Solo Cup Company - wikipedia Solo Cup Company `` Red Cup '' redirects here. For the Star Wars film which used this as a working title, see Solo : A Star Wars Story. For the musician of this name, see Diego 's Umbrella. Solo Cup Company Founded 1936 Founder Leo Hulseman Headquarters Lake Forest, Illinois Products Disposable cups Parent Dart Container Website www.solocup.com Solo Cup Company is an American manufacturer of disposable consumer products including beverage cups, disposable plates and bowls. Solo Cup Company is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and in 2006 had sales of $2.4 billion. On May 4, 2012, Solo Cup Company was acquired by Dart Container. Contents 1 History 2 Management 2.1 Founder 2.2 Subsequent management 3 Customers 4 References 5 External links History A basic 16 ounce ( 473 mL ) Solo cup The world 's largest `` paper '' cup in front of what was once the Lily - Tulip manufacturing company, later Sweetheart Cup Company which was in turn acquired by Solo. Actually made of poured concrete, the cup stands about 68.1 feet ( 20.8 m ) tall. Leo Hulseman, a former employee of the Dixie Co. in the 1930s, created the `` Solo Cup '', a paper cone he made at his home and sold to bottled - water companies. He founded the Solo Cup Company in 1936, and developed other products, like wax - coated cups and the plastic Cozy Cup. The wax - coated cups were added to its lineup in the 1950s, as fountain sodas gained popularity. In the 1970s, Hulseman 's son, Robert Leo Hulseman, came up with the now - ubiquitous red Solo cup. The red Solo cups are made of thick, molded polystyrene. They are known for being able to withstand drops, easily stackable, and disposable while price accessible. Their characteristic red color may conceal the drinking contents. On March 1, 2004, Solo acquired Sweetheart Cup Company for $917.2 million, in part with public debt. Sweetheart was founded by Joseph Shapiro and his four brothers, emigrants from Russia. It became the largest consumer packaging company in the world and was sold several times before being acquired by Solo Cup. Following the acquisition, Solo Cup 's finances suffered, and Standard & Poor 's lowered their credit rating from B to CCC+. In late 2006, Solo Cup was reported to be $1.1 billion in debt. In 2005, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City added a Solo Cup Traveler 's Lid to its permanent collection. The lid was featured because it symbolized innovation and progress in basic product design. Solo Cup Company closed its longstanding facility in Highland Park, Illinois, in December 2009 and relocated to Lake Forest, Illinois. On May 4, 2012, Solo Cup Company was acquired by Dart Container. Management Founder Leo Hulseman ( 1898 -- 1989 ) was an active polo player. His wife, Dorothy Donahoe Hulseman ( 1900 -- 1988 ), better known by her stage name Dora Hall, was a singer whose records were given away free of charge through Solo promotions. Leo Hulseman was also the founder and owner of Premore Inc. Premore was a television production company on the Culver Studios lot for many years in the 1970s and 1980s, and later moved to North Hollywood. Premore produced children 's TV shows including Tony the Pony ( like the later Barney & Friends ) and The Clifford Avenue Kids ( like Our Gang ). Other programs produced at the Premore facilities included Greystone 's The Real West and Candid Camera. Premore 's television studio stage, remote truck, and post production were used for Dora Hall 's shows and rented for television specials and sports. Dora Hall was most noted for and seen on the Dora Hall TV Show ( 1979 ), and she played Rose On Broadway with Frank Sinatra Jr., Donald O'Connor and Scatman Crothers. She also had a TV special called `` Once Upon a Tour ''. Her songs are found on Premore and Cozy Records Labels. Premore Inc. was closed in 1993, four years after the death of Leo Hulseman. Subsequent management Robert Leo Hulseman, son of the founder Leo Hulseman and the creator of the iconic red solo cup, served as President. Hulseman died December 21, 2016. Current CEO Robert M. Korzenski took over from Robert Hulseman in August 2006. Korzenski had worked for Sweetheart Cups for over 10 years. Customers Solo Cup customers include Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Così, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Publix, and Tim Hortons, as well as many universities. The red plastic cups are notably used in American college and university games such as beer pong and flip cup. This usage is referenced in Toby Keith 's 2011 country music song `` Red Solo Cup ''. The red party cup outsells the blue variety by a wide margin. In part because of its cultural significance, many other manufacturers now procure similar looking red cups. References ^ Jump up to : `` Dart Container Closes on Acquisition of Solo Cup Company '' ( PDF ) ( Press release ). Dart Container. May 4, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Marotti, Ally ( 2016 - 12 - 29 ). `` Robert L. Hulseman, Chicago - area creator of famed red Solo Cup, dies at 84 ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 