GRAHAM PACKAGING EXPANDS MANUFACTURING TO NEW HIGH-TECH PLANT

                     In Southcentral Pennsylvania 

YORK, Pa., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Graham Packaging Company, L.P., today said it has invested more than $30 million, mostly in advanced equipment and technology, in a new plant near its headquarters there. The plant is pioneering a number of new technologies to enable single-serve plastic bottles to compete more effectively with glass containers, according to Roger Prevot, senior vice president and general manager of the company's Food & Beverage Business Unit.

Among the technologies is a new generation of high-speed blow-molding machines based on new mechanical concepts and highly advanced electronics. The machines, manufactured by the Sidel Group of Octeville, France, are capable of producing over 250 million single-serve PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles per year.

"The blow-molding machines feature electronic process control and data collection and represent a step forward in computer-integrated manufacturing," Prevot said. "The new machines also will reduce mold changeover time from hours down to minutes and will use interchangeable parts to reduce the need for a large inventory of replacement and changeover parts."

Prevot said other new technology at the site would improve the capability of plastic bottles to extend the shelf life and preserve the freshness of beverage products.

"The new facility will give us additional capacity to keep up with the constantly growing demand by our customers for the new smaller sizes of PET plastic bottles for juices, teas, and sports drinks," Prevot said. "Just six years ago, plastic containers for foods and beverages accounted for under 5 percent of our business. Today that segment of the market is the largest and fastest growing part of our business."

The new plant is in the Farmbrook Industrial Park in Manchester Township near York and will be managed as a satellite operation of the company's existing Emigsville Plant, also in Manchester Township, under the direction of Joe Cummons, regional operations manager. The expansion has added 40 new jobs to the company's local workforce.

Graham Packaging is a leading global producer of custom blow-molded
plastic containers. With the addition of the new satellite plant,
Graham operates a total of 51 manufacturing facilities in 10 countries
-- Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Turkey, the
United Kingdom, and the United States. The company's U.S. Food &
Beverage Unit is the No. 1 supplier of plastic containers to the juice
industry.
SOURCE Graham Packaging Company, L.P.

-0-                             03/09/99 /CONTACT:  Donald C. Sarvey of 
Editorial Enterprises, 717-236-7716, or email, donsarvey@compuserve.com/ 
 CO:  Graham Packaging Company, L.P.; Sidel Group ST:  Pennsylvania, 
France IN:  FOD SU: