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Nature Of Business | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2011
Nature Of Business [Abstract] |
Nature Of Business |
1. | NATURE OF BUSINESS
Packaging Corporation of America ("PCA" or the "Company") was incorporated on January 25, 1999. On April 12, 1999, PCA acquired the containerboard and corrugated packaging products business of Pactiv Corporation ("Pactiv"), formerly known as Tenneco Packaging Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenneco Inc. PCA had no operations from the date of incorporation on January 25, 1999 to April 11, 1999. The Company is comprised of mills and corrugated manufacturing operations. The mill operations (the "Mills") consist of two kraft linerboard mills located in Counce, Tennessee, and Valdosta, Georgia, and two medium mills located in Filer City, Michigan, and Tomahawk, Wisconsin. The Mills transfer the majority of their containerboard produced to PCA's corrugated products plants. PCA's corrugated manufacturing operations consist of 71 plants, with 41 operating as combining operations, or corrugated plants, and 30 as sheet plants; a technical and development center, six graphic design centers and a complement of packaging supplies and distribution centers. All plants are located in the continental United States. Corrugated plants combine linerboard and medium into sheets that are converted into corrugated shipping containers, point-of-sale graphics packaging, point-of-purchase displays and other specialized packaging. Sheet plants purchase sheets primarily from PCA corrugated products plants to use in the finished corrugated products converting process. The corrugated manufacturing operations sell to diverse customers primarily in North America. As of December 31, 2011, PCA had approximately 8,300 employees. Approximately 2,500 of these employees were salaried and approximately 5,800 were hourly. Approximately 75% of its hourly employees are represented by unions. The majority of its unionized employees are represented by the United Steel Workers (USW), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), and the International Association of Machinists (IAM). Based on an agreement reached with the USW in August 2008, the existing labor agreements at PCA's containerboard mills covering USW-represented employees (88% of mill hourly workforce) were extended five years. With this extension, the USW contracts at the Company's mills are currently set to expire between September 2013 and June 2015. Agreements with other union mill employees (12% of mill hourly workforce) expire between June 2012 and October 2014. Based on an agreement reached with the USW in April 2009, the labor agreement at 25 corrugated plants covering USW represented employees was extended up to five years. Contracts for unionized corrugated products plant employees expire between February 2012 and December 2017. The Company is currently in negotiations to renew or extend any union contracts that have recently expired or are expiring in the near future.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Name Statement of Position (SOP) -Publisher AICPA -Number 94-6 -Paragraph 10 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592 + Details
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