Los Angeles, California, USA 07 October 2008 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation today successfully opened its new Cerritos, California, facility, one of the most modern corrugated container manufacturing facilities in the industry. Smurfit-Stone invested USD 42 million to transform an existing facility into the state-of-the-art plant, which will employ approximately 123 people.

Steve Klinger, Smurfit-Stone president and chief operating officer, said, "The Cerritos plant represents our vision to build a world-class manufacturing organization, supporting our customers' needs through high-performing, highly accountable people; sophisticated equipment; and standardized, repeatable processes. We are committed to Cerritos and to serving our customers in the southern California market."

The Cerritos "super plant" is specifically designed to serve southern California customers that include companies in the beverage, consumer goods, medical, food and produce, garment, and distribution businesses. By combining cutting-edge equipment with the latest technology and highly skilled employees, the Cerritos facility can produce as much as 2.3 billion square feet of corrugated board per year and an average of 350 boxes a minute.

The Cerritos plant also highlights Smurfit-Stone's commitment to integrating sustainability into its operations. To reduce energy consumption, the plant is powered by a high-efficiency boiler and uses highly efficient make-up air heaters in the production area.

Smurfit-Stone has made great strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its facilities, reducing the burning of fossil fuels by approximately 20% since 1998. As a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, Smurfit-Stone has committed to achieving greenhouse gas emission reductions of 6% below baseline by 2010.

The company's recycling operations recovered 7 million tons of valuable materials from the waste stream in 2007, including 6.8 million tons of recovered paper, making Smurfit-Stone one of the world's largest paper recyclers. The company used 41%of the recovered paper as raw material in its containerboard manufacturing operations.

To celebrate the Cerritos plant opening and to highlight its commitment to sustainability, Smurfit-Stone announced the donation of 1000 seedlings to support urban forestry in California.

Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (NASDAQ:SSCC) is one of the industry's leading integrated containerboard and corrugated packaging producers and one of the world's largest paper recyclers. The company is a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative(R), and the Chicago Climate Exchange. Smurfit-Stone generated revenue of USD 7.4 billion in 2007, has led the industry in safety every year since 2001, and conducts its business in compliance with the environmental, health, and safety principles of the American Forest & Paper Association.