Shortly, Painter created the Crown Cork & Seal Company of Baltimore and expanded it overseas to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil. After World War I, the company shifted its production from beer to soft drinks in order to survive the Prohibition Era. In 1927, the company was incorporated in New York City; consequently, Cork’s early foreign market gave it an advantage over other competitors in the container and closure fields. Even though the the Great Depression would be the worst possible period to enter a capital-intensive business, Crown was firmly able to succeed in can operations from the beginning. Processed canning swiftly replaced home canning as the favored way to store perishable goods. That’s why the container commerce survived the economic cycles that afflicted other forms of businesses. Crown Cork & Seal managed to maintain an earnings growth rate of 20 percent per year by neither expanding into non-container fields nor by seeking to increase its can production program by buying other minor can operations. The key can be drawn from 1957, where at that time Crown Cork lacked strong leadership and was dangerously close to bankruptcy.
Shortly, Painter created the Crown Cork & Seal Company of Baltimore and expanded it overseas to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil. After World War I, the company shifted its production from beer to soft drinks in order to survive the Prohibition Era. In 1927, the company was incorporated in New York City; consequently, Cork’s early foreign market gave it an advantage over other competitors in the container and closure fields. Even though the the Great Depression would be the worst possible period to enter a capital-intensive business, Crown was firmly able to succeed in can operations from the beginning. Processed canning swiftly replaced home canning as the favored way to store perishable goods. That’s why the container commerce survived the economic cycles that afflicted other forms of businesses. Crown Cork & Seal managed to maintain an earnings growth rate of 20 percent per year by neither expanding into non-container fields nor by seeking to increase its can production program by buying other minor can operations. The key can be drawn from 1957, where at that time Crown Cork lacked strong leadership and was dangerously close to bankruptcy.