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| Type | Public - NYSE: BMS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1858 |
| Founder(s) | Judson Moss Bemis |
| Headquarters | Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Key people | Jeffrey Curler, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board Henry Theisen, President and CEO Gene Wulf, Senior Vice President and CFO |
| Industry | Packaging |
| Revenue | $ 3,649,281 (2007) |
| Net income | $ 181,554,000 (2007) |
| Employees | 15,678 (2007) |
| Website | www.bemis.com |
Bemis Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of flexible packaging products (ranging from food wrappers to the bags inside of print cartridges to medical packaging) and pressure-sensitive materials. Bemis products are produced in 10 different countries and are distributed worldwide. Bemis is part of the S&P 500 index.
History
Bemis Inc. was founded by Judson Moss Bemis in 1858 in St. Louis, Missouri as a manufacturer of printed cotton bags for food products. Its first location was on the second floor of a machine shop, which provided steam to operate the printing presses and readily-available maintenance personnel for machine repairs.
Two key innovations Bemis' company originally pioneered were the printing and machine-sewing of bags. (Traditionally, bags were stenciled and hand-sewn.) Bemis' first order was for 200 half-barrel sacks. To allay worries that machine-sewn bags were inferior to traditional hand-sewn bags, Judson Bemis unconditionally guaranteed every bag his company manufactured.
In 1867, Judson Bemis' brother, Stephen A. Bemis, returned from the gold rush and joined Judson in the bag manufacturing business. Bemis Bro. Bag Co. opened its second plant in 1880 in Minneapolis, followed by a third in Omaha, Nebraska in 1888. These plants were followed by others in New Orleans, Superior (WI), San Francisco, Indianapolis, Memphis, Kansas City, Seattle, and Winnipeg. In the early 1900s Bemis opened its first paper bag manufacturing plant.
"If the world is a better place for our lives, that influence will go on forever." – Judson Moss Bemis
Overview
Bemis currently comprises 12 sub-companies operating 61 plants in 11 countries. Bemis Company, Inc. is a large supplier of plastic products for the food industry, with secondary interests in medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agriculture industries.
In July 2009, Bemis signed a definitive agreement with Rio Tinto plc, a mining company, to acquire the American division of food packaging sub-company Alcan Packaging. This will bring the company's employment to over 20,000 employees at 84 plants. Also, this acquisition should raise net sales for Bemis past $5 billion (annually).
References
- Bemis 2007 Annual Report and Form 10-K as of December 31, 2007
- Bemis Company, Inc. - Company Overview
- Bemis Company, Inc. - 150th Anniversary
- Bemis To Acquire Alcan Packaging Food Americas
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