Menasha history

In July 1850, Elisha Smith travels from his home in Woonsocket, R.I., to Menasha after receiving a letter from an acquaintance encouraging him to do so.

In 1852, company founder Elisha D. Smith bought a struggling wooden pail factory that opened in Menasha, Wis. just three years earlier.

The Panic of 1857 strikes and drives thousands of businesses into bankruptcy.

1863 Several hundred miles away, G.B. Lewis was founded as a manufacturer of wood related material handling products for bakeries, laundries, hospitals and a few light industrial plants.

By 1871,250 employees manufactured products ranging from pails to tubs, churns, measures, butter tubs, fish kits, kannikins, keelers, and clothes pins.

On April 6, 1872, it is announced that The Pail Factory, the community's largest employer, is $250,000 in debt.

By 1899, when the company founder died at age 72, Menasha Wooden Ware had annual revenues of $1 million and 1,000 people on the company payroll. It was incorporated under that same name on May 24, 1875.

The original pail factory was destroyed by fire in 1878.

By 1885, a machine was developed that could weave fabric out of wooden slats resulting in a rugged container that could be used for many trips.

1894: Merger with a broom handle and barrel factory formed by the founder's son makes Menasha the world's largest manufacturer of turned woodenware.

In 1895 the founder’s son, Charles R. Smith, merged a broom handle and barrel factory with the Menasha Wooden Ware Company, creating the world’s largest manufacturer of turned woodenware.

By 1899, when the company founder died at age 72, Menasha Wooden Ware had annual revenues of $1 million and 1,000 people on the company payroll.

1903: Acquisition of timberlands in the Pacific Northwest begins.

By 1915, Menasha supplied 27 million feet of timber annually and was the United States’ foremost producer of wooden food packaging in bulk.

Accommodating changes in packaging technology, the latter organization produced Menasha’s first corrugated containers in 1927.

In 1929 the company began production of wood flour with its plant in Tacoma, Washington.

By 1935, corrugated containers had supplanted their wooden predecessors, and Menasha discontinued its line of barrels, converting woodworking plants to the manufacture of toys and juvenile furniture.

1939: A majority interest in Otsego Falls Paper Company, maker of corrugating medium, is acquired.

In 1949, Lewis designed the first fiberglass tote pan that was a lightweight, durable, low-cost alternative to wood boxes.

1955: Menasha diversifies into plastics with the purchase of a 51 percent interest in G.B. Lewis Company, maker of plastic material handling containers.

With diminishing emphasis on woodenware products and increased diversity in the field of plastics, Menasha Wooden Ware Corporation changed its name to Menasha Corporation in 1962.

As part of a strategy to increase its share of the Midwest's corrugated market, the company in 1966 purchased a plant in Coloma, Michigan, from Twin Cities Container Corporation.

1967: Corporate headquarters are relocated to Neenah, Wisconsin.

Then, in 1968, the company purchased Vanant Packaging Corporation and developed its Sus-Rap Packaging operation, custom engineering and manufacturing interior protective packaging items to meet specific end-use requirements.

In 1969 lumber products were further expanded as Menasha merged with the John Strange Paper Company, creating the Appleton Manufacturing Division and a majority interest in the Wisconsin Container Corporation, later to become Menasha’s Solid Fibre Division.

1971: Menasha acquires an interest in Poly Hi Inc., a leading manufacturer of ultra-high-density polyethylene.

In 1973 Menasha Corporation assisted in the construction of two new G.B. Lewis company plants in Monticello and Manchester, Iowa.

1974 Acquired by Menasha Corporation, G.B. Lewis was re-named LEWISystems and continued the tradition of innovation.

1975: Menasha takes full control of G.B. Lewis, which is divided into two divisions: LEWISystems and Molded Products.

Further expansion in packaging brought the 1977 purchase of a plant in Mt.

Success of LEWISystems prompted the 1980 purchase of Dare Pafco Products Company of Urbana, Ohio, to increase that division's capacity.

As was the case with G.B. Lewis, the growth pattern at Poly Hi called for increased manufacturing capabilities, prompting the 1981 acquisition of Scranton Plastics Laminating Corporation of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

In 1982 Vinland Web-Print, a producer of web-printed paper and plastic film products, was also acquired.

Menasha's Plastics Group went international in 1985, when the corporation launched its first foreign joint venture with the Japanese firm of Tsutsunaka Plastic Industry Co.

In 1986 the corporation’s Molded Products Division introduced plastic pallets designed to maximize warehouse inventory stacking and reduce work-in-progress inventories by virtue of their uniform weight.

With the 1987 acquisition of Neenah Printing, the corporation extended its graphics operations to a full range of printing services in commercial, business forms, and packaging applications, ranging from sample booklets to high image lithographic brochures.

And in 1988 a precision injection molder of thermoplastics and engineered resins, Thermotech, was added to the Plastics Group.

Pleasant, Tennessee, and then the 1989 purchase of Colonial Container of Green Lake, Wisconsin.

Whitehead, Sandra, "On the Prowl for Growth Opportunities," Corpo rate Report Wisconsin, January 1991, sec.

In 1992 Mid America collaborated with the Pillsbury Corporation to design a pressure-sensitive label for the newly introduced Hungry Jack Syrup.

In another 1993 acquisition, Menasha took over the United States operations of Solidur Deutschland GmbH, the leading European producer of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene; these operations were merged into Poly Hi to form Poly Hi Solidur.

In 1995 Mid South Packaging of Cullman, Alabama, and Southwest Container Corporation of Phoenix, Arizona--both operators of corrugated container businesses--were acquired.

In 1996 America Tag & Label, DisplayOne, and the point-of-purchase business were merged to form Promo Edge.

ORBIS further expanded its product portfolio via the 1997 introduction of the BulkPak line of plastic bulk containers for a wide variety of applications.

In 1999 Menasha's board of directors made a strategic decision to further decentralize the company's structure.

Menasha Packaging enlarged itself in 2000 through two acquisitions: Pittsburgh-based Package Products, Inc. and Pennsylvania Container Corporation, based in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

ORBIS gained a plastic pallet manufacturer, Cookson Plastic Molding of Latham, New York, in October 2001, and then the following year, Nucon Corporation, which specialized in plastic pallets for the beverage industry, serving the United States, European, and Mexican markets.

2002 Further growth was gained in 2002, as ORBIS acquired Nucon Corporation, a leading manufacturer of plastic pallets for the beverage industry in the US, Mexico and Europe.

2003 ORBIS launched their Innovations Center to identify and deliver breakthrough plastic reusable packaging products to help their customers realize greater efficiencies with plastic reusable packaging.

2004 ORBIS acquires Hays Container Systems and creates ORBIS Container Services.

2008 ORBIS Corporation acquired Norseman Plastics Holdings, Ltd.., a manufacturer of plastic reusable containers, trays, bins and pallets used in bakery, beverage, dairy, recycled material/waste collection, food service, agriculture and meat processing applications.

Norseman’s diverse product line, strong customer relationships and industry knowledge are consistent with ORBIS’ vision and expertise.” 2010 As part of Menasha Corporation, ORBIS launches its first Annual Sustainability Report, with ORBIS' annual accomplishments related tol sustainability.

2014 ORBIS launches the Pally, a pallet and dolly combination designed for retail distribution.

2017 ORBIS Europe launches the GitterPak, an all-plastic collapsible reusable container designed to replace metal gitter boxes and steel bins.

2018 ORBIS Europe launches the IonPak, the first bulk packaging solution to safely transport lithium ion batteries.

2019 ORBIS launches the XpressBulk, a fully reusable bulk merchandising solution that is retail-ready.