20. ^ Jump up to : Sandomir, Richard ( December 30, 2016 ). `` Robert L. Hulseman, Inventor of the Solo Cup, Dies at 84 ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2017 - 01 - 20. Jump up ^ Lily - Tulip Cup Corporation, Springfield - Greene County Library, Springfield, Missouri Jump up ^ Doug Criss ( December 29, 2016 ). `` Pour one out : The inventor of the red Solo cup has died ''. CNN. Retrieved December 29, 2016. Jump up ^ Yue, Lorene ; Merrion, Paul ( October 20, 2006 ). `` S&P cuts Solo Cup 's credit rating ''. Crain 's Chicago Business. Retrieved January 28, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Lambert, Emily ( November 17, 2006 ). `` Party 's Over ''. Forbes. Retrieved January 28, 2014. Jump up ^ Canadean. ( Feb. 6, 2014 ) Solo Cup Company ( Company profile ). Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/ Jump up ^ `` History Of Solo Cup Company US ''. Dart Container. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Jack Clements. `` Solo Traveler '' Coffee Cup Lid. 1986 ``. Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. ^ Jump up to : `` Consider the Coffee Cup Lid : Designers Swoon for Solo ''. Fast Company. 2010 - 03 - 05. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Park, Michael Y. `` A Brief History of the Disposable Coffee Cup ''. Bon Appétit. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Kennedy, Pagan ( 2013 - 10 - 25 ). `` Who Made That Coffee Lid ? ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Twilley, Nicola. `` The Rise of the Plastic, Disposable Coffee Cup Lid ''. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ Stinson, Liz. `` A Redesigned Coffee Lid That Totally Changes the Drinking Experience ''. Wired. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ The Culver Studios, since 1918 Jump up ^ Dora 's World : The Unofficial Dora Hall Website Jump up ^ Wilkins, Ernest ( October 26, 2011 ). `` Solo cup love affair ''. RedEye. Chicago. Retrieved January 28, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Stevenson, Seth ( October 10, 2011 ). `` Red Solo Cup : How Solo 's disposable drink vessel became an American party staple ''. Slate. Retrieved January 28, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Toby Keith 's ' Red Solo Cup ' song - stupid or awesome ? ''. USA Today. November 16, 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011. External links Official website Company 's history timeline CNN Money profile Dora 's World : The Unofficial Dora Hall Website ) Culver City Studio Illinois based corporations Fortune 500 corporations ( by size -- 2013 ) AbbVie Abbott Laboratories Allstate Anixter Archer Daniels Midland Baxter International Boeing Caterpillar CDW Discover Financial Dover Corporation Exelon Hillshire Brands Illinois Tool Works Ingredion John Deere Kraft Heinz McDonald 's Mondelēz International Motorola Solutions Navistar International Old Republic International RR Donnelley Sears Holdings State Farm Tenneco United Continental Holdings United Stationers Walgreens Boots Alliance WW Grainger Other major public companies ( alphabetically ) ACCO Brands Accretive Health Allscripts Amcol International Corporation Arthur J Gallagher & Co Brunswick Corporation Calamos Career Education Corporation Catamaran Corporation CF Industries Chicago Board Options Exchange CME Group CNA Financial Equity Residential Fortune Brands Home & Security Hospira Hyatt Hotels Corp Integrys Energy Group JLL Kemper Corporation Nalco Holding Company Nicor Northern Trust RLI Corp Rubicon Technology Stericycle Telephone and Data Systems Titan International Tribune Media Tronc Tootsie Roll Industries ULTA Beauty US Foods USG Corporation Westell Zebra Technologies Other major private companies ( alphabetically ) Ace Hardware Baker McKenzie Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Brookfield Properties Retail Group Claire 's Country Financial Danfoss Power Solutions Dot Foods Eby - Brown Electro - Motive Diesel Flex - N-Gate Follett Corporation Gardner Denver Grant Thornton Health Care Service Corporation Heico Cos Hendrickson International Hub International Jenner & Block Kirkland & Ellis Marmon Group Mayer Brown Medline Industries Molex Morton Salt Nestlé Frozen Pizza OSI Group Pactiv Reyes Holdings Reynolds Consumer Products Ryerson Sidley Austin Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Solo Cup Company Tellabs TransUnion True Value Wirtz Corporation Related topics Breweries in Illinois Companies in the Chicago metropolitan area Food manufacturers of Chicago Newspapers in Illinois Wineries in Illinois Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solo_Cup_Company&oldid=863404788 '' Categories : Manufacturing companies based in Illinois Privately held companies based in Illinois Companies based in Lake County, Illinois Highland Park, Illinois Manufacturing companies established in 1936 1936 establishments in the United States Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from May 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 10 October 2018, at 15 : 47 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did red solo cups start being made
Answer: 1970s