F.O. Berg, Sonoco Plan Joint Venture

The F.O. Berg Co., a Spokane-based manufacturer, has joined with Sonoco to jointly market packaging to the metals industry.

As a result of the deal, announced Thursday, F.O. Berg’s executives anticipate opening plants near metal manufacturers in the Midwest, East and Europe.

“We’re anticipating sales quadrupling within two years,” Berg co-owner Andy Barrett said. “This is a huge deal for us.”

F.O. Berg, which employs about 30 workers, had sales slightly above $2.5 million last year, Barrett said.

Sonoco is an international packaging company headquartered in South Carolina. The company has 19,000 employees and reported $2.8 billion in sales last year.

Berg manufactures fabric caps which fit over both ends of wrapped coils of sheet metal, while Sonoco sells the cores around which the metal is wrapped.

“It’s a perfect relationship,” Barrett said.

Both companies sell their products to Kaiser Aluminum, he said.

F.O. Berg, which has been in Spokane since 1883, also makes and sells tents and awnings.