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 PCA.
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 PCA.
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.
Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) 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 PCA holding a majority interest.
PCA is acquired by Tenneco.
PCA 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.
PCA’s 34th corrugated container plant is opened in Burlington, Wisconsin.
PCA acquires Deseret Container (in Salt Lake City, Utah), a corrugated sheet plant and established supplier of low-volume, fast-turnaround orders.
PCA 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.
PCA purchases two containerboard mills, 19 corrugated container plants and cutting rights to approximately 650,000 acres of timberlands from Georgia-Pacific. It is PCA’s largest acquisition to date.
PCA 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 Packaging Corporation of America (PCA). Pactiv Corporation (formerly known as Tenneco Packaging Inc.) sells its containerboard and corrugated packaging business to PCA.
PCA 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 PCA network: Donna, Texas; Fairfield, Ohio; and Franklin, Wisconsin.
PCA’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 PCA, strengthening the company’s presence in the retail packaging industry and the Chicago market.
PCA 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.
PCA celebrates its 50th anniversary as a company, marking a half-century of building relationships based on trust.
PCA 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.
PCA 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.
PCA opens a new full-line converting plant in Reading, Pennsylvania.
PCA acquires Boise Inc. The acquisition provides additional containerboard capacity and expands PCA’s market presence into the Pacific Northwest. It also extends PCA’s product line by adding imaging papers for the office and home.
PCA acquires TimBar Corporation, a large independent corrugated products producer. The acquisition strengthens PCA’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.
PCA also acquires Columbus Container, a full-line corrugated products manufacturer located in Columbus, Indiana.
PCA acquires Sacramento Container Corporation, expanding its network to include full-line plants in McClellan and Kingsburg, California. The acquisition further enhances PCA’s operations both geographically and strategically.
PCA acquires Englander dZignPak. The company has sheet plants located in Carrollton and Waco, Texas, and a design center located in Bentonville, Arkansas.
PCA’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.
PCA 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.
PCA 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.