The Smurfit Kappa Group was formed at the end of 2005, becoming the leading packaging business in Europe and Latin America.
The Smurfit Kappa Group today is among the largest manufacturers of containerboard, corrugated, and solid board containers, folding cartons and paper bags. It is also one of the largest Latin American companies for containerboard, corrugated containers, sacks and folding cartons, with operations in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuala, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
The Group's history covers more than seventy years.
1934 Jefferson Smurfit begins as a small Irish boxmaker.
1964 The company goes public and starts to expand in Ireland.
1970's Jefferson Smurfit Group (JSG) expands and diversifies in the UK, USA, Europe and Latin America.
1986 JSG acquires 50% of Container Corporation of America (CCA) in a joint venture with Morgan Stanley.
1987 JSG acquires CCA's European interests.
1989 JSG consolidates all of its US businesses into one company which is jointly owned by JSG and Morgan Stanley
1990's Expansion in the European arena.
In the 1990's, JSG continues its expansion into Europe through the purchase of paper assets in Germany, the UK, France and Holland, as well as corrugated assets in France.
1993 US company, Jefferson Smurfit Corporation is floated on NASDAQ.
1994 The paper and packaging operations of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain acquired by JSG. This transaction makes Jefferson Smurfit Europe's largest paper-based packaging group.
1995 JSG purchases the Limousin paper Company in France, a share of the Nettingsdorfer paper Company in Austria and a 33% stake in Munksjo Sweden.
1998, Kappa Packaging is formed by the detachment of the paper and packaging interests of KNP BT. In the Dutch language the name Kappa, which was already in use, represents KArton Producktie & Papier.
1998 Jefferson Smurfit Corporation ("JSC") and Stone Container Corporation merges to form the world's largest producer of containerboard and corrugated containers.
During the 1990's JSG also purchased operations in Argentina, Portugal and Germany.
In the early 2000's JSG also purchased operations in Denmark and the UK, as well as increasing its reach in Argentina through the purchase of two more corrugated operations.
2001 Kappa Packaging almost doubles its size by the acquisition of the packaging interests of the Swedish AssiDoman Group. With strong operations right across Europe, including well established businesses in Central and Eastern Europe, the size of the Kappa Packaging business rivalled that of JSG.
2002 Madison Dearborn Partners acquires JSG
2003 In March 2003, JSG completes the acquisition of Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation's (SSCC's) European packaging operations, located in Germany, Belgium and Spain.
2005 JSG and Kappa Packaging mergeds to become the Smurfit Kappa Group. This merger was finalized by the end of 2005. The group is owned by Madison Dearborn Partners, Cinven Ltd, CVC Capital Partners and by the company's management.
2007 Smurfit Kappa Group is floated on the Irish Stock Exchange as a public limited company.