeller's capabilities and customers' needs increase.

Zeller innovates customized, hinged dispensing closures to assist companies in the food & beverage, health & beauty and household & industrial markets achieve business goals. Zeller provided integrated strategic consultation and design to develop closures that support brand equity and drive revenue.

Since its founding in 1984, the U.S. division of Zeller Plastik has become a leader in the North American closures market.

Crown Cork & Seal is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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SOURCE Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.crowncork.com
CONTACT: Nancy Kane, Marketing Coordinator of Zeller Plastik, +1-847-247-7991, or Timothy J. Donahue, Senior Vice President - Finance of Crown Cork & Seal, +1-215-698-5100