Chesapeake Announces Joint Venture to Manufacture Plastic Packaging in Eastern Europe

Richmond, Virginia, USA and Budapest, Hungary, 13 February 2007 -- Chesapeake Corporation (NYSE: CSK) and Chemark Termelő és Kereskedő Kft. have reached agreement to form a joint venture to manufacture and market specialty plastic containers to agrochemical customers in Hungary and the growing Eastern European market.

Chesapeake's Boxmore Plastics Division and Chemark Termelő és Kereskedő Kft., a pesticide formulating company in Hungary, will form the new venture to serve existing and prospective specialty chemical plastic packaging customers in Eastern Europe. The new venture has already reached agreement to supply an existing Chesapeake and Chemark customer, Syngenta Crop Protection, from this new operation.

The joint venture will be named Chesapeake Plastics Kft. and is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2007. The new venture will produce both PET and HDPE plastic products. J.P. Morvan, managing director of Chesapeake's Specialty Chemicals Plastics Division, and Imre Varga, chairman of Chemark Termelő és Kereskedő Kft., will be co-managing directors of Chesapeake Plastics Kft.

"We are delighted to have been awarded a major contract with an existing customer, Syngenta Crop Protection, and we hope to further develop other customer opportunities in the rapidly growing Eastern European marketplace," said Andrew J. Kohut, Chesapeake president and chief executive officer. "We are also pleased to establish a business in this important region and are proud to be associated with a high-quality partner such as Chemark. This joint venture reflects Chesapeake's commitment to our customer's global needs while at the same time allowing us to build a business that enhances shareholder value in a profitable business segment."

Chesapeake Corporation is a leading international supplier of value-added specialty paperboard and plastic packaging with headquarters in Richmond, Va. The company is one of Europe's premier suppliers of folding cartons, leaflets and labels, as well as plastic packaging for niche markets. Chesapeake has 47 locations in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia and employs approximately 5550 people worldwide. The company's Web site address is http://www.cskcorp.com.

Chemark Termelő és Kereskedő Kft. is a privately owned Hungarian company, located in Peremarton, Hungary, near Budapest. The company was founded in 1991 and is involved in the formulation and supply of pesticides.