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PHILADELPHIA, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal Company, Inc. (NYSE: CCK; Paris Bourse) announced today that Frank J. Mechura, 58, has been promoted to Executive Vice President of the Company as well as President of its Americas Division, effective immediately. He succeeds, and will report to, John W. Conway, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mechura will continue working out of the Company's Philadelphia headquarters.

The Americas Division had 2000 net sales of $3.7 billion, which represented 51% of the Company's total net sales that year.

Mr. Mechura has held positions of increasing responsibility with ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal, or companies it has acquired, for the past 34 years. Most recently, he has been serving as President of the Americas Division's plastic packaging businesses. His experience includes general management positions in corrugated container, metal container, plastic bottle, metal closure and plastic closure businesses.

His other past positions include President, ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal Canada and President, CONSTAR (the Company's plastic bottle business). Mr. Mechura successfully managed the turnaround of both the Company's Canadian business and CONSTAR. The Canadian operation became and remains a substantial contributor to the Americas Division while CONSTAR is growing rapidly as a result of technology deployment and an improved cost base developed over the last several years.

Commenting on Mr. Mechura's promotion, Mr. Conway said, "Frank's primary challenges will be to improve the cash flow and profitability of the Americas Division which in turn will enable the Company to execute its overall debt reduction plans. With his experience, proven track record of operating successes, and strong leadership skills we are confident Frank will lead the return to the Division's historically high levels of operational efficiency and profitability."

Mr. Mechura is active in both civic and industrial organizations. He is Vice Chairman of International House of Philadelphia and Vice Chairman of National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School.

³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal is the leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SOURCE ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal Company, Inc.
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CONTACT: Timothy J. Donahue, Senior Vice President - Finance of ³Ô¹Ï51±¬ÁÏÍø Cork & Seal, 215-698-5088, or Edward Bisno of Edelman Financial, 212-704-8212