Sealed Air

In 1957, American engineer Alfred W. Fielding and Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes sought to invent plastic wallpaper with a paper backing. While the wallpaper failed, Fielding and Chavannes realized that their invention could be a packing material. Fielding was executive vice president and a director of Sealed Air until his retirement in 1987, while Chavannes worked mostly as a consultant. bankruptcy and fraud allegations brought against the original merger. T.J. Dermot Dunphy was CEO from 1971 to 2000. An Oxford University graduate who received his MBA from Harvard Business School, he became chairman of Kildare Enterprises, LLC in November 2000 after leaving Sealed Air. William Hickey was CEO from 2000 to March 2013. He previously worked in several capacities at Sealed Air, including COO, executive vice president, CFO, vice president, and general manager of the Food Packaging Division and the Cellu Products Division. In March 2013, Jérôme Péribère took over as CEO and president of Sealed Air. He obtained his business economics and finance degree from Sciences Po in Paris, France. In January 2018, Ted Doheny took over as CEO. In October 2023, Ted Doheny stepped down as CEO. Emile Chammas, Chief Operating Officer and Dustin Semach, Chief Financial Officer were interim co-Presidents and co-CEOs. In November 2025, private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice agreed to acquire the company for a total enterprise value of $10.3 billion. The acquisition was completed on April 9, 2026 with Sealed Air becoming a privately held company and its shares ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange. ==Acquisitions==

In 1970, Sealed Air acquired Smith Packaging Ltd., which was later renamed Sealed Air of Canada, Ltd., marking Sealed Air's first international move. Sealed Air acquired Cellu Products Co. and Dri-Loc in 1983, Jiffy in 1987, Sentinel in 1991, Trigon Packaging NZ in 1993, and the Shurtuff Division of Shuford Mills, Inc. in 1993. In 1994, Sealed Air followed up with the further acquisitions of Hereford Paper and Allied Products Ltd., Sup-Air-Pack, Fill Air, and packaging companies based in Norway, France, and Italy. In 1998, Sealed Air was acquired and merged with the Cryovac Division of W.R. Grace for a $4.9 billion stock trade, and spun off from the Grace parent holding company as W. R. Grace, Inc. That corporation changed its name to the current Sealed Air. In June 2000, Sealed Air purchased Dolphin Packaging for $119 million, to better serve its European customers. In October 2011, Sealed Air acquired Diversey Holdings, In October 2017, Sealed Air acquired Fagerdala Singapore Pte Ltd., a manufacturer and fabricator of polyethylene foam. In August 2018, Sealed Air acquired Austin Foam Plastics (AFP, Inc.), a leading, privately held fabricator of foam, corrugated, molded pulp and wood packaging solutions. Sealed Air Acquires Austin Foam Plastics In February 2023, Sealed Air acquired Liquibox, a manufacturer of Bag-in-Box sustainable fluids & liquids packaging and dispensing solutions for fresh food, beverage, consumer goods and industrial end-markets. Liquibox Acquisition ==Operations==

Sealed Air's food care division makes packaging for the food and beverage industry, while its product care division produces protective and specialty packaging materials for a wide range of goods. One of the uses of Cryovac is to wrap food. Once wrapped, most of the air in the package is removed to prevent oxidation and inhibit the growth of most pathogens. This process also gives food a longer shelf life in the refrigerator or freezer and makes freezer burn nearly impossible. Cryovac Inc., a South Carolina-based company, created this product in the 1950 to extend the shipping distance of freshly slaughtered turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. ==References==