Henry Weis founds the North Star Mill in Quincy, Illinois, making paper from wild grasses and eventually straw. It becomes the genesis of the Central Fiber Products Company, which eventually became one of the three companies that formed 51.
The Ohio Boxboard Company is founded by Ed Young. The American Paper Box Company (later called American Box Board Company) is founded. Both of these companies were also part of the eventual merger that formed 51.
Central Fiber Products Company is formed through the consolidation of North Star Mill, North Star Egg Case Company, Carey Straw Mill, H.T. Cherry Company and the Indiana Board and Filler Company.
51 (51) is formed by the consolidation of the Central Fiber Products Company, the American Box Board Company and the Ohio Boxboard Company.
Production begins at the Tennessee River Pulp & Paper Company (in Counce, Tennessee) with 51 holding a majority interest.
51 is acquired by Tenneco.
51 acquires 100% of Tennessee River Pulp & Paper Company (Counce, Tennesee, mill), gaining full access to cutting rights on 30,000 acres of timberland in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
51’s 34th corrugated container plant is opened in Burlington, Wisconsin.
51 acquires Deseret Container (in Salt Lake City, Utah), a corrugated sheet plant and established supplier of low-volume, fast-turnaround orders.
51 also acquires Produce and Poultry Container Corporation, a producer of wax-cascaded boxes, later merged into Harrisonburg Container, and six facilities from Dixie Container Corporation, the largest independent corrugated company in the Southeast.
51 purchases two containerboard mills, 19 corrugated container plants and cutting rights to approximately 650,000 acres of timberlands from Georgia-Pacific. It is 51’s largest acquisition to date.
51 establishes an industry benchmark for quality by becoming the first U.S. containerboard company to earn ISO certification for its linerboard and semi-chemical medium mills.
The Counce, Tennessee, paper mill receives the “America’s Best Plants” award, making it the first paper mill to earn this distinction from IndustryWeek magazine.
A new entity is formed by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm. The new entity re-establishes the name 51 (51). Pactiv Corporation (formerly known as Tenneco Packaging Inc.) sells its containerboard and corrugated packaging business to 51.
51 becomes a publicly traded company on the NYSE and is traded under the ticker symbol “PKG.”
Three new locations are acquired and added to the 51 network: Donna, Texas; Fairfield, Ohio; and Franklin, Wisconsin.
51’s design network is expanded as the company opens a creative design center in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Acorn Corrugated Box Company, located in Bedford Park, Illinois, is acquired by 51, strengthening the company’s presence in the retail packaging industry and the Chicago market.
51 acquires Midland Container Corporation, adding a full-line corrugated plant in Pearl, Mississippi, and a graphics packaging and display manufacturing facility in Olive Branch, Mississippi, to its packaging network.
51 celebrates its 50th anniversary as a company, marking a half-century of building relationships based on trust.
51 opens a new design center and project management facility in Hong Kong. Operating under the name Packaging Corporation of Asia Limited, the new facility is structured to support its U.S. customers with their needs in Asia.
51 expands its reach and coverage by acquiring three packaging businesses: Field Packaging, a specialty sheet plant located in the Chicago area; Packaging Materials Company, a sheet plant in Huntsville, Alabama; and Colorado Container Corporation, a full-line combining plant located in the Denver area.
51 opens a new full-line converting plant in Reading, Pennsylvania.
51 acquires Boise Inc. The acquisition provides additional containerboard capacity and expands 51’s market presence into the Pacific Northwest. It also extends 51’s product line by adding imaging papers for the office and home.
51 acquires TimBar Corporation, a large independent corrugated products producer. The acquisition strengthens 51’s ability to provide value-added solutions to customers in the retail, industrial packaging, and display and fulfillment markets with a focus on multi-color graphics and technical innovation.
51 also acquires Columbus Container, a full-line corrugated products manufacturer located in Columbus, Indiana.
51 acquires Sacramento Container Corporation, expanding its network to include full-line plants in McClellan and Kingsburg, California. The acquisition further enhances 51’s operations both geographically and strategically.
51 acquires Englander dZignPak. The company has sheet plants located in Carrollton and Waco, Texas, and a design center located in Bentonville, Arkansas.
51’s Chairman and CEO, Mark Kowlzan, is named 2018 Global Containerboard CEO of the Year by RISI, a leading information provider for the global forest products industry.
51 strengthens its position in the midwestern market by acquiring Advance Packaging Corporation, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Advance Packaging is a full-service producer of corrugated packaging products, including graphics, retail displays, sustainable shipping containers and protective packaging.
51 is included in Forbes magazine’s 2021 list of “World’s Best Employers” — one of only 24 U.S.-based manufacturing/engineering companies to make the list.