EXHIBIT 99.1


News
For Immediate Release                                 SILGAN HOLDINGS INC.
                                                      4 Landmark Square
                                                      Suite 400
                                                      Stamford, CT  06901

                                                      Telephone: (203) 975-7110
                                                      Fax:       (203) 975-7902


                                                          Contact:
                                                          Anthony J. Allott
                                                          (203) 406-3160



             SILGAN HOLDINGS ELECTS WILLIAM C. JENNINGS A MEMBER OF
                ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT
                                   COMMITTEE


STAMFORD,  CT,  August 4,  2003 --  Silgan  Holdings  Inc.  (Nasdaq:SLGN)  today
announced  that William C. Jennings has been elected as a member of the Board of
Directors of the Company and as the Chairman of the Audit  Committee,  replacing
Leigh  Abramson.  Mr.  Jennings will serve as a Class I Director of the Company,
completing Mr. Abramson's term.

Mr. Abramson, a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, resigned
from the Company's Board of Directors,  after having served on the Board for the
past seven years and making many valuable contributions to the Company.

Mr.  Jennings,  64,  brings  more than 40 years of  business  experience  to the
Company.  He was  formerly a Partner of  PriceWaterhouseCoopers,  most  recently
leading the firm's Risk Management and Internal  Controls  Consulting  Practice.
Previously,  he served as Chief  Financial  Officer  of  Bankers  Trust and as a
Senior Executive Vice President at Shearson Lehman Brothers.



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SILGAN HOLDINGS
August 4, 2003
Page 2


Mr.  Jennings  also  serves  on  the  Boards  of  Axcelis   Technologies,   Inc.
(Nasdaq:ACLS)  and  NYFIX,  Inc.  (Nasdaq:NYFX)  and has served on the Boards of
several companies, including Intellisource, Inc., U.S. Interactive, Inc. and the
Merger Fund, a publicly  traded  mutual fund.  Mr.  Jennings has recently been a
speaker on corporate  governance and The  Sarbanes-Oxley  Act and has frequently
appeared in business  print and  broadcast as an expert on risk  management  and
internal controls.


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Silgan  Holdings is a leading  North  American  manufacturer  of consumer  goods
packaging  products  with annual  sales of  approximately  $2.0 billion in 2002.
Silgan operates 68 manufacturing  facilities in the U.S.,  Canada and Mexico. In
North  America,  Silgan is the  largest  supplier of metal  containers  for food
products and a leading supplier of plastic containers for personal care products
and of metal and plastic closures for food and beverage products.


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