About_DSC

DS Containters' History

DS Containers is a unique Japanese-American partnership (DS
is derived from Daiwa-Seikan - the latter is the Japanese word
for can making). The former founder of the American side of
the equation was William J. Smith, Sr., a packaging veteran
with over 50 years of experience. He was the founding CEO of
U.S. Can Company, and before that, executive vice president
of American Can Company's Paper Division, then the nation's
largest packaging company. In both places he established
relationships with Daiwa and was instrumental in forging the
present arrangement.

In 2004, a 236,000 square-foot plant was built in Batavia, IL,
specifically for the DSC operation, which has been outfitted
with state-of-the-art production equipment, using proprietary
Daiwa technology. Modeled after Daiwa's successful "New
Bottle Can", an aluminum beverage can made in Japan, the
DSC container is a two-piece PET-laminated steel can. Geared
initially to the U.S market, it combines value and product
integrity in a can that gives marketers a premium package,
with greater consumer appeal than the traditional three-piece
can. Since production began in 2005, consumers and
marketers alike cannot get enough of this award-winning,
modern and seamless container.

Daiwa Can Company's History

In 1939, Mr. Hisakichi Yamaguchi founded a small company in
Osaka, Japan to make cork-lined caps for bottles. The
business grew into a six-line plant, and the company changed
its name to Daiwa Can Company. Then, in the mid-fifties,
Daiwa entered into a technical assistance agreement with
American Can Company, which led to the manufacture of beer
cans. In 1965, Daiwa merged with Kyushu Can and became
one of Japan's leading packaging manufacturers.

Almost all of the new products and technologies introduced
into the Japanese can industry in the past 40 years have come
from Daiwa. They include the first production of liquid coffee
cans, the first drawn-and-ironed steel cans, centralized end
making, coil laminating and the "New Bottle Can", the first
re-sealable metal can in the worldwide beverage market.

Today, Daiwa has 11 plants and represents approximately
one-third of the can industry in Japan. As a member of the
Yamaguchi Enterprise Group, Daiwa is allied with a sister
company, Shin Nippon Koki, a major machinery and machine
tool business. For more information, click on Daiwa Can
Company.