Bemis Company

Bemis Company, Inc.

Type	Public - NYSE: BMS S&P 500 Component
Industry	Packaging
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 Scott Ullem, Vice President and CFO
Revenue	US$4.84B (FY 2010)[1]
Operating income	US$401M (FY 2010)[1]
Net income	US$205M (FY 2010)[1]
Total assets	US$4.29B (FY 2010)[2]
Total equity	US$1.88B (FY 2010)[2]
Employees	>20,000 (2010)
Website	www.bemis.com

Bemis Company, Inc. is an American manufacturer of flexible packaging products (ranging from self-venting cook-in-bag vegetable packages to pet food bags to puncture-resistant, sterile medical packaging) and pressure-sensitive materials. Bemis divisions are located in 13 countries and its products 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.

Overview

Bemis Company, Inc. is a multinational company and a major supplier of flexible packaging used by leading food, consumer products, medical and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Bemis also supplies pressure sensitive adhesive coated materials globally to label, signage, medical and graphics companies.

With 2011 net sales of $5.3 billion, Bemis operates 80 facilities in 12 countries. Over two-thirds of Bemis packaging is used in the food industry, with the balance used in markets including medical, pharmaceutical, chemical and agribusiness. Our pressure sensitive products are used in industries including graphic arts, digital imaging, assembly engineering, communications and medical.^[3]

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